Koffie Onan

Amanda Stoll


“Double latte with caramel no whip,” “medium coffee two sugars with skim milk,” “two decaf - one with whole milk one with Splenda.” These are common phrases I hear each morning while waiting in line for my daily iced coffee lite and sweet. The employees scramble behind the counter - toasting bagels, refilling coffee machines, and yelling through mini microphones to customers at the drive-thru window. I use my debit card so that I do not have to fuss with coins and change, as everyone is in a hurry. My order is ready and yelled out by the teenage worker who places it on the counter and moves on to the next order without stopping to see if I have retrieved my iced coffee. I am out the door and back to my car within five minutes since I arrived. My day, like thousands of other Americans, has begun with a trip to my local Dunkin’ Donuts.
After following this daily ritual since my high school years, imagine my alarm when I arrived in Leuven, Belgium and found no chain coffee shops! How was I going to get my morning caffeine fix that I so desperately needed as I ran to class? I visited a few local coffee shops in Leuven but hardly any offered ‘take away’ cups, and when asking about iced coffee, I received looks of confusion, disbelief, and disgust at this concept. At first, I panicked. I did not want to accept this foreign culture where I could not carry out my normal routine. “How do these people live like this?” was a common phrase exchanged among me and a few of my American friends who shared this same love for our daily, complicated coffee order.
After about two weeks, I started to get over this initial culture shock. I realized that I could, indeed, survive without drinking coffee in the morning. I had to--I did not have time during the 20 minutes I allotted myself to get ready before class to make my own and I was not about to give up one moment of sleep. Besides, transporting coffee while on bike in Leuven would prove quite a difficult challenge. And so I gave it up, cold turkey, although not by choice. One afternoon my Belgian friend, Katrien, asked if I would like to go get coffee with her at her favorite place. Although I had accepted my lack of iced coffee fate, I was always looking for opportunities to try a new place, hoping this one might be the one that followed the American way of life. With this optimism I joined my friend in a bike ride down Parijstraat to Koffie Onan.
As soon as we locked our bikes and crossed the cobblestone street, I knew this was not going to be like any Starbucks I frequented in the United States. Outside of Koffie Onan were a few tables surrounded by wicker chairs for those customers brave enough to face the ever-changing Belgian weather. There was also a large sign in the shape of a coffee cup advertising the coffee and latte of the week. A bell jingled as Katrien pushed open the door and we entered the shop. I was completely taken aback when the shop owner, whose name I later learned was Pieter, addressed Katrien by name with a smile and asked about her studies. This was quite a contrast to my American coffee experience in which my face is only associated with my usual daily venti iced coffee lite and sweet. Katrien and Pieter shared a short conversation while I looked over the menu, deciding what to order. I went with the latte of the week, Irish cream.
After paying for my coffee, I stood next to the counter preparing to quickly gather my order and get out of the way for other customers. Anke, another employee, who I later learned was Pieter’s wife, leaned over the counter and told me, “You can select a chocolate piece and sit down if you’d like.” I looked to the left and found a side table sporting sugar, cream, and a bowl of mini chocolate bars; with every order, one receives a free chocolate at Koffie Onan. This is another small, but meaningful difference between this coffee shop and America--in America, nothing is free. If you get a complimentary anything, the retailer has raised the price to cover this so-called gift. However, at Koffie Onan, the price for a coffee, two euro fifty, is the same as most other Belgian coffee shops. The chocolate is an actual gift, because this family run coffee shop really does care about its customers.
My latte was presented to me with a foamy swirl in a mug with a spoon and a tiny cup of cream all placed on a wooden serving tray. Also on my tray was a frequent visitor card with one punch--after ten punches your next coffee is free. This reminded me of the buyer cards the coffee stand on campus back at Loyola Maryland had started sporting last semester--a kind similarity connecting my two worlds. Katrien and I sat sipping our coffees for over an hour. This was quite different from the American way of choking down a quick cup of coffee before rushing off to your next activity. Coffee breaks here are not to prepare you to multitask all day or to cure that hangover from last night; they are for enjoyment and relaxation. Equally, Anke and Pieter did not try to hustle us along, even after we had finished and were sitting talking, quite unlike the United States where employees are anxious to please the next paying customer. In America, it is not acceptable to sit in coffee shops, simply shooting the breeze, for an extended period of time. People who do this are considered lazy, and are negatively judged by both other customers, typically on their Blackberry carrying on five different conversations and spilling their coffee to-go as they rush to their next important meeting, as well as employees in constant motion to clean tables and take new orders. This attitude is not found in Belgium. Katrien and I sat enjoying the taste of our drinks and our conversation, just as many people seated around us did.

I asked Katrien, “Why is Koffie Onan your favorite coffee place in Leuven?” She responded by telling me, “The coffee is good, but you can get good coffee a lot of places. I really like it here because of Pieter and Anke, they’re always interested in hearing what I’ve been up to and it makes for such a nice time!”
In America, I base my coffee shop choice on proximity, efficiency, and crowds; to hear Katrien define her choice based on the staff was definitely different from my own experience. It reminded me of one of the readings, “Yearning for the Sun” by Frances Mayes. In this interview, Frances explains that her love for Italy is based on the individuals she encounters there. “What keeps us coming here forever is the people – that was the beginning. After that I always came to Italy anytime I could” (A Sense of Place, p. 33). Of course, this strong connection with a particular place because of the people there can be found in America as well, such as in hometowns or a small college campus, but it is not found in the chain coffee shops that exist throughout the United States. I would have no problem going to the local Starbucks rather than Dunkin’ Donuts if the line was too long, whereas in Leuven, Katrien always prefers Koffie Onan because of the special bond she has formed with the individuals there.
It has become the tradition of myself and three of my friends to frequent this coffee shop every Sunday after mass. Pieter and Anke call me by name now and are always interested in hearing about my culture shock moment, sometimes moments, of the week. I tell them stories, such as when I was almost killed by a bus while peddling to class on my bike, and they help me with my Dutch homework. In addition to our story sharing, Anke and Pieter educate me on the Belgian lifestyle. The first thing I asked about was the coffee culture here, as it varies drastically from America. They explained to me the pride Belgians have in their coffee as they host one of the largest coffee ports in the world, Antwerp. They also have different coffee based on the three regions that make up the country of Belgium and each region is partial to the heritage that influenced their coffee selection. For example, in northern Belgium one will find strong, bitter coffee as influenced by the French, as opposed to some of the milder tastes found in the southern areas. This new friendship that I have built with these two individuals, the owners of a coffee shop, is one that is not typically found in the United States, and I very much enjoy my new appreciation of quality time spent around a cup of coffee.
When I do not have a pile of reading to do for my classes, I enjoy sitting at Koffie Onan, observing others around me. As explained by Tim Cahill in “Working-Class Hero”, “You have to let everything happen around you and try not to make whatever happens happen solely because you’re there” (A Sense of Place p. 14). I agree with this statement in that sometimes I like to just sit back and observe without interacting with the customers and employees at Koffie Onan. In Leuven, Belgium, every so often I find myself in a room of people, none of whom are speaking my native language, and I feel very alone and isolated. However, in Koffie Onan, with its small, comfortable atmosphere, I am completely content listening to the Dutch language and watching how people interact. A couple at the corner table deep in discussion, an elderly man reading the newspaper by the window, it all culminates the coffee culture that exists in Belgium.
I enjoy Koffie Onan not only for its cultural aspects and cozy atmosphere but for its view of the Oude Market. Known as the longest bar in Europe, I can observe the busy outside world on this street from my coffee table. Men and women biking home with groceries on the back of their bikes and Dutch students eating waffles outside the various snack shops. This image, incredibly stereotypical, is a reality from the window of Koffie Onan. After being here for three months, I no longer feel like I am observing this world as a foreigner, completely removed and lost. Rather, I am looking out on the streets that I have come to know as my home and am continually learning more about this new culture into which I am being adopted. Koffie Onan was one of the most meaningful steps in my integration process because it allowed me to observe Belgian lifestyle in a small dosage. I have developed from culture frustration into a new phase of cultural exploration can now appreciate the slow pace and friendly atmosphere that exists here, in Leuven, at Koffie Onan, as well as throughout the country of Belgium.