I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately from people searching for “Leiden coffeshop” on Google. And I’ve decided to give people what they’re looking for, I’ve had these reviews wirtten for quite some time, they have just needed editing and such. I’ve been entirely too lazy this year, I haven’t even gotten around to posting the reviews of some of the fine coffeeshops I visited while staying in Leiden, the town that I hope to someday call home.
So here goes:
Bebop
Diefsteeg 3
Leiden
Nestled down an alley in Leiden, this small shop has cow-hair stools and zany space-aged ashtrays, and a view of the alley and the pedestrian traffic therein. You’re literally watching women pushing baby carriages and women with five year old children walking by, smiling at you as they pass. We bought a 12 Euro pack of both White Widow and K2 (around 2 grams each). The bar has a space-aged, south pacific island decor, at least that’s the most accurate description of it. Kieran and I also split a 12 Euro pack of Bebop Special hash. These guys apparently grow their own stuff, and they do a good job of it, with a bong of Northern Lights (Kieran’s) mixed with our hash, and then a White Widow and K2 cone joint, I was quite high.
A nice green hit of the K2 yielded a sweet smoke with a piney exhale. Shannon says the flavor “reminds me of California, it tastes kind and fresh, and pine is fresh.” Really good homegrown pot, really cool atmosphere.
Coffeeshop Joy/ New Times Bar
Beschuitsteeg
Leiden
“Mostly Middle Eastern people” my friend Kieran informed me of New Times’ clientele. Mid 40’s Middle Eastern people bobbing their heads to The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Blood Sugar Sex Magick, older black people and a couple of twenty-something locals is more accurate.
Next door to New Times bar lays the (almost) literal hole-in-the-wall Coffeeshop Joy. It was there that I dropped a cool 50 Euro on 5 grams of K2, having endeared myself with the K2 at Bebop, and 2 grams each of sneeuwijte (Snow White) and Dutch Passion. Shannon later trotted back to Joy and bought 2.2 grams of Border Afghan hash and a gram of Northern Lights. This place also gives scratch-offs out with every bag of weed you buy, with which you can win more weed, or a t-shirt.
We then hopped next door to New Times bar… Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magick was playing in the background (as I said before), old Arabic men were playing pool at one table, while a Black and Spanish couple played pool on the other table. We squeezed into a booth next to a disused fireplace and ordered a pitcher of Heineken, which the bar was decorated with paraphernalia from; the beer being of course, a national standard which inspires fierce, well deserved, loyalty. We sat with our pitcher and packed our little bong with some of the Coffeeshop Joy K2.
The pitcher was huge, and I started to note the lean towards Middle Eastern in the clientele as people came and went. But these Middle Easterners have great taste, sitting in a bar in Leiden smoking pot and hash, gulping Heineken, and listening to RHCP’s glory days.
Sitting in New Times, after smoking a bong of Northern Lights and Border Afghani hash, I began to notice the ominousness of the Middle Eastern men with their big Dutch tobacco-bound joint. It didn’t help that all the hash in this town reminds me of the Frankincense incense from my childhood Byzantine (old-school Turkish) Catholic Church. But it all helped to add to the exotic, relaxing atmosphere.
Leidseplein
Leiden
We got here on a Sunday at 4 PM because it was packed at 4:15 on Saturday (15 minutes after it had opened!). We were the second group of customers at this highly recommended coffeeshop. We took a brief glance at the menu and decided to order the bulk of it. I bought 1 gram of Super Silver Haze for 12 Euro, it smelled like grated ginger and tasted like candied ginger when smoked. I also ordered 2.1 grams of Bubblegum (which I was assured by many was prime), it smelled sweet, like raspberry Bubble Yum, and was comprised mostly of one huge bud. This coffee shop undoubtedly has the biggest buds I’ve seen yet in The Netherlands. Shannon ordered 2.3 grams of Super Skunk (12 Euro), which smelled slightly like sweet blue cheese, for lack of a better description. I did find a bit of mold on the bud, but once picked off, with a loss of maybe 2 milligrams, the skunk smoked sweetly. She also ordered 1 gram of Oranje Bud (Orange Bud) (6 Euro), redolent of oranges and cinnamon. Shannon’s other pick was 2.1 grams of White Widow (12 Euro), which was some of the dankest smelling pot I’ve ever encountered; it smelled like pine tar and sweet skunk at the same time.
The atmosphere at Leidseplein is great; the decor is classy, all wood tones, beiges and mahoganies. At the table next to us were two Dutch ladies playing a rousing game of chess and having a lively chat; if you’re the sort of guy who finds that sort of thing sexy (we seem to be few and far between) then Leidseplein is well worth the trip. Leidseplein is situated at the corner of two perpendicular streets, well, alleys really. Directly out the door, one has a spectacular view of the Pieterskerk towering over the tops of the houses that line the alleyways. When I was there, the church was being restored, hopefully later visitors will be able to sit at Leidseplein and view the restored church in its full beauty.
We also went to a few restaurants while in Leiden (gee, we were smoking a bunch of pot, does that surprise you?) which I decided to review as well. Click for more.
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