Maling: our own coffee brand

You know the feeling that you could drink coffee all day, every day? We do!
At Likefriends, coffee is love, coffee is life, coffee is our fuel. Not only its delicious flavor but everything about coffee warms our hearts.

Because we love coffee that much, we decided to do something with that passion. Since May 2017, we have been roasting our own coffee at Likefriends. Under our own roof and under our own name: Maling Amsterdam Roast.

We cannot call it a coincidence that in 2017 we met Ramzi. Ramzi is the owner of a small coffee roastery called Rovers Coffee. As the real craftsman he is, Ramzi has found his passion in coffee. Searching for a new place to establish his business, Likefriends and Rovers Coffee entered into a partnership. With the office of Likefriends as the basis of his roastery, Ramzi roasts his coffee beans with pure passion (and still does!). With the utmost care, he is always busy with improving his coffee in order to get the best flavour. His desires are not in becoming a huge coffee brand, he only wants to sell excellent coffee. He does not believe in trends such as fancy flavours or brewing methods; just an regular espresso shot is the best thing there is.

Maling coffee has a rich and round taste that rolls smoothly over your tongue. It gives you a nice and warm feeling and brings you back to that authentic coffee moment. The proportion between bitter, sweet and sour provides a perfect balance and pure pleasure. At the first sip you feel the energy flowing through your veins and your heart filling with warmth and love. A warm blush comes on your cheeks and your mouth curls to a broad smile. Pure luck in a little cup full of flavors. The blend for Maling contains the best beans from Brazil and Guatemala. They were all carefully chosen, roasted and treated with love to create the simplest, most intense and pure coffee. This is our first and original blend, but in the future we are willing to expand our tastes. We think it’s important that everybody can find their personal favorite in our Maling coffee range.

Maling coffee is specialty coffee. Specialty coffee has the first (of five) grade of the grading system for the quality of coffee beans. This means that there are no primary defects and that the beans exhibit a distinctive attribute in taste, acidity, body or aroma. For your knowledge: most big coffee brands serve premium coffee, which has the second grade.

Where does the name Maling come from?
Friends don’t do conventions, they don’t give a damn about it. In Amsterdam, they have “maling” on that. Maling is a typical Dutch word that means ‘I don’t care’. Drinking a cup of coffee is actually some sort of break to escape from our daily routines. When we drink coffee, it is time to relax. We do not have to think about what we say, because everything we say is fine. Whether it is with your friend, colleague or a stranger, coffee connects people. No bullshit, but clear language and nice jokes. At Likefriends we love that idea and we also like to share that with you.

So if you come visit us at the office, you know what to expect. A honest opinion and, more recently, a just as honest cup of coffee. With Maling, we want to strengthen our brand identity by creating a brand property that represents our values: treat each other like friends and feel able to be honest.

Maling also means grind, with which we also refer to the coffee. We sell ungrinded coffee beans, because we believe in quality. You get the best coffee if you grind the coffee beans right before you start making coffee. That way all the flavors stay in the beans until the very end.

Launch event
Every month, during our event OnStage, we invite an inspirational speaker on our stage. The next edition, on the 14th of June, it’s all about coffee because of the launch of Maling. The speaker entering our stage is Jasper Houtman, who wrote “The Coffee Visionary: The Life and Legacy of Alfred Peet”. He will tell us more about coffee and it’s history. Ramzi will also tell something about Maling coffee and of course the best coffee of Amsterdam will be served by a real barista ;).

Everybody is welcome at our OnStage event, just let us know that you’re coming via this link. Hope to see you on the 14th!

So… where can you buy our coffee?
Right now our website is still under construction, but will be online on the 14th of June! Maling coffee will be available in our online shop or you can just come by the office so you can taste it yourself.

Stay tuned!
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