Boot Koffie first opened its store door in November 1973. Now it's the first Saturday in November 2023, Boot Koffie really is 50 years old. The store at 49 Avenue Street fills with former employees that Saturday afternoon. So many memories, conviviality, experiences and life wisdom are present! Even Marianne Boot, the archetypal mother of Boot Koffie, is there with her 94 years!

Organizing this reunion has been a great experience for us, employees and Barend Boot. We spent the months before the reunion finding out many addresses of ex-employees from all sorts of places. The conversations we have with former employees, even those who could not attend the reunion, are warming.

First this Saturday, 25 former employees were shown the current Branderij in Baarn. This is also where the new roaster, the most technically ingenious in Europe, has been standing for several months, with which Boot Koffie has now brought in a lot of extra roasting capacity. In addition to this 75-kilo roaster, there is also the 15-kilo roaster on which much smaller spits of coffee are roasted. Roaster Rick Maas explained how the roaster works and how the process of roasting coffee works. It is a technical story with a lot of knowledge and skill. It becomes clear that Boot Koffie has additional capabilities and space to roast multiple coffees to perfection. So if you have a question about this, tell the sales department, we can arrange it for you!

Then we go to the Boot Coffee Shop on Laan Street at number 49. It becomes a delightful crowd. A couple of coffee girls from the past tell animatedly at the reunion, "Jacob was always very meticulously checking the roasted coffee and then he would take out the ugly beans and put them in a separate jar. I actually didn't know why he did that."

At the reunion, 94-year-old Marianne Boot is the center of attention. Many older employees are eager to speak with her. There are also many employees who worked first with Willem and Barend from 1992 and later especially with Barend (Willem left for the USA in 1998 and opened his coffee training center Boot Coffee and later plantations in Panama).

It will be casual and convivial. Over coffee champagne, Barend addresses former employees warmly and shares his appreciation for what they have meant to him and whom he sees all. He also emphasizes how special it is to speak to and think of those who could not be there. In total, at least 250 people have worked at Boot over the years. Many ended up in very different professions. Others, like Joost Leopold of the Coffee School and Kees Kraakman of Keppler Koffie, have gone on to the coffee profession.

Barend has been active in the coffee business for 30 years. He thanked those present for their commitment then and now. He also recalled that behind all the men at Boot there was also a woman. Marianne behind Jacob, Catherine behind Willem, ex-Elisabeth, ex-Eus and now Liesbeth behind Barend.

After the speech, we enjoyed a delicious organic vegan meal by Piment Catering from Hilversum.

Thank you for attending and hopefully until next time!

Barend Boot & team Boot Koffie

P.s. Check out some photos here showing the cozy atmosphere. Happiness through Taste