Matcha, matcha; all customers wanted a matcha on Friday. Matcha latte, matcha icedmatcha take away. In the Amsterdam coffee shop Back to Black, the matcha, a bright green powder tea, was not available on Friday. Because a drink with matcha powder is normally quite expensive and now it was free. Plus, it seems to be Harry Styles’ favorite.
“We didn’t expect it either,” says Julian Clark (24) this Sunday from behind the coffee machine in the coffee shop on the corner of Weteringstraat in the center. On Thursday, Clark, who has been working there for a year, heard from the owner that they would be giving away all the coffee for free on Friday. Paid for by singer Harry Styles. “His tour manager came here regularly,” says colleague Quirine van der Putte (22). “He thought this was a nice thing.”
It was a thank you to the fans. Because after ten concerts in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, for which fans from all over the world came to Amsterdam from May 16 to June 5, British singer Harry Styles called it a day this weekend. He continues his world tour Together, Together in London and thanked the city where he stayed for three weeks in a full-page advertisement this Saturday Het Parool. That edition with a printed, handwritten letter – “Thank you for having us!” – is now being offered en masse on Marktplaats for tens of euros.
Harry Styles’ handwritten advertisement in Het Parool.
NRC
And in addition, the singer paid for coffee for all customers in two cases on Friday. In Uncommon, near the Vondelpark, where he could regularly be found running, he regularly drank coffee. And Back to Black was the place his crew members often visited. A classic coffee shop with a thick wooden floor and lots of choice.
Not that the Back to Black employees knew about the crew members’ visit. “They had no nameplate around their neck,” says Van der Putte. But she can imagine that they felt at home here. “This café has a bit of a living room atmosphere. Warm, human. Just like Harry Styles himself, and like he also sings: Treat People with Kindness.”
Friday started quietly, but around ten o’clock it became busy. Clark, pointing to the door: “The line of customers stretched far out onto the street.” It went around on social media – “coffee from Harry Styles!” – and soon the place was full of fans from all over the world. “A good atmosphere, but we have never worked so hard.”
The Back to Black employees also received a ticket for the ArenA in the evening. Clark gave it to his nanny and his mother and Van der Putte already had a ticket for the last concert. Somehow she thinks it’s a shame that Harry Styles himself did not visit the coffee shop, but on the other hand: “I would be shaking while pouring and really not knowing what I should have said.”
Clark, smiling: “Harry! Harry!”