La Independencia

Bonne Postma, a Q Instructor who has visited coffee producing regions extensively, and Rob Kerkhof, both regarded as legends in the Dutch barista community, founded Keen Coffee in December 2015 together with experienced roasters Jan and Tosca Schuitemaker of CoffeeXperts, launching the brand publicly at the Amsterdam Coffee Festival in March 2016. The operation was one of the first roasters in the Netherlands to work with a Loring roaster, installing a 30 kilogram machine that allowed for the clean, controlled profiles that became the Keen signature, and all coffee is roasted to order rather than held in stock. Originally based in the small harbour town of Enkhuizen north of Amsterdam, the company relocated to Utrecht in 2019 after parting ways with the Schuitemakers, and now operates a flagship on the Ganzenmarkt with views of Utrecht's town hall and a separate roastery in Dronten. Keen developed its own custom flavor wheel to help customers explore coffee flavors without relying on industry jargon, and runs an education program spanning green coffee purchasing lessons, roasting courses, coffee preparation training, and hospitality workshops at the roastery. The name Keen derives from keenly learning about coffee, a commitment to continuous education that extends from the founders' own direct trade journeys, including their first direct purchase from a farmer in Brazil, through to every subscription box and bag that carries the tagline Explore Taste Repeat.