Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forums

Finally I made it to Groningen last week for a couple of days since intended for a long time. Groningen seems to be a vibrant city with all its young people(most of them are students)and it kind of reminded me of Nijmegen when it comes to this. Unfortunately it was cold and pissed down all week so didn't see much of town but was told it was at least authenic weather for this region and time of year . I used public transport too a lot(as ususal outside of Dam most shops are not nearby each other, more or less). At least something and I did enjoy my stay so much I will most probably return to town and explore more of it .
Quality of coffeeshop wares is similar to the one from Nijmegen, mayhaps a touch better. Also general feel of town. A bit more expenisve at 13€/g maximum perhaps, I didn't expect anything else so most shops and I checked them out all carry the usual classic strains with one or two hazes. Most of them seem to be for picking up and only a few for hanging out and socialising. Due to lots of bars around this makes sense but I don't know much about bars tolerating smoking or not here. Quality in general is average to good I'd say.

So if you're going to Groningen this is a rough guide for all the coffeeshops there(no pictures as always). Can't give comments on other cultural things there but enjoy:

The Clown

Another modern place(located near the small red light district) with a smoking room behind glass walls, providing about 40 seats. And of course a christmas tree . Nonetheless a nice atmosphere and budtender told me to go for their Amnesia Haze(12€/g) as he found the batch to be very nice from personal experience in opposite to the OG Kush I was interested in which just came in new but not so good looking.
Good Amnesia indeed. All wiet here: Power Plant and something else both for 9€/g, Amnesia and OG Kush both for 12€/g. All hasj: cheap Afghan, Pollen, Super Pollen(?, 10€/g)and Skuff(15€). Only 1g bags sold here.

De Dees

Huge shabby place on about three levels. Internet points available but sign at the bar clearly states 'We don't have Wi-Fi, talk to each other' which is a philosophy after my own heart . And what a zeer gezellig place this is with lots of young people and closing quite late(on weekends I was told until 3AM in the morning) with lots of pubs and stuff nearby located in the centre. As said atmosphere is nice and would be my local hangout for socialising. Spent lots of time in there. Again two types of bags here and samples are shown in a separate book for hasj and wiet(you have to ask for speicifically). Nothing very special on but I went for their Gardalla(moroccan, about 8-9€/g)which did the trick nicely.

Drie Master

Same owner and menu as De Dees, place looked average but I think I spotted a billard table in their big smoking section.

The Happy

Average looking place. Same owner and menu as Upper 10.


De Medley

Uninteresting pick-up-only place. Two strains of weed and one of hashish(looked nice enough).

Metamorphose

About twenty seats behind a glas wall and one of the few shops with a verdamper/vaporizer. I kinda liked it in there though.
They do Tostis, too. Budtender also took his time to explain their menu. About seven strains of wiet(e.g. Amnesia, Aztec, Jamaican) and hasj(e.g. cheap Afghan, Gardalla, Algerian[12€]) on there. There was Skuff, too. Charras went for 20€/g but I didn't even take a look.
Prices from 5-12€.
We discussed this hashish supposed to come from Algeria but budtender thought it's just a stupid name and it's from Morocco. Looked and smelt that way so I got a bag of Gardalla(10€/g)which was a bit pricier than De Dees' but also a tad better. Lots of places had this thing on and according to this availability in town and more and more reasonable priced mid grade moroccans with foreign genetics available all over the country makes me think this is a forerunner of things to come. Most probably will replace classic moroccan Super Pollen sooner or later. Also as it's even around now at my neck of the woods as well. Exciting times .
Also got some Aztec(about 10€/g)which was also nice enough in a sativa way.

Raggamuffin

They mostly sell two types of bags.
Wiet they had was Kritikal, OG Kush, Afghan, Amnesia and Jamaican(5€) from 5-11,5€/g. Hasj it was cheap Afghan(6,8€/g), Pollen+ Zero Zero(both dark moroccans)and the Super Pollen(10,50€) I opted for. Was a blonde, tasty and strong enough moroccan.

Place was bright and had a billard table in so in fact decent looking shop but nonetheless you're only allowed to sit down, roll and drink something but not to smoke. Another potential wasted by this tobacco ban regarding coffeeshops .
Girl behind the counter told guy on shift about my desires as she didn't know too much about hasj but he took his time to explain most items on the menu, showing included. Nice selection.

Retro

Fortunately I looked up stuff about Groningen and found this one not listed on the directory here. Shame on you, Lemming . Email is on the way and until then I can say it's quite a famous place in Groningen as one of the best I was told several times.
Nothing super extraordinary on but some OG Kush or Lavender Kush. Also Skuff.

De Stoker

Strictly buy and fly. Weedwise Haze and Skunk and hashwise Marok9 and Pollen on offer. Went for their nice enough latter one on recommendation of the friendly budtender. Again mostly bags for 5 and 10€ available.

Taverne Oasis

Once you entered you immediately realise you kinda stepped out of time as it's such a warm and relaxed atmosphere. I heard years before about this shop and I can see now what all the fuss is about .
I think it's this mix of friendly staff, adequate music(heard Jazz in there), mutual respect and quality gear making such places unique. One of the few places with character like for example De Graal in Amsterdam or Toermalijn in Tilburg just to give you an idea. Only letdown is this shop is quite small(you can compare size to Voyagers in Amsterdam)and I was told since about two months there is this stupid glass wall because of the smoking ban. Such installments kill those types of shops. Hope this place not changes much in the future due to this crap as it's quite busy but never felt much of a rush going on there on the other hand. Not to forget you can sit outside on the patio in front of the shop in summer! Shop opens everyday from 12-7PM and is closed on sundays which says a lot about philosophy of this place in my humble opinion !
Of course I had to return here everyday.

Mostly two bags available, specials only by gram(about ten when it comes to weed, about eight when it comes to hashish. Parvati as their priciest black for like 12,5€ comes to mind by the way).
Afghan Kabul(9,20€/g): only went for it as a first smoke of the day because of the price and look of this soft hash. Also I thought it's one of those good batches going around lately(had nice Afghan hash in The Hague and Arnhem this year, both with the same name tag. Of course this doesn't mean anything but shit as usual but hope dies last sometimes !). Unfortunately it did not much for me. Definitely was no cheap border crap but smell was unfamilier minty. Good stuff I tried before was something else than this.
Spoetnik(blonde moroccan, 10€/g):classic tasting and powerful smoke, more on the stoney side. Recommended.
Crystal White: recommendation of the budtender which was nothing special but nice enough.
Kush(special offer, about 12€/g): forgot about the strain but was clearly smelling and tasting like kush. Nice enough stone as well.
Cru(, special offer, blonde Moroccan, 11,50€/g): reminded me a lot of Tbisla(12€/g) from Tweede Kamer in Amsterdam which is nice and all that but prefered the Spoetnik from here.
K2 Afghan(weed, about 10€/g): One of the few batches I came across in the last years I rate highly. Very nice cure(not bone dry), smell(lemon)and stone. Taste was earthy and lemonlike and clearly tranfered from smell. Pretty much reminded me of some organic homegrown Mazar I was lucky to have a constant supply of for some years(according to similar genetics of both this would be possible). So most probably quite biased here but apart from that really a prime example for outstanding weed in the last years. Next day I wanted to pick up more and it was sold out of course.

Forgot about one other weed and also went for their Zero(moroccan, about 9€/g)which both were nice enough.

Upper 10:

Feels like one of those modern lounges playing electronic music and I could imagine I would go to 'after hour parties' there when I'd be much into electronic music if they would host some . Quite a sterile atmosphere here and rundown but they had a christmas tree .
Guy advised me on some Pollen(moroccan) for about 7-8€/g which was nice enough. Rest of the menu consisted of the usual suspects. Two types of bags with no prices per gram stated which I noticed on other menus in town.Seedy! Don't get me wrong I asked for prices and was told weights . Not my idea of business but seems spirit of age with all those youngsters just not buying per gram but euro.

Vliegende Hollander and Reykjavik both belong to the same owner. As far as I can remember the only place weighing in front of you for 5€ minimum. You can only buy not smoke here! About eight strains of weed and seven hashes available(including Skuff).
Went for a bag of Jack Flash and Bubblegum on advice and found them to be good enough.

Last but definitely not least as I like to see other places while in certain areas I ventured out to Hoogezand which only is fifteen minutes away. Would be rude not to. Glad I did and reviews for the main page are on their way. All I can say yet is that moroccan owned coffeeshop A7's only hash isn't anything less than excellent in my books! High grade very dark and pungent smelling moroccan with foreign genetics for 8,5€/g, didn't find better in Groningen for this price ! Special thanks here to Dim of the reviews section from the main site as I only went there because of his recommendation so thank you for this and your others in the past !
Too went to the other one in this small town, The Happy Family B.V., which is another reason for quitting your day job and moving to Hoogezand as such a well furnished place with a garden as big as Toermalijn's in Tilbug(not so green though but still great)is another big plus . So I suggest everyone to get stocked up on hashish at A7 and if not staying there probably having a nice time in The Happy Family B.V. or smoking their nice enough gear!
Attention both shops are only opened from 1:30-11:00PM every day!

Thanks Jesscass. Really enjoyed the read, you write and describe your experiences so well . Now I have to visit again, but this time for longer. Probably 4 or 5 years since I was there and I was on a cycle trip so only really spent 2 evenings there, not enough. I was singing Groningens praises the other day to Fat_old_dwarf who also likes to get about outside of Amsterdams gravity field. Perhaps one day we can have a T&T there, would be nice.

Thanks Spidergawd. First I was thinking what you were on about with describing my experiencies so well as I find my style relatively dry, informal and disposable(and this is no lame fishing for compliments but a fact )but then it dawned on me. I'm not doing trip reports usually but compared to my few other ones this is a bit more personal.
Apart from that I don't have the time working on my skills for some reasons as for example only this simple write up(compared to those story like travelogues around here )already took ages(including one failed attempt of uploading before the same day and a loss of text) .
However my approach then is always giving the reader a rough guide to some not so famous areas(originally in my lost text version this was mentioned, I edited this)as I'm not so much into the usual cultural stuff but find it more interesting to interact with natives as it's so much more meaningful .

While preparing for the trip I read a bit about your adventures there and hope you and FatOldDwarf can get there . I agree in my humble opinion if someone wants to see real dutch culture and stuff a trip outside of Amsterdam is essential as lots of capitals all over the world only give you a light feeling about a culture for some reasons. Yes, a toke&talk meeting would be wonderful then but better not count on me there(only interact with natives of course )for some reasons but I wish you guys a lot of fun, enjoy !

Attention please: I also edited coffeeshop Retro(as a few other things) which also got lost during my first attempt!

Thanks for taking the time to report Jess,
Oasis seems to be the place to chill if your living in Gro.

Always reading your feedbacks and recommendation (way before i joined, been years now )
you done so many city's your a great reporter for the whole Nl scene.

Cheers for the kind words, WLow. Yes, you're right I covered almost all bigger towns(as some not so big ones)yet but when it comes to travelling through the Netherlands Epsilon on here definitely deserves a mention(thank you so much !)as he immediately springs to mind thinking about reports and stuff outside of Dam ! No stupid competition though as we seem to have a different approach ! Believe it or not but despite the fact I'm not so much after sights outside of Amsterdam I'm not really looking for the holy grail of fuck knows(wouldn't mind finding it though )for some reasons but for getting rid of the hustle and bustle of everyday life and its routines. Otherwise would have stopped already as it would be too boring and disappointing eargly looking for the cream of the crop as quality decreased a lot in recent years everywhere in this country as pointed out numerous times before. BlahBlahBlah

Great stuff. I've been to Leeuwarden, and always wondered about the road not taken (the train splits at Zwolle). After talking to Spidergawd and reading this, I'm even more determined to get to Groningen someday. This summer, perhaps?

Great report Jesscass thanks for that
I never was in Groningen or in that area of the Netherlands... after reading your report you activate my desire to travel around Nl

Jesscass wrote:for getting rid of the hustle and bustle of everyday life and its routines

That's exact the same with me Maybe at the beginning of smoking I was searching for the best shit around... for me now travelling around Nl is a nice way to relax from my Job and so on... especially when travelling solo I enjoy the peace and come down from the stress of life

Maybe I make a "short" trip around NL later this year maybe in summer... Groningen would be nice because I never was in that area and with your report I have a nice advisor Also Hoogezand would be on my list

Jesscass wrote:Lots of places had this thing on and according to this availability in town and more and more reasonable priced mid grade moroccans with foreign genetics available all over the country makes me think this is a forerunner of things to come. Most probably will replace classic moroccan Super Pollen sooner or later.

yeah I saw moroccans with foreign genetics more and more in the Nl, too. It's nice to have some good potent hash for a good price widely available but hopefully they also save the classic genetics.

Thanks again for the report Jesscass and keep it up!

@FatOldDwarf

Thank you! Did you say Zwolle ? If you stop by I can recommend coffeeshop Het Binnenhof there, especially for easy going atmosphere! Enjoy! Never been to Leeuwarden yet.

@Marok21

Thank you, mate! You know we both and others also enjoy classic moroccans and are quite aware of this development but time will tell!

Nice it inspired you. Haven't been to this area before, too. Indeed, that's why I chose it. Yes, I can imagine you'd like Hoogezand ! By the way if you're passing The Hague on your tour you should definitely pay coffeeshop Seventh Planet a visit, beside the usual suspects! Similar set up as in Hoogezand, means I remembered I found some insane quality there like four years ago as their best(moroccan guys there had three varieties though), 'Hia-Hia'(sp), also went for 8,5€/g and was one of the best smokes I ever had(eggs back then). Although I returned there every year quality never was the same again but always very reasonably priced! Quality in Hoogezand according to the reviews seems to be kind of stable, too.

This tour is a good idea especially as in my experience you can travel through the Netherlands quite easily as no town is more than two hours away from each other as it's such a small country(no offence intended)! Enjoy !

Nice report, enjoyed reading it even tho it had no pictures

Maybe its time to go and check out groeningen

@Black-King

Cheers!

Finally I managed to write this up. Went back to Groningen as planned mid of July. General feel of town was a lot more calm than before most probably as there was semester break so lots of young people weren't around. At the mid of the trip we rented some bikes from Centraal Station which was quite fun even though feel bad about traffic safety but on the other hand it's not driving a car which is a serious irresponsibility.
We had a couple of sidetrips and all in all a nice stay again. Updated title of thread. Enjoy and if you find any hidden pictures let me know.

Upper 10

See here viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23011 , Rest In Peace, Upper 10!

De Vliegende Hollander

Since I'm a sucker for cheese I went for something of this and think a kush. Both around 10-12€/g. Not special at all but did the trick.

The Happy

Went for Polm Zero(10€/g) and my alltime favourite haze I just can't get enough of which is Amnesia. Two size of bags available. Both nothing to complain about but of course go for the nice moroccan. Wanted to give that place a go since Upper 10 closed down. Vibe was ok enough with only locals. Medium sized. Think they also had a billard table but not too sure on that one.
Asked budtendress aboaut Upper 10 and ownership and she surprisingly replied they don't have the same owner but supplier. Nice one !

De Medley

Finally tried their only moroccan hash(not more than 9€/g )which was nothing special at all but still good enough. Worth a try.

De Dees

Didn't buy anything just hanging out as usual but atmosphere was quite dead this time as only locals were hanging around. Still nice people and staff but it really was a change from last time. Especially makes you realise how fucked up and rundown that place is . Though they had a little patio open at the back.

Metamorphose

Didn't buy anything either but was hanging around as much as at De Dees and chatted to tenders and locals.
They had a patio with a couple of tables and chairs in front of the shop. Nice one.

Taverne Oasis

Of course also went here everyday but didn't buy much due to very similar menu like last time. Made it our first stop of the trip and had my first smoke here after a consume break of two weeks prior(always do this for holidays as want to judge strains proper strengthwise; before that didn't smoke much too as am an occassional consumer anyway)and it did me good like last time! Unfortunately not hard hitting enough but what else do I expect from moroccan hashish ? Agree on 'diep stoned' written on the menu and like that moroccan grade, lovely!
Also had 'Zweef'(12€/g, didn't read that word since ages, 'Skuff')which was nothing special, some what ever it was called Kush(about 11-12€/g)and Santa Maria(around 9€/g) as an other house strain(about 8€/g?) recommended by the budtenders.
All were good enough but rather grotty looking buds. They say their stuff is organic grown and it
does the trick tastewise but not that impressive from look. Bet organic just means 'soil grown' which
I often thought when it comes to coffeeshop weed of the last years .
Nonetheless I again had a nice time here and sat on the patio which was the only reason returning to
Groningen. Mission completed . By the way there is a nice place to have a bite down the road, http://www.cafetariafrietvanpiet.nl/ .

Retro

This time had 'Jack Flash'(11€/g)which was one of the best smokes in Groningen but not too special in itsself.

However, we decided to hit Leeuwarden since heard and read a lot beforehand. Special thanks to Epsilon, Spaldwickapeface, Bocco, Spidergawd and Fat_Old_Dwarf for inspiration.
Definitely return at some point since we had a great and interesting daytrip! Went to all shops to get a feel of town since only silly fools visit museums and other cultural crap in foreign countries instead of pubs one wise man once said but of course don't take him too serious on that . What I found worth mentioning is that a couple of shops open from 8AM to 3AM all week(and a few to 2AM), in general they're opened relatively late like in Amsterdam(1AM maximum!), even longer as stated. That says something about the town's politics regarding coffeeshops, nice (still no one beats De Apotheker in Eindhoven opened until 4AM on weekends ; only opened from 12:00 though).

De Vriendschap

Didn't make any friends there but tender was friendly and recommended their classic Hia(10€/g)which was
good enough! They only had two strains weedwise and two moroccans. Dark, small and basic place with a few couches in the back.

De Kikker I was told is closed and Africa(near their what seems only bordello)we found closed with shutters down.

Miami

Eight strains of weed on offer and two versions of shake. About four to five moroccans and one Afgahn. Seems you can't smoke at the floor where you buy your wares but upstairs where are about 20 seats provided.
Asked for their best hash and dutch guy on shift told me they have the best in town no one gets because their owners come from Morocco. What ever that means ! Went for it and then upstairs. There we played some boardgames with locals and had a very nice stay ! After a few hits of the hash(10€/g, also named 'Hia' I think) I had to admit that tender wasn't too wrong about it. Adequate mix of high and stoned while delivering classic moroccan taste. Best hashish for 10€/g in town that day! Recommended.


De Os

Of course this was a must see! Bright and airy medium sized place on two levels with about fifty to sixty seats. Ground floor there was a smoking room with just one of these inviting big tables beside the bar area where you are only allowed to smoke pure and buy your wares(also displayed behind glass).
On the first level there is another one beside other options of seats. Sort of arty feel when it comes to decoration and stuff! Spontaneously and hilariously reminded me of coffeeshops Zero Zero(no big fan though)in Arnhem and even Heaven of 69(nice place for hanging out) in Maastricht. Not sure if anyone can relate though ! Could also get away with being described as a gallery.
Mostly spent our time chatting to the tenders while blazing away our purchases. Only shop we returned to twice this day for good reason, agree a top place!

Menuwise they had six strains of weed, three moroccans, one nepalese, one kashmir(16€?/g)and 'Cream'(16€/g)as 'Manali'(16€/g). Got some moroccan(8,5€) for taste as recommended by the budtendress which was good enough classic gear but their classic 'Hia'(10€/g)was better.
Miami's on the other hand was a touch better in my humble opinion.
Curious about the Cream which I thought was of moroccan descent of an other genepool but all budtenders asked on that day were not sure about it, they were saying 'probably from Nepal'.
Had some arguments in a very funny way there, classy people ! Only to find out the next day as a wake and bake taste- and effectwise it's probably(clear as fuck) indeed a damn Nepalese . Remember we even compared it side-by-side on look and smell with their Manali which is excellent high grade too but please still keep them away from me. Could have sworn it was one of these moroccan hashes with nepalese respectively indian background I had from Kadinsky or Original Dampkring(some batches of 'Sensabille' if remembered correctly). Not regret anything though about visiting this fine place, quite the opposite !

Eenhorn

Uninteresting place. Two strains of wiet as of hasj. Their best was some good enough looking moroccan polm for like 10€ for about 1.5g or a smilar value thing. Same street as:

American

This sort of small shop having a theme, embarassing(De Pinguin in Arnhem used to have one too back in the day). Always wonder what silly names and stuff are around, especially nations . Apart from decoration there were fifteen to twenty seats in this small place.
Again we're not there for any crap but drugs and socialising so they had nine strains of wiet with 'Diamond Haze'(12€/g) being their best. Hashish was moroccan, a cheap one and 'Hia'(8,5€/g)and 'Super Hia'(9,5€/g).
Latter one was my choice(somehow I think we also went for the Diamond Haze which looked good enough but not sure on that one, most probably though as my mate enjoys smoking every now and then and we had a few wiet purchases that day)and also recommended by the friendly young budtender who was weighing in front of us was a nice human being.
Also had a little chat with us. Quality was fine with this blackish moroccan with foreign genetics(Afghani or Paki would be my guess), similar to the 'Gardellas'(sp)around for some time(as 'Amnesia Cream' from Utopia just to give you an idea. Sort of marginally differences in my humble opinion with those type of batches.)which isn't too special anymore but easily the best hashish strength- and pricewise on that day in this price range. So special prize for 'best foreign genetics' as you anally can't compare them to the classic ones around that day. Am I a fair judge or what?

Downstairs

Small to medium sized shop on two levels with about thirty seats including billard table.
Seven strains of wiet like Jack Herer, Amnesia, S5. Three moroccans(best 8,5€/g), one Lebanese and Nepal as one Kashmir(11€/g), also classic crappy Afghan for 5€/g. One moroccan 'Creme' and one 'Gardella'.
Old budtendress made me smile when approached on their two outdoor wiet offers 'Only have the one from the greenhouse as the other one isn't harvested yet at that time of the year' , which is real talk to me as I always wondered why some shops carry outdoor strains all year(of course it's obvious how they manage to do so and am cool with that). Just look at Repeltsteeltje! So went for the greenhouse version(about six to seven euro a gram)which was decent enough. Also got me a bag of 'Lebanese'(under 7€/g) which was a nice enough moroccan hash tastewise .


Liberty

Originally was 'Sacramento' but seemed owners have changed. Small darker shop with about 15-20 seats. Two size of bags available here. One well informed local we talked to along the way told us among other things about town it's linked to some moroccan family and worth a try. Tender surprisingly came up with it's the best in town. Which it is for about 8,5€/g ! Not extraordinary though, classic moroccan.
By the way I really don't appreciate such exaggerations. Like this advertisement of Voyagers with their only moroccan hashish, 'extreme high quality[...]perfection[...]dangerous high' or that friendly but sort of overdoing chubby guy around since ages at Original Dampkring tending to give you a showcase when buying overpriced gear there, they can piss off !
Had Voyager's in the past and it was a nice enough quality considering their location but far from being extreme. Always imagine some people going there taking it for real and telling their friends 'I went to Amsterdam and
had some extreme high quality moroccan hash at Voyagers'. Pissing myself laughing! Sad thing is all those adverts work with teasing the recipient at least. A seller is never a friend it's all about money though. Sale in itsself has a lot to do with hypocrisy and ripping you off to some degree.
Rant over.

De Zone

Reminded me of a classic dutch 'bruin cafe', small to medium sized. Eight strains of wiet and five of hasj. Their best hash was 10€/g, moroccan.

Utoop

Had a bar-like feel here, about thirty seats. Same street as Repelsteeltje where we wanted to take a look after this. When looking at the menu they had ten sorts of hashish mostly moroccan. About five to six strains of weed from 7,5€ to 11,5€/g( 'Afghan Kush').
Asked for their best moroccan hash and was shown 'Blondy'(10€/g) which looked nice but also spotted 'Tropicana'(or 'Tropical' not sure anymore, 10,5€/g)also on the menu and asked if it's also of moroccan lineage. Which budtender agreed with and also came up with 'It's the best hash in town, very rare' which made me laugh while telling him 'That's a statement, mate!'. He still insisted that it's the best in town(budtenders in this town seem to be very self-confident ). Guy was polite enough but clearly confused when asked questions, experiencied that type of budtender a lot outside of tourist areas. Just saying.
We went in the back and gave it a go myself. Now that was something else ! It immediately cut through the fog of already consumed moroccan hashish(which at that point only got me slightly high anymore), at least a couple of grams already which is nothing special but checked back on that since I take tolerance issues dead serious, always use the same amount for consumption in the beginning of trips(also am no poly druggie, wether legal or illegal).
Also the two days before I already had built up a tolerance fast(its getting faster and faster over the years while still only an occasional smoker)and was exclusively smoking hash as only start with weed at the end of trips usually. Had nothing to do with my form of the day or lack of food either as the stuff smoked before was mostly good moroccan hashish, too.
This one had an instant head high and a strong body stoned. It didn't knock me sideways(what I always hope for)though but again it was particulary strong. Reminded me a bit of Fat_Old_Dwarf's post about Tweede's 'C3 Pioneer Bloc' viewtopic.php?f=5&t=40&p=391745&hilit#p391745 .
Hash is quite blonde almost yellowish, loosely pressed if at all and falling apart immediately more or less when touching, powder-like consistency. Fluffing up nicely but not too dry. Like Skuff. It also smells like indoor weed in a fruity way. In fact even similar to Triple X(26€/g) from damn Barney's and 'Quad'(25€/g)from great De Graal on that one. Poor comparison but on the other hand both were better processed but this hash here was way more potent and nothing else matters in the end for me . Smell was tranfered good to taste also. Also fully melted away when touched with a flame. Too bad I forgot my pocket microscope at home.
Finally this was hash stronger than the average weed; not like classic moroccans which can't compete with average indoor weed no matter what quality. Always found that sad with moroccans while I still dig them but in theory hashish is a concentrate which should be stronger than weed. Basic knowledge! Theory and practise though!
Still think farmers in Morocco or elsewhere could improve their skills as their high grade products; what they're doing at the minute with lots of strains from the dutch genepool but am talking about selecting their own traditional genepool(landrace)for some superior mothers while crossing the best specimens. Also better methods of dry sifting required then; would make an even more competitive product. Afraid this is only wishful thinking though as it would mean loads of work to be done and have a feel their stupid philosophy is 'time is money'. Hope dies last and all that!
After consumption I thought that guy on shift had no clue and sold me skuff. As suggested had a feel he didn't have deeper knowledge. When leaving I got me another bag for further testing and asked if it's really from Morocco as it looks like Skuff to me. He again said it's from there and something I haven't heard for a long time(classic moment not too important here ).
After some days had another try after smoking several strains of wiet and hasj just before it the very same day(which didn't got me high anymore at all due to damn tolerance) and it still cut through them remarkably(not as strong as before as you just can't cheat on tolerance yet but still noticeable). Still gave me a bit of a punch as a wake and bake on my last day. Quite impressed and its origin was something I was pondering about all of the trip.
So it's either quite good Skuff or indeed moroccan hashish with foreign genetics like the stuff Boerejongens and Tweede sold a lot in the last months. Last one is quite possible as I probably was only that amazed because I never found any of that type of hash outside of Amsterdam or Haarlem yet. So a particular change to the classic moroccans around, even though they were quality too mostly. Who knows?
Also strengthwise it stood out from what I've seen in the last years when it comes to imports, impressed to say the least. As said had a couple of so called 'bloc hashes' from Boerejongens and Tweede, also 'Shoreline Ltd' and 'Tangerine G13 Bloc'(20€/g) but they were not on that level strengthwise. Thinking about it back at home the closest thing was 'C5 Noor'(16€/g)at Original Dampkring a couple of months back which had a similar strong effect. Considering Marok21's latest reports on it I had the blonde version. Also similar in look in fact, there is a picture in Pengaldinho's latest report, viewtopic.php?f=10&t=32488#p395433 .

At Taverne Oasis I gave older budtender who smokes mostly imports the blind test when asking him what he thinks of it. He replied it looks good. Then I told him its supposed to be hashish from Morocco while it really reminds me of Skuff. After that he tells me: 'It looks like Tropicana we had a while back on the menu.' Yes !
I confirmed this and he said back then he thought like me but it is from Morocco. Nice to see someone else was impressed.
Special prize for this mysterious hash! Will take a closer look next time in the Dam at Boerejongens although am not a big fan.
Funnily a couple of days after returning got my hands on some Skuff from a homegrown production supposed to be 50µg(it's all about size of trichomes though!) which had a similar look and feel but more or less only was strong body affair effectwise.

Repelsteeltje

Same street as Utoop. Another must see on my list for Leeuwarden. Medium to big sized establishment here, if remembered right on three floors. When you enter you go downstairs to purchase. What I found amazing was the fact you still can buy psychoactive truffels there, they consider themselves a smartshop, too.
At the bar you can't consume but get your wares. Their weed menu I found nothing to write home about(well...), think took a look at the hash but wasn't better than anything I saw before that day(last stop here more or less).
Was happy to find two outdoor strains listed though which I bought a pre-packed bag from each(you see Reepelsteeltje is probably one shop offering outdoor magically all year. Or do they have a secret method allowing them to just harvest earlier
than others ?) Both about 7-8€, one was a purple strain. On recommendation of the friendly budtendress, we had a chat with.
Also recommended as quality was indeed nice !
Bit of a disappointment though as I expected something different judging by the reviews read prior to the trip. Maybe I should give it a go at the weekends; that early evening during the week was quite calm. I wouldn't agree with 'elegant' either, could be but with a closer look it's more of an ageing thing(some people might want to kill me but to some degree the place reminded me of coffeeshop Het Binnenhof in Zwolle which I like)but can understand that point of view when compared to other uninspiring shitholes. Nonetheless a nice shop and atmosphere though and worth a visit.

Flower Power

Bright medium sized shop with a billard and football table. They're a chain it seems as under same management as Hofnar in Harlingen and Heaven in Sneek. Both I haven't been to yet so interested so see their(similar? same?)menu. Friendly budtendress welcomed us and let us have a look. What I remember was Silver Haze, AK47, White Rhino I guess, Critical, Lemon, about ten strains of wiet. Hash was like Yellow Lebanese, Nepal and their best moroccan 'Intense'(about 10€/g) which was unfortunately sold out but she told us they were actually waiting for a refill so was shown their second best which looked nice enough but we said our farewells and went over the canal to:

Relax

What a lovely rundown little shithole this is . Quite oldschool and basic, nice! Flipper and football table in here with about thirty seats. Young dutch budtender welcomed us and made us feel comfortable immediately. After telling him what I was after he told us this establishment is owned by a moroccan family offering the best hashish around. In opposite to all the other hypocrites this day he backed this up with a few plausible facts(the ones you tend to convince me with,pst!). Also he mentioned some interesting things about pharmacology and I share the same point of view. Nice ! There were nine strains of wiet including four hazes. Critical Jack is all I can remember though. He recommended 'Mango Haze'(12€/g)and 'Creme'(moroccan, 12,5€/g)and weighted generously even though the stuff was only available pre-packed, nice again!
'Mango Haze' easily can compete with the stuff I had from Katsu a year back and found it nice enough, this batch was better though. Also one of the best on this trip. The Creme was more of a darker moroccan with lovely smell and classic taste, definitely the best in Leeuwarden and also Groningen . Chatted a good bit at the bar before leaving. Definitely recommended and more importantly unexpected find, love such moments !

As said will for sure return to Leeuwarden at some point, agree about a laid back feeling while there but on the other hand Groningen is only one hour away if you fancy some action.

We also made Zwolle and Hoogezand in one day. Former one again went to The New Balance and this time was shown King Hassan(moroccan, 10€/g)and Royal(moroccan, 10€/g)which was a hard decission but bought the Royal which was also the favourite of the budtender. Darker classic moroccan which can rival anything in Groningen . Also purchased a bag of 'Cheese Dog'(11€?/g)on their huge menu(ten strains?) Nice and 'cheesy'! Didn't stay this time in this basic shop but went to Het Binnenhof to smoke our wares. There we got a bag of nice enough Amnesia(forgot price tag, probably because of the excitement finding such a rare strain)and some medium moroccan(about 8€). All pre-packed, too.
It's all about the atmosphere there though for me, also pretty much like a 'bruin cafe'. Wouldn't agree with it's more directed at a younger crowd by the way. Not to forget had a high grade moroccan with foreign genetics in the past here, about 13€/g, which still was on and looking inviting.
After this we went to Hoogezand in the evening to have a look for the second time at A7's only moroccan which wasn't as great as last time but still very good quality for money! Dark and smelling like chocolate respectively cacao, more of an mellow up-high, yes !
The Happy Family we closed down on that day, again went for some random good enough Haze as an alibi. Not too crowded. Unfortunately weather wasn't permitting sitting in the garden for too long but at least we made it. Another stupid mission accomplished!

So that's it. My mate had a camera so we even took photos of almost every shop we came across. Pictures are on their way to Lemming for the main site.

Great write-up, as always, jesscass. Looking forward to the pics. Coincidentally, I had just looked up your Rotterdam reviews, hoping to manage to get out there. Though now my Groningen dreams have been reawakened, as well as the determination to get off at Zwolle for a mini-tour.

Feel almost embarrassed now – I never went into the lovely rundown little shithole that's Relax, probably because it looked that way, but the first time I was in Leeuwarden they claimed to be open till 5am, but it was a lock-in after 3. It may have changed after that. In Repelsteeltje, I still treasure the memory of those idiosyncratically named strains of weed that I've never seen before or since, and were positively trippy. Maybe I hallucinated them.

Very strange with the opening hours, we were sure it was a national regulation, but guess not... Also, truffles in a CS, that viewsIit self as a recruiter shop, only ever heard of that and that was from back in the much less regulated days (90's).

Great report Jess, thanks for taking the time to write it up and share knowledge of places the rest of us would probably never even have heard of before (most of us at least). It is also a pleasure reading reports from someone who apparently enjoy hash as much as we do...

As I've been reading up on Rotterdam, I was slightly surprised to find that Pluto and 4 Floors are also truffle-selling coffeeshops. And almost all their shops are open from 10 to 10, with a few central ones allowed to open until midnight. Only located one early opener so far.

@Fat_Old_Dwarf

Cheers! Accidentally I was thinking the other day about a trip to Rotterdam since it‘s been a while now ; not sure when I will go though. When then reading thread about it I remembered Pluto was also selling those truffeles and really is indeed looking like a headshop, quite uninspiring.
By the way you‘re looking for an early opener there and most probably found Sensi Smile but think they‘re now opened later according to this too viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29362&p=371468& (which I think too you read already, either way just to be sure!).
The New Balance is alone worth the trip to Zwolle. Enjoy!
Agree about the names at Repelsteeltje, most probably the usual suspects just renamed.

@CopenhagenCouple

Welcome to the forum and thanks, also for your report ! Know the 90ies too and think it was a crazy time back then there.
As stated above in a post if you wanna learn about dutch culture a trip to the provinces is essential. Otherwise it‘s like saying you know about Denmark when only been to Copenhagen .
Which is a beautiful place too.
By the way I read you‘re thinking about a thread about it, here‘s one about all people going to Christiania https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewt ... 10&t=14537& which I loved when been there some years back and buying hash was just a bonus.
So please comment this one and/or start your own about Copenhagen. Would like to read your experiencies. Don‘t know about the quality of the last years but back then in 2011 grass there wasn‘t impressive to say the very least so take all your reviews about weed with a sack of salt .
Hashwise it was better but again all about contacts(see review).
Amusing to some point was the fact dealers there were straight to the point and you had the measure of someone. Means it was way more obvious about suppliers than in a fancy average coffeeshop.
Sure coffeeshops are tolerated while Pusher Street is illegal but the fact remains it‘s still supplied and often too owned by a very similar group what people seem to oppress.
Have seen a lot over the years.
Quite into honesty so appreciate it and also buy on the taxfree black market all the time.
Last week I found NotSoFastEddie‘s viewtopic.php?f=74&t=32443 about
this raid at Christiania(Note: first video there is showing ‚Kashmir Moroccan‘ is still on offer which
I appreciate as I had it a lot like last time. Still love the pliers as well for cutting so easy !)and later that week this note of yours about what happened with the last raid and that even Christianiters took the place down.
Hope it gets sorted without any more violence, fingers crossed !

Actually, it was the appropriately named Out of Time that claims to be open from 7. But as a recent review on Google was from a disgruntled would-be customer still waiting after 7.30, this might have changed as well.

The times I've been through Rotterdam in the early hours of the morning, I was surprised at the number of establishments open. Though I'm not sure if they were the place one would want to drink at even if one were keener on drinking than I am.