Noëlle Lian Meis is truly unique and in a league of her own since she couldn´t wait to start working, and she did as early as she could, at the age of 15! She used to work seven jobs at once (!), and left a teaching degree behind after burnout pushed her to focus on what gave her energy: making great coffee and connecting with people.
Since stepping into specialty coffee in 2019, Noëlle earned a reputation for care, skill, and straight-up hustle! From a 5th place at the 2024 Dutch Barista Championship, winning multiple throwdowns, to having her own column in a coffee magazine, she’s made a cosy space for herself – and others – in the industry. She now balances freelance work, training baristas, and pouring shots at Dagger Coffee, writing and competing on various stages.
Read on to discover why Noëlle loves the lunch rush, how competition helped her grow, and why being enthusiastic about coffee is more than enough <3
Noëlle, what is your first memory with coffee?
On birthdays, my parents always took out their filter machine from the storage, and I can still hear the sound of the machine sputter when it’s ready. I could serve my cakes as well. Or heating milk in the microwave and foaming it with a French press. Cutting out hearts of paper to make a heart with cinnamon for my mom. I get warm feelings when I think of those cosy moments, and a little disgusted by the thought of the smell of burnt milk…
But my most vivid memory is that 10-year-old me made my mom a HUGE papier mache cappuccino mug for Sinterklaas (a holiday here in the Netherlands). And since I am very, very clumsy out of enthusiasm, my dad and I thought of this genius plan to put a bag with broken old porcelain in the surprise. So when I gifted the surprise, I pretended to trip, and it would sound like my mom’s presents were completely shattered. We got her good, tho!
What inspired you to pursue a career in the coffee industry, and how did you get started? What did you do before coffee?
From a really young age, I really, really wanted to work. But here in the Netherlands, you have to wait till you’re 15. So as soon as I turned 15, I started working in restaurants. I’ve always noticed that people get extremely happy with coffee. So when I moved to a new city for my bachelor’s degree in primary school teaching, I started working at a bagel and coffee shop. I loved working so much that at some point I had seven jobs, couldn’t keep up anymore and ended up having a burnout. I was told only to do things that gave me energy, so I decided to focus on my barista shifts and quit my studies.
I did end up applying for a new study at the same time, but something that would help me in this field. Ending up having the worst time at my internship and after graduation, decided that I wanted to freelance and NOT work for a boss. I also made up an Instagram with two of my friends called dekoffiemeisjes (the coffee girls). That’s how we started meeting a lot of coffee professionals in the Netherlands. And that’s also how I ended up applying (since this roaster guy I was in love with told me I had to apply at this very specific café in Utrecht), and that turned out to be the best match ever, the café, not the boy.
That roastery is Dagger Coffee, and since I started working there, I think I have finally seen my career as a ‘grown-up job’, and Dagmar, the owner, has supported me so well these last few years. So now I balance between my freelance work, duties in the café and competing.
Tell us a bit more about your work and projects.
At Dagger Coffee, I am a barista and team trainer. Dagger has three locations, two are in a shared office building and one is a cosy cafe just outside the city centre of Utrecht. At all locations, we do coffee and brunch. So I do barista, kitchen and service shifts and sometimes combinations of those. And I am also responsible for staff training.
I also freelance in coffee. For the past three years, I have been mostly doing barista shifts at events and cafes. But since the start of this year, I have been doing the coffee quality control at Anne&Max and home barista trainings. I don’t have that much time anymore for barista shifts.
I co-host dekoffiemeisjes, which is basically a way for me to stay in contact with the Dutch coffee community. I love to share stories through video or photos. It’s not that we are influencers, but I also see this as part of my job, since it helps me network as well.
And… Starting in August, I’ll be having a column in a Dutch coffee paper called Café Courant. Where I’ll be sharing my adventures in coffee. (Feels like I just gave a big scoop here!)
What kind of experience do you want your guests to have when they try your coffee?
I just want them to feel cosy, seen and welcome. So I love to work at places where I can serve tasty coffees, where, as a barista, I can enjoy dialling in the coffee. And I love to have personal contact with my guests, so whether it’s a 3-minute order and go or a long brunch, I think service is one of the things I enjoy the most. And for me, it’s through coffee.
I think that a lot of Dutchies are still used to not-so-tasty coffees. And I love it when I can make that one thing, coffee, that you just drink just like you would drink water, more special. Just by putting more effort into preparing a tasty drink, but also in the way it’s served.
What is your favourite part of the day at work, and why?
Definitely lunch rush. Since then, it feels like a game to me, how to make it all work: give good service, make good coffee, don’t make people wait too long and make them feel like they are the main focus, and… all of that is created by great teamwork. I mean, that’s the greatest feeling in the world!
How do you stay motivated and inspired to keep improving your coffee-making skills?
Keep in contact with others in the industry. Learn from other coffee professionals, go to events, go to cafes, listen to the needs of your guests, work at different shops, sign up for classes, participate in throwdowns, and participate in the SCA championships. Just connect <3
What are some common misconceptions about our industry that you’ve encountered, and how do you address them?
In the Netherlands, working in hospitality is still mostly done by students. Especially coffee is quite an underrated product. Most specialty coffee baristas are perceived as snobby, and for some time, I understood that since on a daily basis I needed to prove that I have a “real job”. For me, the biggest achievement is to not care anymore what others think of my job, not try to prove myself and just have a lot of fun. Because everyone says that you need to make your passion your job, and when you do so, you should feel good about that.
Also, because barista work is mostly done by students, it is easy to get underpaid. It’s necessary to know your value and demand that. For me, openly talking about taboos like money really helped me to understand my value. I think it’s so important to help each other with this. This way we can make it work to nurture our passion!
What are the current trends in cafes in your region? Are there any trends you promote yourself and would like to see more often in other places?
Transparency about the pricing of coffee. Even in the national media, they try to point out what’s happening and why prices are going up. I feel like they just show the tip of the iceberg. I love that a lot of roasteries in the Netherlands try to give a little more information. Also national media is only pointing out the problems, I like that specialty also focusses op good practices. At Dagger, we make a yearly transparency report. I would love to see that more often at other roasteries as well.
You have some amazing achievements in championships. Can you tell us more about them? What are the next championships you’d like to compete in?
Thanks! Still feel like a baby in the competition world. After doing two years of smaller competitions like latte art throw downs and AeroPress championships. I decided to join the Dutch Barista Championship in 2024 for the first time and got 5th. Still really proud of that. I think I grew the most as a barista in that time, but it was also really overwhelming.
Since I feel like a baby barista, I made myself train 3 nights a week, aside from my 7-day workweek (since I was still growing in my freelance work). After that, I really needed a break, so I stepped back a bit to the background and coached Isabelle, who participated for the first time. She became 3rd (!!!).
This year, I want to learn something new, so I signed up for the Dutch Latte Art Championships 2026. I am excited for learning a new discipline and the search for who I am as an artist as well. I love to do crafts in my spare time, so how amazing it is to combine that with coffee. This competition feels like more of a new hobby than even more focus on my work. I feel like Latte Art Championships is something where I can start competing again, and learn a whole new discipline. Since these kinds of patterns are not what you would pour on a normal shift.
What is in your opinion the most important thing to have in mind when you start to compete in coffee championships?
For me, competing is not about winning or prizes. Every time I start any competition, it’s because I want to learn something for myself. So I started with latte art throw downs to learn new patterns and get more consistent in it.
Last year, for AeroPress, I wanted to learn more about the effect water has on coffee, so I bought the Lotus water drops and started experimenting with that. And this year I’m joining as many throw downs again since my shakes whilst pouring under pressure are too much. So I want to try out a few calming exercises. So far, I think taking a breath and turning away from the public helps. But I want to learn to face the audience and stay relaxed.
After the Barista Championship, I felt really hurt by the judges’ report. They basically said that my energy was chaotic and that it felt unprofessional. And since that already is my struggle (people often find me nice/cute but never cool or fierce) I really wanted to change that. I am really enthusiastic, but I don’t want to look childish. I’ve been working for the past 1,5 years on my appearance as a barista. Stay calm and excited, and hopefully the next competition works out.
Oh, and I loveeeee doing competitions in teams, like Crush the Rush! We absolutely crushed the 2024 edition with a team who never worked together but all felt the same energy. I feel like we can learn so much from each other. We also had a throwdown in Amsterdam some time ago where you had to sign up in teams. I did that with Jesse Fook, Rebecca and Indra, and we crushed that as well since in the weeks before we sent each other challenges every week. We really looked at each other’s latte art and tried to recreate it as best as possible. I think that was my peak in latte art!
So long story short:
I think it’s important to have a reachable goal in mind. Something that excites you. Then a competition can only be fun, since looking back, you can be the judge of your improvement. And for me, the professional judges’ reports can help you set up new goals.
If there were one piece of knowledge about coffee you’d like everyone to know, what would that be?
If you don’t enjoy your coffee, don’t try the same again. Maybe consider brewing it differently or try new beans. If you enjoy a cup of coffee at a cafe, ask your barista what and how they brewed it. Get to know your flavour, a good cup of coffee should also be nice and warm or even cold.
Maybe even better warm since your tastebuds can taste more when coffee is cooled down (that’s why shi*ty coffees still taste kind of okayish when steaming hot). And also your wallet will love you, for me, I can enjoy a good cup of coffee way longer than a shi*ty coffee. I only drink one or two cups a day.
What coffee challenges are you looking forward to? Any new projects or collaborations?
This year feels extra special, since I just got a permanent contract at Dagger Coffee. This way, I know I have at least 4 days covered. It gives me more freedom to work on my freelance passion projects, like doing quality control at the franchise chain, joining the nationals on latte art and writing columns. I just had a call today for a new collaboration for dekoffiemeisjes. So I’m also really excited for how that’s gonna turn out! So far, we have sometimes got some PR packages but never really collaborated long-term with a company.
Quick Fire Questions for Noëlle Lian Meis:
Filter coffee or espresso-based?
Filter coffee.
Milk coffee or black coffee?
Milky (but not in the filter, though).
The most underrated coffee drink?
Iced dirty chai
The most underrated coffee brewer?
French press.
Hobby besides coffee?
Singing, writing poems and reading romance novels.
The number one place in Europe that every coffee geek should visit?
Favourite city outside your own for a coffee tour?
I think that might be Rotterdam since there are a lot of different specialty cafes and roasters there, and the people are nice. Sometimes specialty coffee baristas can be a bit high and mighty or focus on a certain concept. But I feel like in Rotterdam, everyone just does their thing, and I love that. I feel like there is more personality and passion overall in Rotterdam.
