Hopje

Hopjes (/ˈhɒpjəs/; also referred to as Haagsche Hopjes, hopjes from The Hague) are a type of Dutch sweets with a slight coffee and caramel flavour that originated in the 18th century.

The hopje is named after Baron Hendrik Hop (Breda, 27 October 1723 - The Hague, 29 April 1808) who was Envoy of the States of Holland in Brussels. When the French invaded Belgium and took Brussels in 1792 Hop was recalled to The Hague. He moved into rooms above the confectioners Van Haaren & Nieuwerkerk. He was addicted to coffee and the story goes that one night he left his coffee with sugar and cream on the heater, where it evaporated. On tasting the resulting substance, he loved it.^[1] His doctor advised him not to drink coffee so he asked the confectioner Theodorus van Haaren to make him some "lumps of coffee". After some experimenting, Van Haaren created a sweet made of coffee, caramel, cream and butter. The enthusiastic Baron Hop was keen to let his guests try his what were called 'Hopjes' up from 1880, which quickly gained popularity. Van Haaren's successor eventually even got orders from abroad.^[2]

This made the confectionery house famous far beyond its borders. Exports went to royal houses in Europe and to the tsars in Saint Petersburg. Special tins were produced starting in 1875 for the hopjes destined for the Dutch East Indies.

In 1794, the Nieuwerkerk firm purchased the adjacent house at number 94, and in addition to the shop, there was now also a tea and ice cream parlor; a new concept in The Hague that became very successful. Soon, more tea salons followed, such as Krul on the Noordeinde and Lensvelt Nicola on the Tournooiveld.

In 1924, the firm was converted into a limited liability company. The owner died a year later, and Nieuwerkerk & Zn NV associated itself with the Haagsche Beschuit Bakkerij. Hopjes were produced again, which were then called Geni-hopjes.