01Fresh-ground / Nieuw-West
Naturel Noten & Turkse Koffie ground in-store
Burgemeester de Vlugtlaan 79, Nieuw-West · €
The shop is primarily a nut roastery - pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, dried fruit, Turkish coffee ground to order - but the tahini is what makes the trip. They grind it in-store from roasted sesame. Fresh tahini has a different texture and flavour entirely from the jarred version: looser, nuttier, with no bitter edge. Buy it here if you are ever in Nieuw-West. The Burgemeester de Vlugtlaan is not far from Sloterplas if you are combining trips.
Find on Google Maps →
@naturelnoten on Instagram →
02Jarred / de Pijp & Albert Cuyp
Har Bracha from Mount Gerizim
Mezzave, de Pijp · kosher supermarket, Albert Cuyp · €€
Har Bracha is made near Mount Gerizim, outside Nablus. The sesame is Palestinian-grown, the production small. The tahini is thick, stone-ground, and has none of the thin, slightly bitter quality you get from industrial versions. You can find it at Mezzave in de Pijp - a Middle Eastern grocery and deli - and at the kosher supermarket on Albert Cuyp. If you are already in de Pijp for the market, Mezzave is the stop.
Find Mezzave on Google Maps →
03Lebanese / Zuid
Chtoura Fields Lebanese, Bekaa Valley
Nuri Genco, Rijnstraat 47-49, Zuid · some Turkish shops · €€
A Lebanese tahini from the Chtoura area in the Bekaa Valley. Produced in small batches, stone-ground, with a clean sesame flavour and a good consistency. Available at Nuri Genco on the Rijnstraat and at some other Turkish supermarkets around the city. A solid backup when the fresh-ground version at Naturel Noten is not practical and Har Bracha is out of stock.
Find Nuri Genco on Google Maps →