De Koffiemolen

De Koffiemolen is the working windmill on the western edge of Formerum and the village's centrepiece. It is a smock mill built in 1876, restored to working order, and ground grain into the 1960s. The miller still raises the sails on most days and the mill is open as a small museum and café — the collection inside includes more than fifty antique coffee mills along with the original milling gear.

The café on the ground floor is famous for its cranberry tart, made with berries grown wild across Terschelling since they were accidentally introduced by a shipwreck in 1845. Stop for a coffee on the terrace, then climb the wooden stairs to see the millstones in motion.

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A story
De Koffiemolen was built in 1876 to grind grain for the bakeries on this part of Terschelling — when it was restored in the 1980s the owner installed a coffee mill collection inside as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Dutch nickname for a smock mill: 'coffee grinder' for the way the body turns on the cap.