☕ Coffee Around the World: Netherlands ☕
This cache is NOT at the posted coordinates. Solve the puzzle below to reveal the final coordinates.
🇳🇱 ☕ A Dutch Brew of History ☕🇳🇱
The Netherlands played a huge role in the global story of coffee — and not just in how it’s served, but how it spread.
In the 1600s, the Dutch were at the heart of world trade through the Dutch East India Company (VOC). By 1696, they had smuggled a few small coffee plants out of Yemen and planted them on the island of Java in what is now Indonesia. When the plants flourished, the Dutch became the first Europeans to cultivate coffee on a large scale.
From Java, the plants spread throughout the East Indies, then to Suriname and eventually the Caribbean — even giving us one of coffee’s enduring nicknames: a cup of Java.
Amsterdam quickly became one of the first cities in Europe where ordinary people could enjoy a cup of coffee outside their homes. By the early 1700s, coffeehouses buzzed with merchants, sailors, and intellectuals.
The Dutch also influenced how coffee was traded and taxed, shaping the early economics of caffeine. Even today, the port of Rotterdam remains one of the largest coffee import hubs in Europe.
At the same time, the Netherlands cultivated a home coffee tradition that values strength, simplicity, and conversation. Whether it’s “koffie verkeerd” (literally “coffee wrong” — their name for coffee with milk) or a rich, black “bakkie troost” (“cup of comfort”), the Dutch cup remains a symbol of hospitality.
But the Dutch weren’t only pioneers in coffee… they also helped inspire a revolution in cryptography.
🔐 The Code of Coffee 🔐
The Enigma machine has become one of the most iconic encryption devices in history. While it’s best known for its German military use during World War II, the original patent was developed by Dutch engineers for secure banking communications. The Dutch invented the rotor-based cipher machine that was the precursor to the Enigma machine, with two naval officers developing the concept in 1915. The German Arthur Scherbius later patented a similar machine and bought the patent from the Dutch, leading to the development of the German Enigma machine, which was used extensively during World War II.
Germany purchased the design in 1923 and adapted it for intelligence purposes. Later, Polish cryptanalysts and French agents obtained key Enigma materials and passed them to the Allies, enabling the codebreaking efforts of Alan Turing’s team at Bletchley Park.
So, from Java’s coffee beans to encrypted messages, Dutch ingenuity left its mark on both caffeine and code.
Now it’s your turn to connect the two.
☕ Your Mission ☕
Decode the following Dutch message using an Enigma emulator, then translate the result into English.
Once you have the English question, answer it correctly in Certitude to receive the final coordinates.
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SOLVE 👇
🔐 The Puzzle — Enigma + Dutch 🔐
Instructions: Use the Enigma settings below to decode the ciphertexts.
The decoded text will be Dutch - translate it into English, then answer the questions in English in Certitude. Use the same Enigma Settings for each puzzle.
Enigma settings
Machine: Enigma I
Rotors (L → M → R): I – II – III
Ring settings (Ringstellung): 01 – 01 – 01
Start positions (Grundstellung): K – E – Y
Reflector: B
Plugboard (Stecker) pairs: GEOART
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Ciphertext Puzzle #1
GTVBO ZHURH NRVGB VYAZP JPTQI YVCGV BFAUB HUUFS KFAJB QCQHOD SOEAM KSPDJ OURDY ZG
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When you decode the ciphertext you’ll get one long string of letters (Enigma output typically has no punctuation or spacing).
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Ciphertext Puzzle #2
GTVBO ZMUKN OIINT VQQRP JPTQI YVCGR UEVSR SRXTK STZAZ QYPHM FZRZU CHZBL RQXQA SYGTH DJLUB OYDMY
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When you have both solutions, submit them in Certitude as a single combined answer, beginning with the solution to Puzzle #1 followed by the solution to Puzzle #2.
