The hopje is named after Baron Hendrik Hop who was recalled as an envoy in Brussels when the French invaded Belgium in 1792. 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. 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 ‘Hopjes’, which quickly gained popularity. Van Haaren’s successor eventually even got orders from abroad