Nope, for once, we're not talking about "coffeeshops", which usually don't even sell coffee at all ("coffeeshops" are those infamous Amsterdam establishments that sell weed and hash in various forms). I'm talking about coffeehouses, also known as "cafes"—an essential distinction here in Amsterdam. Cafes can be found lining the city's many canals, especially just outside the center, and they always seem to be bustling. Caffeine seems to be the one drug everybody here can agree upon.
For those culture-shocked by the differences between American and Dutch dealings with herbal intoxicants, you'll fare no better when turning to liquid. It took a couple of tries ordering "black coffee" for me to realize that no matter what words I used, that cup would always come back brown. Like many other places in Europe, you'll usually get something more like espresso than what an American might call coffee. On the bright side, it's still utterly delicious, and usually topped with a layer of whatever magical, tasty foam the cafe has on tap that day.
The Dutch were big in starting the international coffee craze. To get capitalism off the ground required a lot of stimulants and refined houses where bigwigs could meet one another to discuss world domination (just kidding: actual info for the curious here). The average Dutch person now consumes about three cups per day, easy to do with the small cups they serve it in here. There seems to be a self-contained, esoteric system guiding coffee tastes in the Netherlands, but sometimes, a quick look in a phrasebook can provide some guidance. For example, a latte in Dutch is called, "koffie verkeerd," which roughly translates to "coffee that's wrong" or "coffee in the wrong way."
However you take it, it's easy to get. Amsterdam has a number of cafe-bars that serve a limited coffee menu alongside beers and jenever (gin's grumpy Dutch grandpa). Which is great for a LG researcher who has a lot of bars to research, a low alcohol tolerance, and gets frequently thirsty. I can have my coffee right at the bar, and, like so many things here in the Netherlands, it's not taboo at all.