Why does Belgium have a long coffee history?

Belgium has a long coffee history thanks to the port of Antwerp, a major green coffee import hub since the late 18th century, the colonial Congo trade from 1908 to 1960, and the early rise of industrial roasters such as Rombouts (1896), Beyers (1880) and Java (1935). This port-plus-industry chain turned the country into a European coffee player punching above its weight.

The starting point is the port of Antwerp. From the late 18th century, the Scheldt links the Flemish capital to Atlantic coffee routes from the Caribbean, Brazil and Indonesia. Through the 19th century Antwerp builds silos, climate-controlled storage and handling lines tailored to the 60 kg jute bag. Today the port of Antwerp-Bruges still handles roughly 240,000 tonnes of green coffee per year, making it the world's second-largest green coffee hub (after Hamburg) and the first for several African and Indonesian origins. Operators such as Katoen Natie and Molenbergnatie run SCA-certified warehouses where beans are stored, sampled and graded for roasters worldwide.

The second layer is colonial. From 1908 to 1960, the Belgian Congo produces large volumes of coffee, especially in Kivu and the former Orientale province — a share of high-altitude Arabica alongside heavy Robusta volumes. These flows land almost exclusively in Antwerp, fuelling both the Belgian domestic market and re-export. That position pulls industrial roasters into being early: Beyers (1880, Puurs), Rombouts (1896, Antwerp), Java (1935, Brussels). Rombouts invents in 1958 a patented single-portion filter cup that is exported across Europe.

The third layer is the post-war democratisation of filter coffee at home, backed by kitchen electrification and the massive adoption of drip machines — notably the Dutch Moccamaster from the 1970s. In parallel, Belgium builds both an industrial roasting sector and a specialty importing sector (with names like Roastery Group linked to the Molenbergnatie ecosystem). The Belgian Barista Championship, launched around 2000, and the Campus Coffee Fair consolidate an active professional scene.

Since the 2010s, the third-wave specialty scene has emerged in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and Liège, and then in the Walloon Brabant. It leans on that port heritage: a sophisticated green coffee inflow, cupping rooms inside Antwerp warehouses, and a clientele that has been drinking daily coffee for two centuries.

Key milestones of Belgian coffee history