Antwerp handles more coffee than anywhere else in the world, with 250,000 tonnes of coffee beans stacked in its warehouses to be shipped across Europe. It’s not surprising that the city has some of the best independent coffee bars in the land. Caffènation is one of the finest.
Founded by Rob Berghmans, Caffènation changed coffee culture in Antwerp when it opened in 2003. Berghman bought the best beans he could find and roasted them in a big old-style roaster.
He now has four coffee bars in locations across Antwerp including a gorgeous bar and roastery in the PAKT quarter designed by Petillon-Ceuppens Architects.
His latest project named Caffènation Blue opened earlier this year in a spacious interior on two floors on the Mechelsesteenweg.
Berghmans supplies beans to many of the best coffee shops in Antwerp including ToiToiToi, Broer Bretel and Coffee & Vinyl.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
