Belgium might not always seem like the most functional place on the planet but there are some things that this small European country just south of Amsterdam gets right. For one, it’s got a great food and drinks scene, its motorways are always illuminated at night and it was one of the early pioneers to get into specialty coffee when the rest of Europe was still wondering what a flat white is.

I remember visiting Antwerp more than ten years ago and meeting some really enthousiastic coffee professionals who were taking things in new directions. Caffènation is widely regarded to be one of Europe’s earliest pioneers. But, of course, there are many others who have done incredible work to put Belgium on the global coffee map over the years. Most recently, a fresh fresh crop of relatively new people have taken on the mantle and two of them are Jasper de Clerck and his girlfriend Ester.

Jasper and I first worked together when he was at a major German roaster from Berlin whose coffee he roasted for one of our boxes at the time. After moving back to Belgium, he first set up Tane Coffee Collective, who we featured in 2020 and now, he runs Replica roasters, which you could call an ‘evolution’ of his previous forays into specialty coffee. This roastery is built on the principle that coffee drinking should have a positive impact wherever possible.

Coffee is, by definition, an unsustainable product to consume in Europe because it doesn’t grow here. But we can all make a difference by choosing coffee that comes from traceable and sustainable origins. One of the ways in which Replica tries to have a positive impact is by working with a Stronghold roaster, which is entirely electric and powered by renewable energy. The other way is by sourcing coffees only from trusted suppliers who have proven to have a positive impact at origin.

As a small roaster, businesses like Replica cannot afford to execute direct trade but instead needs to rely on reputable green coffee importers who are doing incredible work with producers. One such importer is Raw Material, which is well known for its unparalleled efforts to help farmers produce better coffee, earn more money and invest in their communities. They imported the outstanding washed Red Bourbon from the Rwandan wet mill Shyira.

The Shyira mill is located at 2.000 meters above sea level, which makes it one of the highest wet mills in the country. It works with a large group of small-holder farmers from the region and has an excellent reputation for producing bright and juicy coffees that are so typical for Rwanda. This coffee was a standout on our cupping table and will be a delight to drink every day.

To receive this excellent coffee along with our other European picks from Create and Kalve, order our your box from our shop now.

Pre-orders close on 15.07.2024 / Ships globally on 22.07.2024