🇩🇪 Belum Coffee Bar – Where coffee nerdery meets modern design

Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city and for a very long time, it was overlooked by many people, especially international tourists. Even today, I still don’t know that many people in my friendship circle who have been.

And in some regards, Hamburg’s specialty coffee scene is still pretty underdeveloped. Despite achieving some glory in the past thanks to places like Elbgold and Tornqvist, Hamburg’s still got some way to go. Cue Belum Coffee Bar, a stylish coffee shop in Eppendorf that is making its mark.

💡From lamps to specialty coffee

When Clemens Möll founded Belum in 2021, it was primarily a lamp design brand. The name is a portmanteau of the words Beton (contrete in German) and Lumen, the measurement of light. The last time I visited, Belum was just a small coffee shop with limited opening hours.

In 2023, he was joined by Marcel Lohmann who previously worked at Elbgold and Copenhagen Coffee Lab. His arrival also marked the beginning of a new chapter.

🛋️ More space, more coffee

Not too long ago, Belum underwent a major expansion of surface area. What was previously office space was turned into a very cosy and styish seating area towards the back filled with plants and showcasing Belum lamps. The front was also redesigned with a bigger coffee bar and more seating. Belum is now the only coffee shop in Hamburg to work with a Tempesta espresso machine and there is strictly no matcha. As Clemens said to me during my visit: “We’re not buying into this craze. We serve specialty coffee and that’s it!”

🇳🇱 Dutch roasters and beyond

Since its inception, Belum has been a loyal partner of Friedhats, one of Amsterdam’s most prolific roasters. When I was there recentlly, they also had DAK on the menu, another big name from Amsterdam. However, Belum generally sources coffees from all over Europe, including from brands like Nomad, Standout and Swerl. Given the general lack of interesting local roasters in Hamburg with the exception of a few names like Elbgold, it’s not surprising that multi-roaster cafés like Belum and others source from abroad.

👶🏻 Petit Belum has been born 

While I was in Hamburg, I learned that the Belum team was about to open its second store called Petit Belum. Interestingly, this new shop is in the Altona neighbourhood, another part of town that so far lacked good specialty coffee options. Petit Belum will offer coffee, pastries and bagels. Time to pay these two a visit, is it not?