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Brussels · Belgium

MOK Specialty Coffee

Since 2012 · Jens Crabbé

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Overview

MOK was founded in 2012 in Leuven by then-21-year-old Jens Crabbé, a two-time Belgian Cup Tasters Champion who scraped his savings together to open a specialty coffee bar and microroastery — Belgium's first roaster to use Cropster software. The Brussels flagship at Rue Antoine Dansaert opened in late 2016 in a former art gallery, and the roastery later relocated there as well; MOK is widely treated as the godfather brand of modern Belgian specialty, with alumni founding cafes including nearby Wide Awake.

Known for

  • Pioneer of Belgian third-wave specialty coffee
  • 'Omni roast' approach — single profile for both filter and espresso
  • 'Rich Kid' espresso blend / 'Poor Kid' filter blend
  • Boxed Series — coffees scoring around 90, rare varieties
  • Home of 2024 Belgian Cup Tasters and 2025 Belgian Brewers Cup champions

Why it matters

The reference brand for modern Belgian specialty coffee — a single Cup Tasters champion's project that grew without outside investment into a multi-cafe operation, spun off champions and rival roasters, and exports the country's coffee identity.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
Paulien (operations); Jens Crabbé (QC + green buying)
color sorting
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roaster machine
Probat UG22 + Stronghold S9X (8kg electric)
filter equipment
Two Mythos 1 grinders + EK43 for filter
cupping frequency
null
roastery location
Brussels (relocated from Leuven)
espresso equipment
La Marzocco Linea PB 2-group with built-in scales
annual volume tonnes
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Café

Rue Antoine Dansaert 196, 1000 Brussels

Recognitions

  • 2nd Best Specialty Coffee Roaster Europe & Middle East (Allegra)
  • 16th best coffee shop in the world (Allegra)
  • Belgian Cup Tasters Champion 2024 (Yang-Bing Hong, MOK barista)
  • Belgian Brewers Cup Champion 2025 (Marlies Jacques, MOK barista)

Sources

More roasters