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Aalst · Belgium

OR Coffee Roasters

Since 2001 · Tom Janssen, Katrien Pauwels

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Overview

OR Coffee Roasters was founded in 2001 in Aalst, East Flanders, by Tom Janssen — whose grandfather and uncle had been coffee roasters — and Katrien Pauwels, who would later author the Dutch-language reference book 'Speciality Coffee' and host the Puur Koffie podcast. The couple opened their first coffee bar in Ghent, then expanded to two Brussels locations widely credited with introducing specialty coffee to the Belgian capital. Roughly 95% of OR's green coffee is now Direct Fair Trade, supported by Pauwels's separate green-buying business Cup-A-Lot; the four cafes were divested to operator Ana Attento so the founders can focus exclusively on sourcing and roasting.

Known for

  • First-generation Belgian specialty roaster (2001)
  • Credited with introducing specialty coffee to Brussels
  • OR School barista training program
  • Co-founder Katrien Pauwels — author of 'Speciality Coffee', Puur Koffie podcast host
  • ~95% Direct Fair Trade green coffee via Cup-A-Lot

Why it matters

OR is to Belgian specialty what Solberg & Hansen is to Norwegian — the operation that defined the category locally and trained the people who went on to build the rest of the scene. The decision to divest the bars and focus on sourcing and roasting is the kind of late-career editing that signals a serious operator.

Production

roastery location
Aalst, East Flanders (Westerem)

Sources

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