The 5 best coffee roasting shops in Ghent

A young Italian immigrant set up this coffee roasting shop in 1937. Hidden down a narrow lane, it is a warm, dark place with old furniture and red neon signs. It attracts women with lapdogs, local students and creative types, as well as tourists who happen to stray down the lane. You can also pick up a takeaway coffee at the counter next door.

The smell of fresh coffee hits you the moment you enter São Paulo. They have been roasting coffee here since the Ghent World Fair in 1913. The coffee is stored in a row of gleaming brass dispensers behind the counter. The shop also stocks 200 different types of tea.

Louis Vandekerckhove’s family has been involved in the coffee business since 1854. The roasting is done in the basement of the shop using beans shipped from Brazil and Kenya. They sell about 30 different varieties including several unique blends.

Javana is an old Bruges firm that has been roasting coffee since 1949. They opened a branch in Ghent in 2011 in a former cheese shop with a handsome wooden façade. The roast coffee is stored in shiny dispensers, while teas are stored in little wooden drawers.

This coffee roasting company was founded in 1864 on the site of a monastery. It sells coffee in an old building in the city centre, along with teas by Dammann Frères, Jura espresso machines and homemade Gents Draakje cookies.