OR Coffee

Tom Janssen came from a family of roasters, his grandfather and uncle both worked in it, but had no professional experience of his own when he and Katrien Pauwels settled on the idea after a long trip through Asia. They opened with a roaster in Aalst in 2001, no real business plan beyond the machine and their savings, and built what became one of the earliest names in Belgian specialty coffee, close to 98 percent of what they source now bought directly from farms in Africa and South America.

This espresso bar sits on Rue Auguste Orts near the Bourse, a modern, minimalist room with a larger upstairs seating area that suits reading over a slow cup more than a quick one. Beans are roasted at the original Aalst facility rather than on site, sold both by the cup and in bags to take home.