ROAST Coffee

ROAST roasts everything it pours inside this ground floor space on Vestmannagade, the Giesen machine visible through the window as soon as anyone comes down the steps from street level. Andreas Astrup started the company in 2014 on a direct trade model built to cut out the middlemen between farmer and roaster, and the bags carry a 50/50 label guaranteeing growers half of the retail price after tax. A number of the coffees come through the Cup of Excellence program, and baristas run pour over to order alongside the espresso list so the differences between lots are easy to taste side by side rather than just read about.

The Islands Brygge location sits a short walk from the harbour baths, with outdoor seating that fills fast on sunny mornings and a bakery case that runs through croissants and cardamom buns just as quickly. Three more ROAST locations have opened around the city since, at Studiestræde, Vesterport and Sydhavn's Pladehals Alle, but Vestmannagade remains the original roastery and coffee bar, the one where the beans for every other location are actually roasted.