No other brew has the favourable effect that coffee has on the psyche and being. It boosts awareness and focus, recharges creativity, soothes the mind and induces a multitude of other moods and vibes. When introducing a coffee cup to your lips it offers an intense momentary bliss, defining the rhythm of the day - a secret known to the Continent’s café society.
The café culture was born in Vienna in the 1600s, when the invading Turks abandoned three hundred precious bags of coffee; this precipitated the opening of The Blue Bottle, the first ever recorded café serving coffee sweetened with milk and honey.
The aromatic beverage rapidly took hold across Europe and soon the coffee ritual opened places of worship around the Continent in the form of coffee houses, coffee bars and cafes.
Europeans know there is more to the brew than merely sitting at a sidewalk coffee house. Drinking good coffee is a spiritual experience which affects their intellect, perception and inspires contemplation and hospitality, an experience most fully enjoyed in a setting that enhances these aspects like sidewalk cafes and coffee houses. These are lively gathering places for artists, intellectuals and students; a place where you could fire up a laptop, or read, discuss politics or have a romantic rendezvous.
In a global context, 1.4-billion cups of coffee are consumed daily, making it the second most widely used product in the world, after oil. The coffee industry employs some 100-million people in the producing countries, providing them with a $40-billion turnover.
Having previously been ruled by Spain, the Netherlands and France, Belgium is one of those countries that finds it easier to describe itself by what it is not: It’s not French, nor is it Dutch, neither is it German. Belgian is a country with an identity crisis and a population encompassing French, Dutch and German. Some Arabic tongue is also spoken and further still, a large percentage of the population are English-speaking expats. With all this variety, Belgium takes the mix in its stride and pulls everything together into an offbeat, almost bizarre sense of being.
It’s only a nation of coffee drinker that could accomplish this, and may go some way to explaining why coffee is Belgium’s second highest import. These imports average around 40,000 tonnes a year which, if further summarised, works out to an annual consumption of 7.8kg per capita. According to statistics this makes Belgium the ninth highest coffee consumer in the world – the USA is twelfth. In fact, Belgians are so intent on coffee that they designed the world’s first coffee filter and hold an annual coffee art competition. Their love of coffee runs so deep that they’ve dedicated one of their nation’s precious chocolates to the bean.
Coffee drinking should be a pleasure, for the eye as well as the taste buds. In order to make the most of the coffee aroma, it is a good idea to accompany it with something sweet – to create a contrasting flavour in the form of a biscuit, a small cake, a fine Neapolitan chocolate wafer or pure, slightly bitter dark chocolate, which perfectly accentuates the taste and aroma of coffee.
Each European country has a different interpretation on how this pleasure should be achieved. Italians enjoy it with a Corneto ice cream, the French could quite easily enjoy a calming cappuccino which could just as easily be followed by an alcoholic beverage as a croissant. Northern Europeans enjoy their coffee with sweet cakes and pastries and the Dutch coffee houses, known as smart shops, light up a joint of cannabis. In Belgian coffee houses, you’re served a little trayed quartet of coffee, cream and a special Belgian chocolate truffle – with sorely tempting Belgian waffle always at the edge of your gaze.
Yet Belgians take the consumption of coffee a step beyond and introduce it to food in countless gourmet recipes. Like salmon marinated in coffee and honey and served with new potatoes cooked in lighted salted coffee. Deserts with romantic foreign names that introduce such delicacies as espresso coffee mouse, or a slightly sweetened cold coffee spooned over Mocha ice cream balls, or coffee flavoured custard topped with a spoonful of meringue, creamy mocha ice cream in pastry cups, or my personal favourite, sponge fingers dipped in a coffee and Amaretto liqueur topped with Tiramisu cream then dusted with cocoa powder.
A glitzy coffee chain dangerously dipped its proverbial toe in the Belgian market but withdrew it quickly when they discovered they’d not only be competing against a strong local brand but also with a culture who considered coffee in a Styrofoam cup as sacrilege. They quickly departed, taking with them coffee menus offering titles like macchiato, latte, frappuccino and java chip. Thus, as history intended, the traditional Belgian coffee relics continue to keep their customers alert and purring productively in their uniquely Belgian way.
In Brussels, home to the European Union and Belgium’s Royal Court, linen table cloths and white china crockery is still the norm. So too is the atmosphere which accompanies the shouted orders and the constant vocal hum of other patrons. Coffee sets everything in motion, ideas appear more quickly and abundantly, which is exactly the ambience in which many high level political discussions are tabled, changing the course of many nations.
The most atmospheric Brussels coffee houses at which to enjoy a good cup, and the ever present chocolate indulgence, is Wittamer’s who, together with a delicate puff pastry, offer superb Brûlot’s - a coffee drink which consists of sugar, cinnamon, cloves, finely shredded lemon peel, a touch of warm cognac which is then set alight, then piping hot espresso added to it. The Royal Winsor Hotel’s Waterloo Bar has a cosy atmosphere with High Tea everyday from 3pm till 5:30pm, serving finger sandwiches, pastries and little cakes including the luxurious mocha gateau which is slightly bitter yet moist and their speciality, rich Java cake.
For a day of people-watching head to the umbrellad tables of the Grand Place, which was originally built as a merchant’s market in the 13th century and is now considered the most beautiful Square in all of Europe – it’s a setting you don’t so much look at as bathe in. There is a selection of sidewalk café’s to choose from including The Aroma Coffee Lounge whose speciality is coffee served in cafetière’s and La Chaloupe D’or Taverne who make the best Irish coffees – a strong espresso, with a little sugar, a shot of whisky and topped up with three tablespoons of thickly whipped double cream. Curiosity will compel you to investigate further and try more than two Grand Place’s cafes as not only will your perception of the Square change as you move around but your coffee experience too.
In 1896 a small coffee business opened in the port city of Antwerp - the world’s largest diamond centre for more than 700 years. The owner, Franciscus Rombouts went on to become the chosen coffee brand of the Belgian Royal Court and the undisputed leader in the world’s coffee filter market. It comes as no surprise to find some of Europe’s best coffee houses in Antwerp.
In the trendy South district is Patine on Leopold de Waelplaats. It’s an old fashioned and homely coffee house with high beamed ceilings, slate tiled floors, a chandelier made of empty wine bottles and an assortment of corkscrews suspended from the ceiling. The owners are very friendly and their home-baked fruit tarts and frothy cappuccino’s are out of this world.
Your nose will lead you to the aromatic and laid back Caffènation in Hoplandstraat where you’ll be welcomed in by the friendly staff who love to share their knowledge about coffee. Their Barista, Bert, spoke at length about the importance of the cup you’re served in. “Firstly, it should be made of china and, in the case of espresso, should in addition be of good quality. The coffee infusion is poured into the cup at a temperature of 200 F, whereas the temperature inside your mouth no more than 140 F. If I pour your coffee into a high quality china cup it will disperse all the heat. In this case, you’ll have to allow both the coffee and the cup to cool down, which results in the loss of the finest characteristics of the coffee – and the cream will disappear. But if you use thick china like this,” he said, inclining his head at my cup, “thicker china resists the impact of the heat, enabling the coffee to be drunk at the right temperature. In the case of espresso, the shape of the cup is also very important. A tulip-shaped cup is preferable, as this allows the cream to form to its full advantage.”
However, the quality of the coffee does not rest only in the bean or the cup it’s presented in; if your water system is not equipped with a softener and filters you’ll need to use mineral water, but choose one with as few minerals as possible.
Care and consideration also needs to be given to the sugar. The standard rule is that good quality sugar should be used, that is, no brown sugar or candy, nor sugar lumps as this disturbs the cream. If you’re a sugar person, the best one to use is icing sugar. In the case of espresso, it’s poured slowly into the coffee: the sugar stays on the surface of the cream, sinking slowly into the cup, without changing its appearance, dissolving and providing the desired sweetness.
Bruges maintains the very highest culinary standards and has dozens of fun coffee bars and a local population famed for its love of the good-life with high levels of expectation. Many Bruges coffee houses include a free shot of banana liquor with each coffee served, claiming it brings out the flavour of the coffee. An outstanding cocktail found in Bruges is the Café Glace – a cold espresso, slightly sweetened, double thick whipped cream, crushed ice and a shot of cognac blended in a shaker and served in a wide-rimmed glass.
Further south, towards the Ardennes is the small town of Dinant, where Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone was born. One of the most favoured coffee shops is the Café Leffe, which sits right beside the Cathedral of Notre Dame. From the wrap-around terrace, the views across the River Meuse are superb and offer a vantage point from which to watch the motor boats sedately cruising beneath the Charles de Gaulle Bridge, so named as he was injured there during WW1. The waffles that come with the coffee are the best in all of Belgium.
As the Parisians, Belgians spend considerable time deciding which of their most-loved cafes to visit. The choice is immense and mood-enhancing. It could include old haunts to those that have never been heard of outside the given district; even architectural design and ambiance are a matter which could affect the Belgian mindset and is depends if they want to be alone, or need company to achieve that solitude. Some find mod glass and chrome environments conducive to structured business thinking; others find peace in a coffee shop with nothing fancier other than a small garden out back.
An unmistakable signature of the Belgian culture is its coffee shops - from Brussels to Antwerp to Bruges and remote hamlets in the mountains, no town is without at least one.
The morning rush-hour brings with it crowds of Belgians in search of a coffee kick-start. Most head straight to the coffee shops where a cappuccino provides the necessary fix. Haste precludes a leisurely start to the day as everyone stands around the counter with the aim to be out in under five minutes.
Belgians consider the advent of coffee to signal a respite, a comforting ceremony in which to fortify and broaden friendships. Thus it is only in the afternoons that the cafes and coffee bars become crowded and filled with the comforting buzz of whispered gossip emanating from every table. Shrieks of hilarity are cut short when the coffee machine, always the centre of attention, fires up and churns out another cappuccino or espresso which is then theatrically delivered with an accompanying chocolate biscuit or Belgian chocolate truffle.
As the day changes into night, so too does the coffee being served. The locals can again be found in their favourite haunts and, dependent on their mood and the coffee house’s speciality, could lead to a Brasilia cocktail, which contains a cold but strong espresso, vanilla sugar, add shot of rum, a shake of cinnamon, a cup of whipped double cream, and crushed ice, presented in a tall glass.
In the University town of Leuven, near Brussels is a nondescript café which serves a creamy coffee verkeerd, the literal translation being wrong coffee, which equates to the French 'café au lait'.
Near the European Union in Brussels city centre are cafes serving Café frappe cocktails – a strong, cold espresso, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a shot of barley water, crushed ice and blended until it reaches a mouse consistency.
These everyday experiences occur on every street corner, in opulent establishments and at hole-in-the-wall coffee bars. The growth of the Belgian café society, which is the fundamental framework of metropolitan life, stems from the fact that all classes and ethnicities are free to assemble there.
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