In the huge Molenbergnatie warehouses in the port of Antwerp, the world's largest stock of raw coffee is stored in hessian bags: 400,000 tonnes, or 43 billion cups, the equivalent of six cups for every man, woman and child on earth.
This makes the city on the Scheldt the world’s leading coffee port in 2021. For centuries, coffee has been imported from tropical countries – particularly Vietnam, Brazil and Colombia – and traded here. Belgium’s climate is ideally suited to this, with our generally gradual rises and falls in temperature and humidity. Coffee, after all, does not like sudden fluctuations. An additional advantage over, for example, Dutch or German ports is Antwerp’s more favourable location for supplying southern Europe. And who are the buyers? The major international brands, of course, but also small local roasters and everyone in between. It is even becoming increasingly common for small batches of beans for speciality coffee to be dispatched, or for someone to come and collect just one or two sacks. Don’t imagine, however, that the wonderfully spicy aroma of roasted coffee simply wafts your way in the Molenbergnatie; green beans have a light, fresh, grassy scent.
The Molenbergnatie – ‘nations’ or ‘vemen’ are historical trading guilds in Antwerp with a geographical link or active in a particular branch of industry – was founded in 1867 and operated various port-related activities. Gradually, it began to specialise in the coffee trade.
