Cuperus began in 1823 in Friesland, in the Netherlands, as a tea business, and added coffee later. In 1931 it moved to Antwerp, with a shop and tearoom in the Boerentoren. It later began roasting its own coffee, and in 1965 it opened, by its own account, the first coffee bar in Antwerp. Glenn and Ellen took the business over in 2013 to give it new life.

Cuperus roasts at its roastery in Deurne, which also holds the warehouse and the offices. Its buyers travel to origin on their own rather than with a coffee seller, and pay the farmers fair prices under direct trade; the first farmer it bought from this way was Olman in Nicaragua, whose El Carmen it has bought for several years. Each coffee in the Specialty range has a card naming the producer, altitude, cultivar and process, and the coffees are grouped on a flavour wheel of chocolate, nuts, spice, sweet fruit, floral and fresh fruit. A Klassiekers range of blends and single origins sits beside it, with a long tea list and barista training.

There are three coffee bars. Cuperus Horsey in the university quarter is a coffee bar and bakery with terraces at the front and back, seats with sockets and wifi for working, and the collection point for online orders. Cuperus Stark is in the historic Sterckshof in the Rivierenhof park, with a large garden, and Bar Boulaar opened in May 2026 at the entrance to the Boelaerpark in Borgerhout. None of the bars takes reservations.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Cuperus