Wide Awake is a roastery in Brussels that sources, roasts and brews its own coffee. Everything is roasted on a Loring S35 and colour-sorted after roasting, with each batch checked against tracked roast data and colour readings. The team numbers more than thirty coffee buyers, roasters, baristas, cuppers and service staff.

Its coffees come out in twelve series, each with its own graphic identity, a name taken from pop culture and four microlot releases a year. Duchess, a blend from Fazenda Nunes in Brazil and Santa Maria in Colombia, and Duke, a classic Brazilian blend, are its espresso blends. The filter side changes with the harvests: Easy Rider and Strawberry Fields come from farms in Huehuetenango that the team visited on a trip to Guatemala in 2026, Juicebox from Bekele Kachara’s Murago site in Sidama, and Superfreak, an anaerobic natural Pink Bourbon from Miriam Quesada’s El Guayacan farm in Huila. The Wildcard series carries rare and innovative lots. After Hours, the main decaf, has come from the El Carmen farmers’ association near Acevedo in Huila since 2020.

Two cafés serve the coffee. The flagship in Sainte-Catherine, in the city centre, pairs an extensive coffee menu with fresh pastries and lunch, and sells beans. At Flagey, in Ixelles, a corner shop works as a fast-paced espresso bar, with standard and “world class” espresso options. Wide Awake also supplies cafés, restaurants, hotels and offices across Europe, runs barista workshops, brings a popup café to events, and sells an Essentials line roasted for office machines.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Wide Awake Coffee