Pontes means bridges in Portuguese. The two people behind it met nearly a decade ago, one from Santa Cruz in California and the other from Copenhagen, and a long-distance relationship turned into a shared life in Copenhagen. They took the name from Portugal, a country they fell for along the way. Their tagline is “Roasting beans, brewing coffee, building bridges”.

Pontes is a micro-roastery and specialty coffee bar in Valby, and the coffee is roasted in small batches on site. Falstaff named it the best new specialty coffee opening in Denmark, and in the European Coffee Trip Awards 2026 it was the winning specialty café in Denmark.

The coffees come from small farms and microlots, and each gets its own name and story. Hidden Hour, a natural Catuai from Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera at Finca El Puente in Marcala, Honduras, is roasted for both filter and espresso. Cosmic Canopy is a natural Kurume from Harruu Bunnaqaa Coffee Farms in Guji, Ethiopia, named after the sacred tree under which Oromo leaders gathered. Most of the other lots, from Costa Rica and Colombia, are roasted for filter. The roaster’s own seasonal picks also go out as a subscription box of two or four bags.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Pontes Coffee