A Matter of Concrete
High quality makes something an investment. In taste, experience or longevity. By product development, supplying high quality coffee, building long term relationships with suppliers and only settling for top-segment products.
Have a look in our shop and you’ll get the idea.
roasting A.M.O.C. since 20/12/2021
Innovation and sustainability are what make today good and tomorrow better. Direct trading with suppliers, developing long-lasting products while giving attention to circularity, waste-reduction and inspire others to do so too.
Our coffee roaster is the state-of-the-art Loring S35 Kestrel, one of the most energy efficient coffee roasters around. Our energy supplier has Gold Standard certification (meaning CO2 neutral gas and only electricity from renewable sources) and we try to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever we can.
In our roastery our goal is to get the best out of every bean.
There’s a Sovda color sorter to sort the coffee beans to perfection. A space designated for quality control. A tasting room. And there are dozens of ideas the future may bring.
We’re not trying to be saints, but we think further than a leaf on a label.
We’re a specialty coffee roastery based in the Van Nelle Factory located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
The Van Nelle Factory* once used to be the biggest coffee roastery in the country. It is quite rare to find a pre-WWII building in Rotterdam, let alone it being a coffee roastery, let alone one that is a listed UNESCO World Heritage monument.
The factory was built in the New Objective style in the 1920’s, being one of the first buildings ever where concrete was the main material. Now you know, how concrete, just like coffee was and is inseparable from the Van Nelle Factory.
After roasting for 65 years, in 1995 the last bean was roasted and production of the Van Nelle brand moved elsewhere. From this moment on it was thought that no bean would ever be roasted again at this historical venue.
But then we came 26 years later and reignited the tradition in a future forward path.
Want to come over for a cup of coffee?
You can find us at Van Nelleweg 1 – Schiehal (Warehouse) E , but please do send us a message before visiting so we can make sure the coffee’s brewing.
*if you’re into architecture and design, look up Van Nelle Factory and find out its rich history.
“In 2012 I was in Copenhagen for an internship. Coffee was nothing more than a morning fuel to me back then.
When I walked into the same cafe for the 2nd time in a week the barista recognised me and remembered my order.
That tiny gesture made me realise the value of what a cup of coffee can bring.
From that moment on I knew: I also wanted to work in coffee.
Almost a decade later my career has been a wild ride. From starting numerous brands, companies and competing in many coffee competitions. Being on the winner’s podium of quite a hand-full, with the crowning achievement of winning Coffee Masters London 2019.
Being a roaster for 8 years, and an entrepreneur in coffee for 6, before starting A Matter of Concrete made it possible to set up a dream roastery. Putting all the inspiration and ideas that I’ve gathered over the years from all over the world into this dream-coming-true.
I love the indefinite world of coffee.
You can learn something new every day,
just never stand still.”
Homage
When the iconic Van Nelle Factory, where you can find our roastery, was designed almost a century ago, the architects pioneered in their approach with new materials, a futuristic look and essentially choosing function over form
(although it did result in a pretty astonishing building).
Thinking beyond traditional wooden foundation poles and brick & mortar it became a matter of concrete.
We pay homage to this unique feature of this iconic place.
Mentality
We like to think reasoned, future forward and quality driven. Defining our choices based on an unbiased blend of facts and individual taste. It’s not about assuming or following, it’s a matter of concrete decisions based on our vision and hard data. You can find this in our choice of packaging, interior and of course our selection of products. Making matter concrete.
And lastly: no-nonsense, cut the crap, or “niet lullen, maar poetsen” as we say in Rotterdam: let’s cut to the chase.
Make matter concrete.
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