Who was in the November 2025 box?

The mind behind the Mascot Exhibition in Mechelen (BE), finally, he starts roasting his own beans in Girona (ES).
Staying curious and roasting with intention in Bordeaux (FR).

Finding the right balance between aroma & flavor for a pleasant cup in Groningen (NL).

Mechelen - Belgium

Oskar Van Damme

Intro

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When did you become an artist?

I started at the age of 5-6.

It was a way of being disconnected from the outside world or just for the fun of it.

Do you have some kind of ritual to get inspiration?

I don’t have any sort of ritual, but mostly I sit down on a bench and make up a question like ‘What if…’ for and then afterwards I will come up with these silly things like: what if an elephant can ride a unicycle and I try to imagine that and draw it!

What printing technique do you like the most?

I really like RISO printing because it’s fast and easy to use.

If you could choose one artist to do a collaboration with (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

Good question!

There are a lot of good Illustrators/artists that I really wanna work with, but I surely wanna work with Ever Meulen, Brecht Evens, or Paul Contryn.

I feel like I would have the same sort of mindset as them.

Jerry wants to reach more people to expand his coffee and art community, do you have any original ideas to do this?

I think it's more of finding people with the same interests, which is the hardest thing to do, but you need a lot of patience and motivation to do so.

How was your expo “Mascots”?

It was really fun!

I met a lot of Illustrators I know and a lot of people I didn’t know, but I had a fun time there.

"If you ever dream of anything ridiculously good, start making it."

Costa Brava - Spain

Ambient

Intro

Finally!

I was wondering when you’d start roasting your own coffee.

Can you tell us about your journey in the coffee business?

I'm Jacob and I'm one of the founders and roasters at Ambient.

My coffee journey began in 2012 in Melbourne and I've been lucky enough to travel and make coffee in a few different countries since then.

After 5 years of living in Antwerp, where I started another roastery (Andy Roasters) with some friends, I moved to Girona and the idea for ambient coffee started to form.

We launched in June this year and we are enjoying every minute of it!

As someone who isn’t originally from Spain, what obstacles did you encounter when starting your coffee business?

Haha, a lot.

There is a lot of paperwork and things happen at a different pace.

Couple that with an 8-month delay on our roasting machine and we have learnt to take the obstacles in our stride!

So, besides coffee, what else has your hands full?

And tell me, are you one of those unstoppable runners who pop up at every local event? 😄

I do enjoy running a lot, but I also have two young kids and they keep my hands full!

Girona is one of the best places in Europe for cycling, running and sunshine, so it's great to spend time outside.

We’ve featured your Kenya – Gatina AB in our November box!

What’s the story behind this coffee?

Any brewing tips to help us get the best out of it?

This is a wonderfully flavorful coffee produced by 790 farmers who work on farms of approximately 0.1 hectares, which equates to a few hundred trees per farmer.

The farmers collect ripe cherries by hand and take them to the washing station in Gatina, where they are processed.

With four different varieties: Batian, Ruiru 11, SL28 and SL34.

It's a complex coffee, with notes of rose, black tea and raspberry, cooling with more vegetal flavours and scored 87 points at grading.

At home, I use a Moccamaster.

For this coffee, I've been using 45g for 1L of coffee, grinding it slightly finer than normal.

This brings out all of the complex flavors without overdoing it on the acidity.

What does your town have to offer for people like Jerry?

Girona is a beautiful medieval town with amazing architecture and lots of small, winding, narrow streets.

It has a bustling old town center and a vibrant food scene.

You could also visit my coffee shop, Idle Hands, that I run with my wife, for delicious coffee and tasty food and go to my business partner, Jannik’s coffee shop: Oniria.

We’ve reached a point where we need to decide whether to continue the subscription.

Do you have any ideas on how we can maintain what we offer without raising the subscription price or reducing what we pay our coffee roasters each month?

Good question.

Pricing is becoming a pressure point for everyone.

We are trying to build relationships with a few key suppliers, where we can start to build discounts or offer savings on logistical costs.

"I hope you like this coffee as much as we do!"

Bordeaux - France

Piha

Intro

Can you give us a quick introduction to your roastery?

Piha is a small independent roastery based in Bordeaux, founded with a simple idea: to make specialty coffee warm, accessible and joyful.

We roast in small batches in our workshop, the Hangar 5 Café, where our community can see, smell and taste what we do every day.

For us, coffee is a craft, a story, and a way to connect people.

What is the philosophy of Piha Coffee Roasters?

Our philosophy is to stay curious and to roast with intention.

We work as close as possible to the producers, celebrating their work, their terroirs and their stories.

We believe specialty coffee should be transparent, kind, ethical and sensory, but also fun.

We roast to highlight clarity, sweetness and balance, and we always try to keep a sense of play and creativity in our work.

In an industry crowded with specialty roasters, what sets you apart?

Probably the combination of two things: our storytelling and our approachability.

We love creating experiences around coffee: illustrations, collaborations, events, limited creations…

But behind that, we stay a very human-scale roastery.

We don’t want coffee to feel intimidating; we want people to feel welcome.

Piha is a place where specialty coffee meets joy, creativity and community.

How have you changed from when you started roasting?

We’ve become more precise and more confident in our sensory approach.

At the beginning, we were exploring, testing, learning every day.

We still do, but with a clearer philosophy: let the coffee speak for itself.

Over time, we developed what we consider our signature as roasters: the ability to “disappear” behind the coffee.

Our goal is not to impose a roasting style, but to reveal what is already there : the terroir, the variety, the work of the producer.

We roast for balance and clarity, so the identity of the coffee comes forward naturally, without being overshadowed by us.

And of course, we’ve grown our community, which constantly pushes us to refine our profiles, our sourcing and our consistency.

Bordeaux may be known for wine, but what’s happening with specialty coffee?

A lot, actually!

Bordeaux is slowly building a real specialty coffee culture.

More cafés are opening, people are becoming more curious, and the city is beginning to treat coffee as something you taste, not just something you drink on the go.

We’re lucky to be part of a growing scene alongside pioneers like L’Alchimiste, as well as specialty cafés such as Moko.

And there’s a new wave of young coffee shops; Cascara, Môme, and others... bringing even more energy and diversity to the city !

We’re still at the beginning of the movement, but the momentum is real.

And we’re happy to play a small part in it.

Cap Ferret, how is it like, and how is the coffee scene over there?

It’s a small coastal town in the Southwest of France that is very seasonal - a good percentage of the shops and restaurants close during the winter months.

It’s a peninsula with pine trees and sand dunes and oyster farms and sailing and surfing.

It’s quiet and picturesque.

Other than Josie Coffee, a small café/coffee shop that serves my coffee, there isn’t much of a coffee scene at all.

We’ve reached a point where we need to decide whether to continue the subscription.

Do you have any ideas on how we can maintain what we offer without raising the subscription price or reducing what we pay our coffee roasters each month?

We understand the challenge; it’s the same for all small independent roasters.

A few ideas: Seasonal collaborations: allow roasters to create small limited runs with lower margins but higher visibility.

More storytelling: interviews, behind-the-scenes, videos that add value without adding cost.

The most important part is the community; people subscribe because they feel connected.

Strengthening that connection adds value without adding cost.

"We love what Jerry represents: a bridge between creators.

Coffee is an agricultural product, a craft, a graphic art, an experience — and Jerry brings all of this together.

We’re honoured to be part of the November box.

Merci!"

Groningen - The Netherlands

Kolibri

Intro

Can you tell us how the story of Kolibri started?

In 2020, the year we will all remember!

We decided to combine our true passion for coffee and our careers to start Kolibri co-roasting and operating from our apartment with a small coffee production owned by Darius’s family that comes from the Nonna Anna farm in Costa Rica.

This is how the idea behind Kolibri was born: to offer exceptional coffee beans that have been sustainably harvested, carefully processed and ethically sourced, to offer you the right balance between aroma & flavor for a pleasant cup.

5 years later: Kolibri has its own roastery and that's where all the magic happens.

How many years total have you worked in the coffee industry?

We celebrated our 5th anniversary this year in September, and before starting with Kolibri, we both worked in different industries.

Is there a person or persons who served as your mentor early in your coffee career?

How did they impact you?

Yes!

It was a pleasure for us to start the company co-roasting with another roaster in The Hague who taught us so much about the specialty coffee industry and shared his coffee knowledge with us.

We also had a colleague from Guatemala who guided us on quality control, cupping, and coffee roasting.

What is your favorite coffee to brew currently?

Razz punch is one of our bestsellers and so far one of the best coffees we have tried.

Darius loves espresso and Stephany is more into filter coffee!

Groningen, sounds like a nice city.

Can you tell us some things we can do here?

Groningen is the largest and most vibrant city in the north of the Netherlands, known for its youthful energy, bike-friendly streets, rich history, and diverse cultural offerings.

We recommend visiting museums or the Forum, relaxing in one of its parks, attending the Noordenzon Festival, climbing the Martinitoren, visiting its market, or taking a boat trip during the summer.

We’ve reached a point where we need to decide whether to continue the subscription.

Do you have any ideas on how we can maintain what we offer without raising the subscription price or reducing what we pay our coffee roasters each month?

Set a maximum price per kilo you're willing to pay roasters to maintain or establish a fixed profit margin each month. In return, you should offer them more promotions and content, while your audience also grows.

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we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!     we're the artists!