Brew ’22

More About Brew '22

Brew ’22 at a glance: coffee, elite sports, and smart formats

Brew “22” is a Dutch brand born in 2020 from the world of long-track speed skating. While traveling to World Cups, the founders discovered single-cup filters and launched a webshop to fund their journey to the 2022 Olympic Games. The name refers to that goal and year. Five core flavors, inspired by the five Olympic rings, form the backbone of the brand. The brand positions itself as providing quality coffee that is quick and consistent to brew, for both filter and espresso, featuring accessible blends and single origins.

Origins, leadership, and location

The brand was founded by skaters Cornelius Kersten and Ellia Smeding, who are publicly listed as co-founders. The company is registered in the Netherlands and operates out of Heerenveen. The public address is De Ynfeart 7-209, 8447 GM Heerenveen. In the early stages, the founders handled everything themselves, from sourcing to roasting, grinding, packaging, and shipping. Later, they scaled up with local production support. No external directors or a separate head roaster are publicly mentioned.

Roasting and production: small-scale, precise, and social

Brew “22” roasts in small batches to maintain flavor consistency. The operational focus is on a portfolio that serves both filter and espresso drinkers. Single-cup filters are pre-filled with a fixed dose of 12.5 grams of freshly ground coffee, ensuring a predictable extraction. The filling and packaging take place at a nearby food facility within a social employment workplace. Public sources mention no visitor training or tours. Specific roaster brands, models, or batch capacities have not been disclosed.

Sourcing Model and Origin

Sourcing is handled through farmer cooperatives across multiple origins, with a clear commitment to fair pricing. The current range includes Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru, plus Kenya for cold brew. Part of the assortment is organic and/or Rainforest Alliance certified. Specific farm names, cooperative names, or FOB prices are not publicly shared. An annual transparency report is not mentioned on the site.

Assortment: blends, single origins, and cold brew

The flavor lines cover the spectrum from bright filter profiles to powerful espressos. Five flavor SKUs form the permanent framework, supplemented by single origins. The cold brew option focuses on light roasting and cold extraction.

“The One of a Kind”, blend of Ethiopia and Brazil, chocolate notes with a fruity finish
“The Powerhouse”, darker roast featuring Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Ethiopia, espresso-focused
“The Dreamcatcher”, Colombia single origin, medium roast
“The Trailblazer”, Guatemala single origin, medium roast
“The Underdog”, organic decaf blend from Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, chocolate and soft fruit
“The Cold Brew“, light roast, Kenia, anaerobic fermentation, developed for cold brewing

Formats, packaging, and personalization

The offering includes whole beans and single-cup drip filters for the entire range. The filters are manually filled with 12.5 grams to ensure consistency. Packaging is retail-ready and can be customized in a private label style for corporate gifting and campaign purposes. This provides visual uniformity for business presentations and shelf communication.

Channels: direct, office, hotel, and retail

Sales are handled directly via the webshop, including subscription options with automatic shipping notifications. For offices, there are programs featuring beans, batch brew grinds, and airtight tubs. In the hotel segment, the focus is on single-cup filters that only require a kettle in the room. Retail benefits from shelf-ready packaging and personalization. Delivery takes place within the Netherlands, the EU, and the UK, with published thresholds for free shipping.

Sustainability and social impact

The positioning is based on ethical trade with fair payments to producer cooperatives. A selection carries organic and/or Rainforest Alliance certification. The partnership with a social employment agency for packaging underscores the social pillar. There are no public data regarding packaging life cycles, recyclability, or CO’2 reporting. Nor has a formal sustainability roadmap with specific goals been published.

Media attention and the sports community

The brand message “Built by Olympians” is actively promoted. The founders participated in Beijing 2022. Mentions by media outlets such as BBC Sport, The New York Times, Olympics, and Reuters support their visibility. Within the Dutch skating community, there was a collaboration with Team FrySk in December 2020. Public awards for coffee quality or roasting competitions are not mentioned.

What is missing publicly

No mentioned head roaster, no external directors
No visitor café, training space, or guided tours mentioned
No details regarding roaster brand, model, or batch capacity
No info on roasting software, cupping protocols, or machine telemetry
No farm names, cooperatives, or FOB prices, no transparency report
No specifications regarding packaging, recyclability, CO’2, or formal goals

Relevance to the Dutch coffee chain

Brew “22” combines the discipline of elite sports with practical coffee formats. Smaller batches and fixed dosages cater to customers seeking reliability and speed. Their single-cup filters and custom packaging are perfectly suited for hotel rooms, offices, and retail displays. At the same time, there is a lack of public detail regarding supply chain transparency and technical roast parameters. For stakeholders, this represents a solid proposition centered on convenience and consistency, with room for growth in publicly available sustainability and traceability data.

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