Koffiebranderij Van den Biggelaar

More About Koffiebranderij Van den Biggelaar

Koffiebranderij Van den Biggelaar is a Roosendaal-based enterprise with a historic name in coffee, tea, and colonial goods. Its origins date back to June 8, 1823. On that date, Marijn van den Biggelaar opened a shop in “Rosendael”. The subsequent coffee history entered a new phase in 1884, when Petrus van den Biggelaar acquired a steam coffee roaster to roast coffee beans in Roosendaal.

From Historic Shop to Modern Revival

The historic coffee division came to an end in 1983. Names such as De Moriaan, Drie Koningen, and Gekroonde Leeuw are tied to the earlier coffee blends. In 2015, the brand made its return to Roosendaal. Rob Jansens is credited as the owner and initiator; at the time, he brought 22 years of experience in coffee and tea, spanning sales, marketing, and product development.

The revival followed a period of collecting vintage packaging, tableware, and other historical memorabilia, a quest Jansens began around 2010. In 2015, Rob Jansens and Milly Kerstens brought the name Van den Biggelaar back into the spotlight, giving the legacy brand a fresh business context.

Roasting in Roosendaal

The current roastery is located at Borchwerf 9 in Roosendaal. This is where the selection of green coffee, blending, and roasting all take place in-house. The roastery employs a slow-roast method for both blends and single-origin coffees. Regarding the Black Velvet line, reference is made to small batches roasted in a drum roaster.

Quality control consists of several stages. Incoming green coffee is first sampled and tested in a sample roaster. After roasting, the coffee is brewed and evaluated for taste, aroma, and crema. Public data regarding the manufacturer, capacity, and model name of the current roaster is unavailable.

Coffee Selection

The documented offering from Van den Biggelaar includes six featured coffees. This line consists of Drie Koningen, Gekroonde Leeuw, Moriaanse Trots, Vliegende Hollander, Twee Gebroeders, and Ghulden Roos, also referred to as Filter Fresh. For three of these coffees, the countries of origin and intended brewing methods are described.

Drie Koningen contains coffee from Brazilië, Colombia, and Kenia, and is intended for piston machines and fully automatic machines.
Gekroonde Leeuw contains coffee from Brazilië, Ethiopië, and Kenia, and is intended for piston machines.
Moriaanse Trots contains coffee from Colombia and Ethiopië, and is intended for piston machines.

Additionally, the Black Velvet line consists of three products: Black Velvet Pure Latin, Black Velvet Brasil Santos, and Black Velvet Peru Satipo. The packaging for this line is documented as eight kilos in a deposit crate. For Brasil Santos, Cerrado in Minas Gerais is mentioned; for Peru Satipo, it refers to Satipo in Junín.

Origin and Supply Chain

The company selects green coffee from the global market. Within the documented assortment, Brazilië, Colombia, Kenia, Ethiopië, and Vietnam are featured. For Black Velvet, Colombia and Peru are mentioned for Pure Latin. Ambacht Supremo RFA contains coffee from Ethiopië, Brazilië, and Vietnam and is Rainforest Alliance certified. The names of specific plantations, cooperatives, or importers are not publicly documented.

Sustainability and Packaging

Three priorities have been set for 2024 and 2025: reducing packaging materials, reusing waste streams, and sustainable labor practices. Rainforest Alliance and Max Havelaar products are part of the described sustainable offering, with Ambacht Supremo RFA specifically listed as Rainforest Alliance certified.

A social dimension is integrated into the packaging of Van den Biggelaar coffee. All Van den Biggelaar coffee is packed by individuals who are distanced from the labor market. The Black Velvet crates are crafted from reclaimed wood in a social workshop. Regarding tea, packaging measures are also mentioned, such as biodegradable tea bags, FSC paper, and a transition from plastic to paper.

Market and Distribution

The roastery focuses on the professional market, catering to the hospitality sector, leisure, workplaces, machinery, service, and product delivery. Their operational area covers Zuid-Holland, Brabant, and Zeeland. The company’s own webshop is available exclusively to existing clients and is not accessible to private consumers. Public retail sales to consumers are not documented.

There is no public mention of a public café or a dedicated tasting room for consumers. However, there is a showroom located at Borchwerf 9, accessible by appointment only. Business visitors can taste coffee and tea or view machinery there. Product pickups are only possible if an order has been placed in advance.

Press, Network, and Team

The return of Biggelaar-koffie garnered attention in local media in 2015. This was followed in 2020 by reports regarding the resumption of roasting coffee in Roosendaal. These reports mentioned that two trained roasters were active at the Borchwerf location. Other reports cited production volumes ranging from 18 million to 20 million cups per year.

Various activities within the local and business networks have been documented. Lions Club Roosendaal visited the roastery for sessions on roasting, the journey from seed to bean, and the company’s background. Koffiebranderij Van den Biggelaar joined the NAC Businessclub in 2022, followed by a multi-year sponsorship agreement in January 2023.

Rob Jansens is listed as the owner and founder. Jeroen Nooten is mentioned as the contact person and sales manager, and Andy van den Broek is listed as the contact person and account manager. The company mentions a team of eight colleagues. A head roaster or specific master roasters are not publicly documented.

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