Here at Apex, we always strive to provide the best coffee that Belgium has to offer. We’d like to introduce you to one of our own roasters, Mok Micro-Roastery in Leuven! They may be a young team, but that surely has not stopped them from anything. We had the chance to speak with Jens from Mok, and despite the floundering of poor cellular reception, we learned a lot about his philosophy on coffee and some of the things that make Mok such a successful roastery.
Jens has always been interested in coffee. He was inspired to begin his adventures in roasting by his love for the complexity of coffee; the fact that making the best product requires a lot of trial and error kept him intrigued. There are so many different ways to roast, each resulting in unique roasting profiles.
What sets Mok apart from other roasters? Jens says the first quality is Mok’s consistency. Mok uses high quality modern machines; the advanced technology and roaster expertise allow for them to accurately reproduce roasting profiles. If you find a roasting profile that you like at Mok, you can expect it to be the same the next time you purchase it. Along with their consistency, Mok is unique in that it has an extraordinarily young team, with Jens himself only having 25 years under his belt.
We asked Jens if he had any memorable experiences with coffee and didn’t expect to hear anything too crazy, considering his age. Of course, our expectations were completely wrong. Jens had the opportunity to attend the World Cup Tasters Championship in Melbourne in 2014 after winning the Belgian championships. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what Cup Tasters is, essentially a triangle of three cups of coffee is placed in front of each competitor. Two of the cups are identical, and the taster must differentiate the odd cup. Competitors are faced with eight triangles each round. The competition really tests the ‘coffee knowledge’ of each competitor, proving how familiar each taster is with flavor profiles and their complexities. Not only is this quite a feat, but this was an incredibly exciting experience for Jens. Imagine the rush of being crowned an international champ amidst the beginnings of running a successful roastery!
Mok’s philosophy on coffee is pretty simple: Jens wants to make coffee that is so interesting that people want to drink it again. When we asked him about Mok’s roasting technique, he explained to us that, in short, he tries not to roast too dark while still maximizing the potential sweetness of the bean. The goal is for everyone to be able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee that is made at its finest, spreading the opportunity to try good coffee from coffee bars to restaurants to home. Mok wants to reach out to a wide range of people while still creating a complex and interesting coffee. Where conventional roasters tend to roast darker, creating a mainstream coffee that tastes the same as everyone else’s, Jens strives to draw out the complexities and full potential of each coffee.
For those interested in experiencing Mok’s creations at home, you can find Gegarang Village, our featured coffee, in the webshop. Gegarang Village is perfect for Italian espresso-lovers, boasting a full body and chocolatey notes. You can read more about its origins on our blog!
In our quest to share quality coffee with all, we’ve also made Mok available to those who would like to enhance their office coffee experience. Book a tasting and see how much of a difference good coffee can make in your place of business! Learn more about our roasters and suppliers and our services here at Apex.
Questions?
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