Replica Roasters is a small roastery in Leuven, Belgium, run by Jasper de Clerck and Ester Visker. They roast single-origin, seasonal coffees using a fully electric roaster powered by renewable energy—and in the cup, they aim for brightness, sweetness, and juiciness, not experimentation at any cost.
The Replica Roasters brand was born out of a fascination with what people can create in harmony with nature. Behind the project are Jasper and Ester, who together have accumulated about twenty years of experience in coffee and gastronomy and wanted their own space where they could manage sourcing, roasting, and product development on their own terms. Jasper de Clerck is no newcomer to the industry: he roasted for a major Berlin roastery, and after returning to Belgium, he first launched the Tane Coffee Collective project; Replica is, in a sense, an “evolution” of his previous forays into the world of specialty coffee. Leuven, a university town just a short distance from Brussels, has thus gained a roastery with a distinctly unique style.
At the heart of Replica Roasters are craftsmanship and consistency. The roastery operates using a fully electric Stronghold S9X machine, which allows them to use 100% local renewable energy from the sun and wind—the shift away from fossil fuels wasn’t a marketing gimmick here, but a fundamental requirement. In the cup, Replica aims for clarity, sweetness, juiciness, and balance; it has a soft spot for fresh washed coffees and very clean naturals with a silky texture and a hint of floral notes. You’ll never find over-fermented or “boozy” coffees in their lineup. They roast in small batches according to a strict weekly schedule to ensure every batch is just right.
Equally important to Replica is its sourcing ethics. The roastery works exclusively with a handful of carefully selected importers whom they trust to prioritize the farmers’ interests—a philosophy rooted in the belief that coffee should have a positive impact wherever possible. Added to this is an emphasis on traceable and sustainable sourcing, material reuse, and a minimal environmental footprint. The result is a roastery that doesn’t aim to be the biggest, but rather the most honest—from the green bean all the way to the bag that arrives at your doorstep, freshly roasted.
Coffees from Replica Roasters
Gotiti
Replica RoastersA classic washed Yirgacheffe from Gedeba with everything we love about coffees from this region. Bergamot, jasmine, and black tea—all in one cup.
This washed micro-lot comes from the Eva Gotiti washing station and is a textbook example of what Gedeb in Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region is capable of. You’ll find plenty of floral notes, lively citrus acidity, and hints of black tea—exactly the profile that keeps us coming back to coffees from this region. The resulting clarity is due to careful washing and the 74110 and 74112 varieties, two classic Ethiopian selections bred for both resilience and flavor quality. The Eva Gotiti Wet Coffee Processing Station is a relatively new operation by Ethiopian standards—it was established as recently as 2022 on a two-hectare plot in southern Ethiopia. It has been growing steadily since its inception and plans to expand further: it is preparing to drill for groundwater, install artificial dryers, expand the facility, and build solar drying tunnels. At the same time, the station does not neglect the surrounding community or the environment. It distributes coffee seedlings to local growers, provides financial support to disadvantaged farmers, and pays bonuses based on the amount of coffee delivered. It is precisely these efforts that strengthen the relationship between the farmers and the processing plant—and ultimately contribute to the quality of the beans.
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Divino niño decaf
Replica RoastersA Colombian decaf coffee that will make you forget for a moment that it’s decaf. A well-balanced community lot with notes of cherries and chocolate—sweet and perfect for a cappuccino.
Replica Roasters is one of those roasters that doesn’t view decaf coffee as a necessary evil, but as a discipline in its own right—from the very beginning, they’ve been actively seeking out exceptional decaf lots, and Divino Niño is exactly the kind of find that makes it all worthwhile. Behind this coffee are small-scale growers from the Suaza area in Colombia’s Huila* department, whose smaller harvests are combined into a single community lot. It is precisely the combination of micro-harvests from neighboring farmers that gives these small-scale producers the chance to reach the market at a better price and under their own name. Decaffeination is carried out using the Ethyl Acetate method, often referred to as “natural” decaf—EA is, in fact, a naturally occurring compound, a common byproduct of fruit fermentation that can also be found in ripe bananas or beer. The principle is relatively simple: the beans are moistened with water, and EA is circulated through them; the EA binds to the caffeine and carries it away, while most of the flavor compounds remain intact. Once the desired caffeine level is reached, the remaining EA is removed from the beans through steaming. The result is a clean, balanced cup with high sweetness, where cherry and chocolate notes blend together.
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