I discovered Way Speciality Coffee Roasters in March, when I stopped in Ghent my way back from my trip to Amsterdam. European Coffee Trip led me to Way Coffee & Book Shop on Voldersstraat in the historic city centre, where I had a chance meeting with Ward, Way’s co-owner and head roaster, who invited me to the Way Roastery & Shop the following Monday (Way also has a bakehouse and café on Jakobijnenstraat 7 which I didn’t manage to visit).

Way Roastery & Shop is in Dok Noord, an old industrial complex that’s been redeveloped into a residential, office and leisure hub, a 25-minute walk or short tram ride north of the centre. Way occupies part of what was once a washing machine factory, housing a spacious café, showroom and roastery. Today’s Coffee Spot is all about the café, with the roastery featuring in its own Meet the Roaster feature in due course.

Way only roasts single-origins and is entirely plant-based (vegan). There’s a choice of the house espresso (from Brazil) plus a single-origin on espresso, along with two choices (Brazil plus another single-origin) on batch-brew filter and a wide selection on pour-over through the V60 or AeroPress.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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Dok Noord is an old industrial complex that lies between Sint-Salvatorstraat to the west and Handelsdok (part of Ghent’s extensive canal network) to the east. Once home to ACEC (a Belgian manufacturer of electrical equipment), it’s now an interesting mix of residential, office and leisure facilities, which includes businesses like Way.

Dok Noord is a sprawling site, with Way on the western (Sint-Salvatorstraat) side. A network of narrow lanes runs between the tall, brick-built old factory buildings, one of which is home to Way. Although the address is Dok-Noord, an access road which runs along the southern side of the complex, Way is on the far (northern) side of the second building in from Sint-Salvatorstraat.

It occupies the northeast corner of the ground floor of the building, which has high ceilings and multiple windows, including in the internal walls, giving the café an immense sense of light and space. There’s limited outdoor seating in the form of a long, E-shaped set of benches running under the two sets of windows to the right of the door. Inside, Way is split into multiple rooms, starting with a large, open space which reminded me of a meeting room.

You can sit out here, where there’s a large, communal table in the centre, beyond which is a long table against the far wall. You can see roastery through the windows at the back, while the door to the main part of the café is accessed via a broad step on the right. The café runs the full length of Way’s part of the building, with the counter and a retail area at the front, while the bulk of the seating is at the back, sharing the space with the training area/showroom.

The retail shelves are either side of the door as you enter, while the counter, an interesting mix of tables and shelves, is straight ahead. A gap between the counter and the window to the right (where a corridor leads back to the toilets) leaves space for a five-person window-bar at the front and a pair of seats down the side of the counter. The remaining seating is at the back, starting with an eight-person communal table which runs at an angle of 45°, starting near the counter and going back and to the right.

A pair of armchairs is tucked into the corner to the right of the table, beyond which is a square, 10-person communal table. Meanwhile, on the left, a raised area has an L-shaped arrangement of tables along the front and left-hand sides which seats six, with a four-person table at the back. Finally, the rear portion of the café houses another 10-person communal table, a three-person bar along the back wall of the raised area and a combined showroom/training area for home espresso machines.

You can access the roastery from here through a door in the left-hand wall, but it’s invitation-only, so don’t just wander in! However, I did have an invitation, and you can read all about what I found out in my Meet the Roaster feature (once I’ve written it, that is). In the meantime, I’ll leave you with my impressions of my flat white, which I had while I was waiting for Ward.

In contrast to the Way Coffee & Book Shop, this was served in a proper cup and, having had the single-origin before, I went with the house espresso, the Brazil Bota Fora. Made with Oatly oat milk, this was lovely, rich and smooth, the classic chocolate notes of the coffee blending well with the milk.

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