Befimmo

Tool: Ha. Another Corporate Nespresso.
Taste: Nespresso Green
Temperature: Good
Tumbler: Classic China

Back at Befimmo after a few months (was it my praise of their coffee? Nah.) You know what it's like in financial services. Things go up (proper spoons instead of plastic toothpicks), things go down ("Hey, where's my chocolate?"). But mostly, at Befimmo, things stay the same (the Taste, the China). In turbulent times, a coffee at Befimmo is like closing your eyes, listening to Mahler's 5th.

Petercam

Tool: My guess? A corporate Nespresso

Taste: Nespresso Black

Temperature: Great

Tumbler: Traditional China.

Welcome to the plush world of private bankers, where every guest should feel priviledged. Belgian private bankers, I'd say by the "Café Liégeois" cream and "Côte d'Or" chocolate. A nice touch, the chocolate is obviously added at the very last moment, avoiding the unpleasant soft & greasy melting chocolate effect. Tell-tale details. I have something in common with bankers, and it's not my money.

Eurométropolis

Tool: Bonamat-Bravilor Thermo Flask

Taste: Errr... what do you expect? 

Temperature: Must have been great yesterday.

Tumbler: Cheapest china mug you could imagine.

Building Europe is a slow process. Italy clearly hasn't reached the Eurometropolis yet. The what? Yep. The Eurometropolis. Lille, Kortrijk, Tournai. It's a shame, the potential's there. Lille is hip, Kortrijk is rich, Tournai even roasts its own beans. 

Not a place to go for their coffee. Worth a detour for the strangest offices I've ever seen, set in an old casino. They should have kept the bar. And barrista.

Shurgard

Tool: Blinking/Atmospheric LED-equipped free vending

Taste: Average - sugary even when "no sugar" selected 

Temperature: Good.

Tumbler: Proper china mug.

Not worth a visit to their offices, but decent when you're there. In a sense, it's a shame... they probably have hundreds of unused expresso machines in their stores.

Rhodia

Tool: Automatic, unbranded

Taste: None 

Temperature: Burning on machine exit, cold when drunk.

Tumbler: Plastic, obviously

Rhodia are active in plactics. So that's where the focus is. The tumbler. Rhodia are also located in one of the La Défense buildings (to see douglas geddes' excellent picture, click here.) where space is scarce. Small meeting rooms, small tables, small cups, no spoons, no biscuits, no nothing. The café just outside their building serves much better coffee. For around 6€ a cuppa'. This may sound expensive, but, I'm sure you'll agree, free coffee isn't worth it if it's tasteless.