Why you should go visit Caffenation ZUID

Yes, you heard me right. You need to visit our new flagship bar Caffenation ZUID. Well, at least if you're a coffee enthusiast.

Of course, there are many reasons to do so. Our core values are all present: friendly staff, consistent quality, plenty of seating, and fast service. At least, that's what we aim for. With hundreds of customers a day, it's not easy to fulfill everyone's specific wishes, but we're doing our best.

But there are also a couple of new things worth checking out:

- We have a large upstairs area for people who love combining laptop work with coffee drinking. Of course, you'll find laptop users in all our other bars, but here we offer extra seating, extra power outlets, free Wi-Fi, plenty of light, free water, and more. The only thing we ask is that everyone stops by the bar for a (paid) drink every hour. I hope that's not too much to ask. Co-working spaces are probably more professional, but I don't think they're as affordable as what we offer—and probably don't serve flat whites as good as ours. There, I said it.

- We're not the first in Antwerp to offer iced matcha latte on tap, but we're probably the fastest. Alongside two hot and one iced filter coffee, we have a fourth tap dedicated to lovers of the green drink. In collaboration with Alpro, we prepare ceremonial matcha with Alpro Coconut Barista, following the rules of the game. The result is fast service, consistent taste, and a lower price. A special takeaway student price will be introduced in September.

- Yes, you heard me right: iced coffee on tap. We love brewing Kenyan coffee beans. They're a favorite across all our bars, but here we've added an iced version. Not cold brew, which misses some of the bright and fruity notes, but a special batch brew that's cooled down and chilled overnight.

- Which brings us straight to our state-of-the-art 3-TEMP batch brewer.

Unlike traditional brewers that operate at one fixed temperature, 3TEMP allows baristas to program the exact water temperature for the bloom, the main pour, and the drawdown. This makes it possible to highlight specific flavors and customize extraction much like a manual pour-over.

Instead of keeping gallons of water hot in a massive tank all day—which wastes energy and compromises water freshness—the machine heats only the water needed, exactly when it's brewed.

- For both our Milk Man espresso base for milk drinks and our Espresso of the Week, we use Fiorenzato F83 Sense grinders. These big boys grind fast and consistently, and both feature built-in scales. This helps us speed things up while maintaining stable flavor throughout the day.

- Our new Brita water dispenser called C-TAP provides super-clean water for hot and cold drinks, sparkling or still, straight from the tap. Except for our hot chai bases, we use fresh water to brew Americanos, hot or cold ginger drinks, cascara cola, teas, or simply water to quench your thirst—which, by the way, is free at all Caffenation bars.

- Iced latte paradise is the goal. To achieve that, we cool down our espresso—we use a double shot for all iced drinks—and use it as the base, so the ice melts more slowly and the flavor stays balanced for longer. But the real star is the milk froth. We've installed two über milk machines that produce cold-frothed cow's milk and oat milk. The milk is cold but has the same mouthfeel as our warm textured milk. Never tried it before? Welcome to Zuid!

• 
• Besides all this, we also have lots of new cups, glasses, spoons, and more. But the star of the show has to be the espresso machine, of course. The La Marzocco Strada X is its name, and it comes packed with interesting features:
• • Smart Saturation: Automatically wets the espresso puck before the pump engages, adapting to the density of the coffee. This prevents channeling and ensures even extraction every single time.
  • Mass-Based Profiling: Ties brewing pressure to the exact weight of the beverage in the cup, guaranteeing consistent flavor even with adventurous pressure curves. 
  • Paddle-Based Profile Control: Translates the barista’s manual paddle movements into precise, software-tuned pressure curves that won't damage the puck.
  • And the looks of it..... exclusively customized for us at their Firenze factory.