Meet Ezra.

 

Ezra’s coffee story starts with working in a gym. After the fully automatic coffee machine broke down, the management replaced it with an espresso machine. After some trial and error, Ezra realised that one needs to know how to work with this type of machines. This wasn’t just pushing a button! He took a 10 week course with Maggie Loves Beans (RIP) and fell in love with coffee all over again. After making coffee at the World of Coffee event for Limarc Coffee Solutions, Yves knew he wanted to do this professionally. Patrick, the owner of Limarc nudged him towards a new specialty coffee shop that was about to open in Ghent and Ezra's career as a professional barista had started. 

 

After years in the coffee business, learning the trade as a barista and roaster, Ezra felt he needed to start doing his own thing and develop his own style in coffee making. He organised pop-up specialty coffee bars, several years in a row at different locations. At first just for the fun of it, as a hobby project. As the audience grew with each edition, a permanent location was needed. Zuidstationstraat 5 was perfect!

 

The initial plan was to open a small bar and work mostly alone. After a few years of working with different roasters, Ezra installed a Probat roaster near the entrance and since that moment, 95% of the coffee served is roasted in house. Today, Full Circle is one of Belgium’s most renowned speciality coffee bars, with a passionate crew.

What’s next? Who knows? Direct trades? Wine import? Full Circle from New York to Tel Aviv?

 

Ezra currently doesn’t have a job, he has a hobby that has gotten out of hand, but it’s one of the most rewarding projects in his life.