Hidden in a Balat side street, ARC COFFEE CO. is Istanbul’s new specialty coffee power hub—founded by passionate local experts, bringing elite bean selection, careful roasting, and perfectly brewed cups straight to the neighborhood.
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Introduction to the Best Coffee in Balat
Balat has always been a neighborhood you feel before you understand: uneven cobblestones, sun-faded facades, laundry lines, sudden views of the Golden Horn, and the kind of side streets that pull you in without asking. Over the last few years, Balat’s café scene has grown fast—but every now and then, a place opens that feels less like “another new spot” and more like a long-earned arrival.
That place is ARC COFFEE CO. Opened two months ago in one of Balat’s quieter side streets, ARC is not just a café. It’s the new center of a company that has been supplying coffee beans to various coffee shops around Istanbul—and now it’s also the place where they roast, brew, teach, and build the next chapter of Istanbul’s specialty coffee culture.
What is ARC COFFEE CO.?
ARC COFFEE CO. is a specialty coffee roaster and café in Balat, Istanbul. The café serves as the brand’s headquarters and main base—a place where coffee is not only served, but also carefully selected, roasted, evaluated, and presented with professional precision.
ARC’s core mission is straightforward and ambitious:
Select high-quality beans
Roast them correctly
Serve them properly
And help Istanbul drink coffee at its best
They also support the wider coffee ecosystem by offering consultancy services to entrepreneurs who want to open their own café or roastery, and by providing training and certifications through the Specialty Coffee Association.
The Founders: Local Coffee Experts
ARC COFFEE CO. was founded by Uğur Gözcü (35) and Ibrahim Yılmaz (35)—two coffee professionals whose reputations were built long before the Balat café opened.
Uğur Gözcü: 10 Years of Experience Before Opening His Own Place
If you’ve spent time in Balat’s coffee scene, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Uğur. Before ARC, he worked at a nearby café in the neighborhood: Coffee Department (Balat). For 10 years, he gained hands-on experience in what truly makes a specialty coffee shop work—workflow, service, consistency, equipment, sourcing, and hospitality.
During those years, Uğur didn’t just “work in coffee.” He collected professional licenses and certifications, one after another, building a foundation that most café owners skip. Now, with ARC COFFEE CO., he feels ready to put all that experience into a space that represents his standards fully: a café built to deliver top-level coffee in Istanbul.
Today, Uğur manages the Balat café day-to-day, overseeing the bar, the brewing, the customer experience, and the consistency that defines specialty coffee at a high level.
Ibrahim Yılmaz: One of Turkey’s Top Coffee Experts
While Uğur co-owns the café in Balat, Ibrahim Yılmaz is a cornerstone of ARC’s expertise at the national level. Ibrahim is described as one of the biggest coffee experts in Turkey, and his credentials are unusually rare.
Ibrahim holds:
AST (Authorized Specialty Coffee Trainer) — meaning he has authorization to teach and deliver official barista-related training and certification courses
Q Grader — a highly respected professional credential in coffee quality evaluation
A key detail here: only about 25 people in Turkey hold the Q Grader credential, making Ibrahim part of a very small group capable of evaluating coffee at a globally recognized standard.
This is one reason ARC COFFEE CO. feels different from the average “third-wave café.” It’s not built on vibes or trends—it’s built on serious coffee knowledge.
ARC COFFEE CO. Before the Café: Supplying Beans Around Istanbul
ARC didn’t begin as a Balat café. Before opening their doors to the public, ARC COFFEE CO. was already active behind the scenes of Istanbul’s specialty coffee world by supplying coffee beans to multiple cafés across the city.
So the Balat location isn’t a first step—it’s a next step. This café is their center, the physical home base where their roasting and service standards can be seen and tasted directly.
Coffee They Serve
ARC COFFEE CO. is focused on coffee as craft. They treat each brewing method with respect, and the menu reflects their priorities: clarity, quality, and proper technique.
Hand Brew Station
If you love filter coffee, ARC’s brew bar is one of the most exciting reasons to visit. The coffees currently featured at the brewing station include:
Ethiopia – Woyo
Ethiopia – İdido
Ethiopia – Adorsi
Kenya – Aroma Top
Colombia – Monteblanco
These are not random selections. In specialty coffee, origins like Ethiopia and Kenya are often chosen for complex aromatics, acidity, and layered fruit notes, while Colombia frequently offers balanced sweetness and structure. The point is not simply “where the beans are from,” but how they are selected and served—and ARC’s entire identity is built around doing it properly.
Espresso: Brazilian Beans
On the espresso side, ARC currently uses Brazilian beans for espresso-based drinks. Brazilian coffees are often favored for espresso because they tend to deliver chocolatey, nutty, caramel-like depth with a smooth structure that performs well across milk drinks and straight espresso.
In other words: it’s a choice that supports consistency and richness—exactly what you want if you’re ordering cappuccinos, flat whites, lattes, or espresso shots.
The Machines: ARC Uses KEF, a Turkish Coffee Equipment Brand
One of the most interesting details for coffee nerds (and honestly, anyone who likes local craft) is ARC COFFEE CO.’s use of KEF machines, a Turkish brand that’s gaining attention.
In a world where many specialty cafés default to the same global equipment brands, ARC’s use of KEF is a subtle but meaningful statement:
They’re confident enough in their workflow to use a rising Turkish machine brand
They’re highlighting local innovation alongside international beans
They’re building a café culture that isn’t dependent on importing “status symbols”
It also fits Balat: a place where local character matters.
ARC’s Bigger Role: Consultancy for New Cafés and Roasteries
ARC COFFEE CO. isn’t only focused on their own café. They also provide consultancy services for other entrepreneurs who want to start a café or roastery in Istanbul (or beyond).
This can include guidance on:
equipment and setup planning
coffee sourcing and bean strategy
menu building and workflow
staff training and quality control
roasting direction (for those going into roasting)
operational consistency and bar standards
In a fast-growing café scene, this kind of consultancy can be the difference between a coffee shop that looks good and a coffee shop that actually performs well.
Certifications and Training: Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)
ARC COFFEE CO. also provides SCA-related certifications (you noted these as SAC certificates, and clarified they are not MSA). In practical terms: they are connected to the internationally recognized standards and educational pathways of the Specialty Coffee Association, which is a major authority in specialty coffee education.
Because Ibrahim holds the credentials and authority to teach and certify, ARC becomes more than a café: it becomes a learning center—a place where baristas and coffee professionals can level up.
Final Thoughts: A New Balat Classic in the Making
Some cafés open and feel like a concept. Others open and feel like someone finally built the place they’ve been carrying in their head for years.
ARC COFFEE CO. feels like the second.
It’s the result of 10 years of hard-earned experience, deep specialty knowledge, and a decision to stop being behind the scenes and instead invite Istanbul into their world—one cup at a time.
If you’re walking through Balat and you want a coffee experience that’s not just trendy but genuinely expert, ARC COFFEE CO. is the kind of place you’ll remember—not because it’s loud, but because it’s correct.
