It’s time to present January's roaster. We're back in Copenhagen and with us this month is the youngest roastery in the capital of Denmark, April Coffee Roasters!

The founder Patrik Rolf has a lot of experience as a coffee roaster. He started his journey at da Matteo in Gothenburg and before he decided to start his own business he spent two years as Head of Roastery at Five Elephant in Berlin. When he’s not roasting coffee for April, he does consultancy for other roasteries around the world.

We had a short talk with Patrik Rolf.

What drove you to the coffee business?

Matts Johansson, founder and owner of da Matteo. We worked together on a communication project and during that time he got me hooked on coffee. He made me see the potential of the Specialty Industry.

You used to roast for Five Elephant in Berlin, how is roasting for your own roastery compared to roasting for Five Elephant?

Both were/are great in two different ways.

What sets April apart from other European roasters?

At the moment it's probably the smallest roaster I guess. And I put a lot of focus on the roasting. I want to progress the way we roast coffee. I roast to discover more than anything else.

What are your thoughts and philosophies when roasting?

You can always do better. Do your homework, understand your machine and keep the systems clean. Everything is connected, miss or change one thing and you will change everything.

What is your vision for April?

To progress the way we roast coffee.

Where do you see yourself and April in 5 years?

In 5 years April will have a new production site and hopefully placed itself as one of the more important roasters in terms of pushing roasting forward. Let's see. It is a long way to go and a lot of work ahead.

What is the most rewarding part of roasting?

The feedback I get from the people that take time out of their day to taste what I do.

Is there any project you are working on right now that you are extra excited about?

Yes. And it will be launched before the summer.

When at home, how do you like to brew your coffee?

I don't brew coffee at home. If I would I would buy a Nespresso machine and do Colonna capsules.

Would you mind sharing your favorite brewing recipe?

Recipe for the V60

1:17 brewing ratio
Start by pouring double the amount of the dry does on the coffee stir.
Pour the remaining part of the water in a circle (should be done within 1:00).
Tap the filter.
Let it go down.
Aim for 1:32 TDS.

There are many of our subscribers who are trying April for the first time. What can they expect?

I always aim to make transparent and sweet coffee. Every coffee has its distinct quality.

Thanks for your time Patrik Rolf and good luck with your future roasting!

We hope you will enjoy January’s box! Don’t miss out on our next roaster, be sure to join for February’s box!

Hi there!

We are very excited to announce our very first collaboration with a Finnish roastery! For the month of April we have the pleasure to ship coffee from Turun Kahvipaahtimo, one of the leading specialty coffee roasters in Finland. We’ve had a chat with Juhani and Samuli.

It all started back in 2004 when the family owned café CafeArt opened up in Turku, Finland. A short time after, the two brothers of the family, Juhani and Mikko started working there. They learned quickly, and in 2006 Juhani won the National Barista Championships. Juhani started attending international coffee events and was introduced to specialty coffee.

Two years later it was his brother’s turn. Mikko won the National Barista Championships in 2008. When he was to compete in the World Barista Championships, the brothers roasted all of his competition coffee in 250 gram batches on a Hottop (an advanced home roaster). They roasted a total of 5 kg coffee, a crazy amount for such small batches.

Late 2008 they got themselves a brand new 5 kg Probat and started roasting in their parents garage. Juhani and Mikko drove all the way from Turku to Copenhagen. There they bought their very first two bags of green coffee from the Danish roastery The Coffee Collective. Turun Kahvipaahtimo was born.

In 2010 CafeArt had a third National Barista Championships winner on their team. Joona Suominen won the competition with coffee roasted by Turun Kahvipaahtimo. Two years later he did it again, also this time with coffee from Turun Kahvipaahtimo. In 2014 Helka Ikonen, also a barista from CafeArt, won the Nationals. Who roasted the coffee? Turun Kahvipaahtimo.

Today, Turun Kahvipaahtimo roasts their coffee on a 25kg Probat. Their roast is light and delicate and they only roast single origin coffee. They always try to stay away from roasty flavours, but at the same time properly develop the flavours of the bean. They believe in staying humble, to always learn and always get better. And according to themselves, they have just begun.

Do you want to get a taste of Turun Kahvipaahtimo? In April we ship three of their coffees. Join our subcription at Beanportal.com/subscribe.