Lippe

From our neighbouring country in the west, we're happy to announce Lippe from Oslo, Norway, as our October’s roaster!

Glad to have you back in our subscription! First time you were featured was about 18 months ago.

Great to hear! Glad to be back, cooperating with you and sharing our coffee with you all. :-)

What has happened since our last collaboration?

18 months, yes, well always lots going on, always tasting new coffees which has of course been made easier by receiving delivery of our Røst sample roaster which we’re very happy with. We have continued to strengthen our relationships with our suppliers, endeavoring to give back to the communities we buy coffee from as well as educating our customers about this and about how to get the best out of the coffees.

We have seen an increased awareness of our brand overseas which is always pleasant. It’s great to see and to hear how others outside of Norway react to our roasts. Something that we are very happy to confirm is that we now have the possibility to sell wholesale to EU customers with 0% customs duties which is a big help to those cafes out there who are looking for a supplier of premium Norwegian roasted coffee!

Further, 2018 is a special year for us as it is our 10th anniversary as a coffee roaster and our 20th anniversary as a company, two things that we are very proud of. The first 10 years we grew organically providing the market with coffee brewing equipment, machines and service, this growth was made ever easier thanks to the Rancilio Silvia which is also celebrating it’s 20th anniversary. A machine that has been close to us since our earliest days.

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

Absolutely, we’re very pleased to say that over summer we confirmed our order of a brand new Loring roaster which will allow us to continue in our goals to be known as one of the leaders of specialty coffee in Norway. We expect to receive delivery and to install it early in 2019. We will hold onto our old roaster as it gives us the flexibility that we need.

What can we expect from this month’s coffees (La Esperanza, Uraga, Los Pirineos)?

Esperanza is a real fruit bomb. Big mouth feel, tastes of honey snaps and sweet citrus. Uraga is a beautiful example of a Guji from very high altitudes. We have taken coffee from this producer (Israel Degfa) a number of times over the years and we’re always very happy with their coffees. We find tastes of strawberry jam, tropical fruits and herbs. Los Pirineos is the coffee we chose for this year’s Nordic Barista Cup, a standout honey processed pacamara with a beautiful acidity and sweetness with tastes of ripe stone fruits, prune juice, nougat and chocolate. We were lucky enough to meet the producer of this coffee, Gilberto Baraona, during the event and can only confirm that he is a very knowledgeable and fun guy to be around.

How would you recommend brewing them?

Pour over, aeropress…we have also experimented with the Pirineos on espresso but at a slightly different roast degree

Looking ahead, what can we expect from Lippe in the future?

More of the same that has put us where we are now, providing the market with some of Norway’s best tasting and best value specialty coffees.

Thank you Lippe for providing us with delicious coffee for October!

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Nord Brenneri

We had a chat with Roast Master Nikolai at our August's roaster Nord Brenneri from Oslo, Norway.

How did Nord start?

The concept behind Nord was born several years ago, when Joakim Strand and his two companions opened a restaurant and deli at Bjølsen in Oslo. The idea was to purchase as much as possible directly from local Norwegian farmers and to give the customers extraordinary and unique products and food. The business went well, and they opened their first bakery. Soon, several coffee shops followed and a coffee roastery, located in the basement of the shop at Grünerløkka. The different locations had, at that time, all individual names, so to unite everything into one concept, Nord was founded in 2015. The same year the roastery moved to a more spacy location at Tveita and a brand new Diedrich coffee roaster was bought. Today Nord consists of 10 coffee shops, where one is also a wine bar, the bakery and the coffee roastery.

What drove you to the specialty coffee business?

My journey into specialty coffee started in 2009, when I started working as a barista. I instantly got fascinated by the complexity of flavors in the different coffees and was impressed by the immense amount of dedication that was invested in every single bean. I soon got inspired by the idea of direct trade and understood how inhumane the conditions are in the conventional coffee marked. A combination of this drove me further into the business, from barista to cup tasting champion, green buyer and now roast master.

How has Nord changed if you compare today, with the day you started roasting?

When I started roasting for Nord, in 2015, the roastery had just moved to Tveita. Joakim and I were doing the roasting on an old Probat P12 and there were only six coffee shops. My focus since the beginning has been to improve the quality of the coffee and to always have traceability to the farms and cooperatives that produce it. One of the first steps in improving the quality was the installation of a Diedrich CR-25, which has given us the opportunity to get more control of the roast and to develop profiles which give more distinct flavors and complexity to the cup. The increased capacity of the roaster has also made it possible to expand, and today we are steadily growing, getting new customers and hiring more staff. Last year, former Norwegian Barista champion, Lise Rømo also joined the team. She is both roasting coffee and educating our baristas with the goal of being the best in town.

How do you think Nord will evolve in the future? Have you got any specific goals?

Even though the competition in Oslo’s coffee scene is really tough, with other roasteries like Kaffa, Tim Wendelboe, Supreme Roast Works and S&H, we have been able to get a great reputation and solid customer base. Many of the most exciting new startups in Oslo wants to have our coffee, which I think is great. I hope that we will continue on the same track, inspiring people to focus on some of the same values as us; buying local foods and products directly from small producers, excluding unnecessary middle men, having traceability in everything from our coffee to the grains in our bread and vegetables in our salads.

A lot has happened in specialty coffee the last few years. What are you most excited about regarding the growth and development of specialty coffee? Will there be a ”fourth wave”?

I think that the most exciting thing is that there are a lot more people buying and enjoying specialty coffee. At least in Oslo there is a shift towards more focus on sustainability, environment, quality of food and products and on health. Drinking specialty coffee is something that contributes in a good way to all these ideas. I would love to see that the results of the fourth wave were that everyone bought coffee that was purchased for a fair price, grown in a sustainable way and roasted and brewed with care.

In Sweden we like to drink our coffee with a piece of cake or a cinnamon bun. What is the best way of enjoying a cup of Nord?

Our bakery also makes fantastic cinnamon buns which are a super combo with the coffee. I personally like to drink it pure and black, by itself. If I should pair it with anything, it would be a piece of dark chocolate.

Many of our members are trying Nord for the first time. What can they expect?

They should expect clean and flavorful coffees. Roasted light, but given enough time to develop sweetness and a lot of interesting flavors.

Don't miss out on our next box! We ship delicious coffees from Europes specialty coffee roasters every month.

LIPPE

For the month of May we visit our neighbour in the west, Norway. This month's roastery is Lippe. We had a chat with founder Alexander.

What’s the story behind Lippe and where does the name Lippe come from?

It is the family name of the founders of the company  (Alexander and Pia Von der Lippe)

You’ve been in the coffee business for quite some time, how has the Oslo coffee scene changed since you started?

Our company was initially established in 1998 and we have been roasting and marketing coffee under the Lippe brand name since 2007 so we have of course seen a lot of changes and have proudly worked with many great local and international personalities over the years.

During that time we have grown steadily and have seen Oslo’s coffee scene go from strength to strength so much so that many now, throughout the world, look to the Norwegian/Scandinavian light-roast style as a benchmark in specialty coffee roasting. Besides this we have seen cafes right across Oslo and Norway embracing specialty coffee. It’s great to see specialty coffee now reach such a larger audience.

What is your best coffee experience? Do you have a favourite cup of coffee that you can’t forget about? 

One coffee that stands out in Pia and Alexander’s minds are those produced by Brazil’s Heimen Coffee. Harvested at around 2000masl.

What is the best part about working with coffee?

Not wanting to sound cliché but offering a product that we are passionate about, working with this product in an industry that is constantly evolving, improving and progressing is always exciting.

What is the vision for Lippe, where will you be in 5/10 years?

5-10 years is a lot of time in specialty coffee but, we plan to be here at the forefront of the specialty roasting scene in Scandinavia. We will be roasting some of our favourite coffees, offering them to an even larger international audience. In the short-term we have many exciting things coming up, including a pop-up cafe with our friends Mobil Kaffebar in a hidden inner-city garden which will have table tennis, boules, badminton, lots of fun and great hot and cold coffee. We are also preparing to launch our own bottled cold brew coffee for the summer, we have a new webshop in the works and we are looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. 

Have you got a favourite brewing recipe?

Right now we are most enjoying cold brewed Gathaiti and Fabian Zarama! 

Many of our members will try your coffee for the very first time. What can they expect?

The Fabian Zarama microlot from Colombia, the Gathaiti AA and the Mbrizi from Burundi are all outstanding coffees we really hope that your subscribers will like the coffees! They will be experiencing the true Norwegian taste of lightly roasted coffee which think lets the coffee taste its best. It allows the complex and fruity flavours of these truly special coffees to stand out. We would recommend brewing at around 65-70g per liter.

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LANGØRA KAFFEBRENNERI

We are very happy to announce our roaster for the month of May: Langøra Kaffebrenneri!

Our most northern roaster so far is located in a 150 year old storage building on Hjelseng Farm in Stjørdal, Norway. Even though they haven't been running the roastery for long, they have pretty fast taken their place as one of Norway’s top roasters. We’ve had a talk with Kristian, one of the founders of Langøra, about how it all started.

Kristian and Renate, with their backgrounds in photography and glassblowing, founded Langøra Kaffebrenneri as they moved back to their hometown Stjørdal 2014. Kristian had in the past seven years worked as a photographer for Norway’s leading newspaper in Oslo. Renate made a career as a glassblower, she started in southern Sweden and later worked in Tromsø. As Kristian tells us himself, in Oslo he was “spoilt with some of the world’s best coffee”. This made him team up with Renate to start their own coffee roastery back in their hometown.

Early 2015 Langøra ordered their brand new Diedrich coffee roaster. Langøra had their eyes on the tiny old storage building at Hjelseng Farm, this was where they wanted to roast their coffee. Due to a strike in New York’s harbour, the roaster didn’t arrive until May. It was now time to move in in the old building at Hjelseng Farm. Together with a beer brewery and a restaurant, Hjelseng Farm now also had a coffee roastery. In December Langøra got their third team member. Idar who had 14 years of experience working with coffee and was also a barista champion, joined the team. He is now head of green coffee buying and roasting at Langøra.

Langøra only roasts coffee of highest possible quality. They roast carefully to enhance the different aromas that different coffees hold. They choose to buy green coffee from producers they find interesting. In August 2015, they visited the award winning farm La Palma & El Tucan in Colombia. Since then they have roasted several of their coffees, with more to come.

A small roastery in a tiny building now sells coffee all around the world. We are very proud that Langøra Kaffebrenneri takes place in the coffee box of May, and we can’t wait to see where they will be within the next few years.

If you want to get a taste of Langøra Kaffebrenneri, join our coffee subscription before the 8th May. In mid-May we ship three of their coffees!

March's Shipment

Hi all!

March’s box is now off! Three great coffees from Jacu Coffee Roastery are now on their way to you people! We hope you will enjoy these coffees as much as we’ve done.

CHELBA

Origin: Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe, Chelba
Producer: 700 smallholders
Process: Semi Washed
Harvest: Dec 2015 - Feb 2016
Soil: Red Ground Soil
Altitude: 1800 - 2000 masl
Varieties: Mixed Heirloom
Tasting notes: Green apple & White sugar

Jacu’s words about the coffee:                    

“Around 700 smallholder farmers that live in the Gedeo zone bring their coffee to the Chelba station. Besides growing coffee, they also grow additional subsistence crops. Acacia, Podocarpes and Cordial Africana trees are grown to provide shade for the coffee plants. All the picked cherries are processed at the Chelba station with about 145 raised beds. Fruit flavors like apple and sweet citrus are found in the washed version, whereas the natural Yirgacheffe is often dominated by sweet strawberries tones. “            

MUTHEKA

Origin: Kenya, Nyeri
Producer: 200 smallholders
Process: Washed
Harvest: Nov 2015 - Jan 2016
Soil: Red Volcanic
Altitude: 1700 -1800 masl
Varieties: SL28 & SL34
Tasting notes: Earl grey with bergamot complexities

Jacu’s words about the coffee:

“The Muthuaini Factory is one wet mill in the Mutheka Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Nyeri Central Kenya. Nyeri is located on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Together with the neighboring region Kirinyaga, it is known world wide for coffee of the most intense, complex and flavor dense cup profiles. Nyeri has a mix of small holders and block holders with small to medium farms. The ones who don’t have their own processing equipment deliver cherries to their local Cooperative. Most of these coffees are grown under shade from Gravelia and Muringa Alloevella trees.“

NEFAS

Origin: Ethiopia, Oromia, Sidamo
Producer: Various smallholders
Process: Natural
Harvest: Nov 2015 - Jan 2016
Soil: Loamy Soil
Altitude: 1600 - 1700 masl
Varieties: Mixed Heirloom
Tasting notes: Flowery, Sweet nectar & Honey

Jacu’s words about the coffee:    

“The Nefas farm is located in the Sidama region, about 514 km from Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa. The farm area is covered by a dense forest. All coffee is 100% shade grown. The farm employs between 150-200 seasonal workers and about 50 permanent workers. Accommodation, free food and medical care are all provided to the workers. The farm won 1st place in the 2011 African Fine Coffee awards.”

JACU COFFEE ROASTERY

Dear friends,

For the month of March we turn west. We have the pleasure to announce Jacu Coffee Roastery as our next roastery. The roastery is located on the west coast of Norway, in the town of Ålesund. We couldn’t be more excited.

Established in 2011, the name of Jacu Coffee Roastery comes from the jacu bird. The bird is known for eating only the best coffee beans, similarly Jacu Coffee Roastery only picks and roast the best coffees. Anne Birte, Gunnar and Oliver who started the coffee roastery together, spend a lot of time searching for farmers to work with. Gunnar, who roasts together with Oliver, just returned from Costa Rica. He brought some delicious coffee beans with him, that they now roast.

The roastery is located in an old transformer station, and with their background in art and design they also use the roastery as an art gallery. At the moment they are planning an exhibition of the Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard.

Opening hours in the roastery is 10:00 - 13:00 every Friday. At these hours, they themselves brew the coffee. Usually at the same time as they roast their coffee on their roaster from the Dutch company Giesen. With their different roasting profiles, they try to make the most out of each bean.

We look forward to the coffee box of March. Make sure you do too! Sign up to our coffee subscription at Beanportal.com/subscribe