By Błażej Stempin
Head of Coffee 

Nordic Coffee Fest
February 24 - 25 2024

Two weekends ago we had the pleasure of taking part in the first edition of Nordic Coffee Fest in Gothenburg. It was a really incredible event which consisted of two parts. 

The first part was all about showcasing the many talented roasters and their coffees. The space was filled with eager guests ready to taste and learn more about what each roastery was offering. We were so impressed and inspired by the level of enthusiasm and passion that each person brought when they visited our bar. The environment cultivated sharing of ideas and quality feedback. 

The second part and main reason for me to join was to compete for Nordic’s Best Roaster. There was a selection of 12 impressive roasteries that were being evaluated on two different coffees. For the first round each roastery received 25kg of mystery green coffee. The mystery coffee was from the famous Daterra farm in Brazil. It was a new experimental varietal Guarany invented by them, very floral with tropical character while still holding true to the region. The second round was a competition of sourcing where each roastery could choose their own coffee, but there were some limitations in place. The coffee must come from Central or South America, must be washed and cannot exceed 30 USD/kg.

We decided to use Garmas by Maximilano Garcia Geisha from San Ignacio, Peru. We love this coffee for its juicy, elegant character with lots of citrus, stone fruit and florality. This is our second year working with this coffee and our Roastery Manager Mikolaj had the chance to visit Maximiliano last year. We really look forward to offering this coffee to you in the future! 

The level of competition was very high, with a really great range of flavour profiles and approaches to roasting. Each competitor was a part of the tasting jury which definitely added an element of excitement. After each roaster tasted the coffees, everyone then shared ideas and thoughts which was such a valuable experience for all of us. We placed 3rd in the competition and we feel very appreciative to have the opportunity and be amongst such a beautiful community.