Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

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Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

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There are a number of competitions in specialty coffee designed to test the skills and knowledge of industry professionals. However, many consider the World Barista Championship (WBC) to be one of the most esteemed and highly regarded events, acting as a platform to showcase excellence in the barista profession. There are many reasons to celebrate […]

Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

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Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

Welcome to winter in the Nordics, where comfort and coziness are sacred rituals.

BY JOSEPH PHELAN
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Featured image courtesy of Joseph Phelan

The people of Northern Europe take Christmas particularly seriously. For those who reside in the Nordics, it is more than just an opportunity to take a few days off work and indulge in some hearty food; it is a time dedicated to embracing tradition, community, and an appreciation of the small things. 

It is also a period during which coffee routinely takes center stage. The Nordics are coffee crazy at the best of times—Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark are the four largest consumers of coffee per capita, with Sweden sixth — but at Christmastime, things step up a level. In this part of the world, coffee is as much a part of the festive season as Santa Claus, carol singing, and candy canes. 

An outdoor market at night in Sweden. There are umbrellas and strings of electric lights clustered around Tudor style buildings, with greenery and snow on the ground.
A winter market in Malmö, Sweden. Photo by Alex Ghiurau via Unsplash.

A Cultural Experience

“If you’ve been here in the winter months, you’ll know how dark and cold it is,” says Klaus Thomsen, co-founder of Coffee Collective in Frederiksberg, Denmark. “I think we’ve historically needed some kind of warm liquid to heat us up, especially during the winter months when there’s only a few hours of sunlight. We often need that caffeine to keep us awake and alert!“  

Klaus continues, “But it has also played a huge social role as a gathering point for people. In the religious parts of the countries, coffee was a more accepted beverage to serve to guests than beer or alcohol, and over time the appreciation of filter coffee, mostly brewed with Melitta paper filters and automatic brewers, also helped to highlight nuances in the coffee. This, in turn, provided the backbone to the Nordic specialty-coffee movement and our style of lighter-roasted coffees.” 

A Christmas present, a warm drink in a festive mug, and shortbread cookies shaped liked snowflakes on a white tablecloth with tiny fairy lights on string.
In Nordic countries, coffee and baked goods go hand in hand.
Photo by Becky Fantham via Unsplash.

Over the last century, as coffee has become easier to import in bulk routinely, it has grown in popularity across the Nordics. What’s more, the countries in this region, especially Sweden and Denmark, have had a long association with sweet pastries—klenät, smultring, and tebirkes being three of the most popular—and once the humble coffee bean found its way to their shores, Nordic residents quickly discovered that coffee and sweet treats make for perfect bedfellows.  

Today, the drink has become so culturally embedded that rarely will there be a social gathering without coffee being present. “It has taken over as the primary source of the liquid we gather around, at least before 6 p.m.,” says Jonas Gehl of Prolog Coffee Bar in København, Denmark. “This tends to be filter coffee. It has taken some years for the espresso machine to find its way to bars and households, but it is becoming more popular.” 

A man smiles behind the counter at a cafe. There is a sugar skull with reindeer antlers on the counter, stickers galore on the back of the espresso machine, and a bouquet of pink flowers beside it.
A look at the holiday spirit inside Next Door Cafe in København, Denmark.
Photo courtesy of Next Door Cafe.

Christmas Coziness 

Across the Nordics, coffee and being snug go hand in hand. Hygge, a Danish word that denotes a feeling of coziness, contentment, and warmth, is especially prevalent during the cold winter months, and coffee has a central role in how people attain it. 

“Cafés are very popular in our culture largely because of the light and weather conditions,” says Skyler Rowland of Next Door Cafe in København, Denmark. “I suspect people are seeking refuge from the cold and dark. People go out holiday shopping and visit the Christmas markets, and then they warm up with a cozy coffee. It’s affordable entertainment—a coffee with a friend doesn’t cost much, but it’s fun!” 

Stay tuned for part two!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Phelan (he/him)is a freelance journalist based in London. While most of his free time is spent scouring his adopted city in search of the best coffee haunts, he also enjoys any opportunity to listen to live music and makes a point of venturing to Iceland at least twice a year. 

The post Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One appeared first on Barista Magazine Online.

Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

Christmas and Coffee in the Nordics: Part One

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