Team SWE

Introducing the Swedish National Barista Team! These four snyggen individuals will be competing 2 weeks from now at the Nordic Barista Cup in Copenhagen. I’m proud to call Sweden my new home and be represented by such a talented team. Looking forward to seeing them all in their NBC shirts as well—I hear they’re pretty awesome this year.

From Jesper over at Syn City:

From left to right: Anne Lunell of Koppi in Helsingborg, former Swedish champ, barista at Coffee Common in TEDinburgh and judge at the upcoming World AeroPress Championships in Milan. Alexander Ruas of Drop Coffee in Stockholm, reigning Swedish Barista Champion and teamed up with Anne at the Coffee Common. Also a heck of a photographer and proud father of two. Pernilla Gard of da Matteo in Gothenburg, part of last years winning team in the Nordic Barista Cup in Oslo, and with a very impressive performance in this years Swedish Barista Championships she secured a Bronze place. Per Nordby, former da Matteo roaster/barista/trainer/buyer/whatever and now a man on his own feet, travelling the world in pursuit of good good coffee, and working on an Errol Flynn mo (and it’s not even Movember).

Lycka till!

DCILY HQ Moving to Sweden

DCILY Update: I’ve been having conversations with people in passing on Twitter recently, so I figured I would just do a quick post to announce some DCILY changes. The DCILY HQ will be upending itself from the coast of Maine and leaving the US of A (Happy 4th!). After traveling to the UK for Coffee Common next week, I will be traveling most of the summer in Europe before landing in Göteborg, Sweden.

I travel a lot, but I’ve never officially lived abroad and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I don’t plan on changing much in terms of content, other than I won’t be talking about US roasters as much. I’m excited to have access to some of the great Swedish roasters like Da Matteo, Koppi, Drop, Johan & Nyström, Love—and discovering others along the way. I’ll also be a short train ride from Oslo & Tim Wendelboe.

In the meantime, I have some things I need to get rid of:

Behmor 1600 Coffee Roaster (Sold)
1lb capacity home roaster, with 5lbs green coffee included. Owned for 1 year. Used for less than a dozen roasts—cleaned after each one. More info at Behmor

Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp Electric Kettle (Sold)
1.7 liter kettle w/ temperature settings & 30 minute “keep warm” function. More info.

DCILY 10oz Coffee Mugs ($10 each)
I’ve got a number of these left. If you want these in bulk for a café or store, I will cut you a very good deal, just get in touch. See them here.

“No X in Espresso” Shirts/Stickers ($25/$1)
I still have a few of these left in various sizes. Last chance to get them for the time being. Will be looking into future distribution in the US. See them here.

Interested in any of the above, email me: dearcoffeeiloveyou[at]gmail.com. Deadline for shipping everything is this  Thursday at noon!

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The money raised from selling this stuff will help me buy more of the same (only more expensive and with funnier looking plugs) once I settle in Sweden. Thanks for the continued readership and support. Looking forward to bringing you more coffee love from new parts of the world.

Best Coffee in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden

The people of Scandinavia drink more coffee than anywhere else in the world (they hold the top 6 spots)—and with the long cold winters, it’s easy to understand why. The local custom of “fika”—a coffee break that often includes friends and something sweet—also contributes to their high rates of coffee consumption.

The problem is, even with cafés being such a large part of the culture, it can be hard to actually find good coffee. People argue that going to a café is about so much more—the ambiance, the conversatons, the baked goods. Sure those things are great, but why not complete the experience with fresh coffee brewed properly?

Da Matteo is a Göteborg based coffee roastery and bakery that supplies its own cafés and several others across Sweden. Each one of their locations in Göteborg offer something a bit different. The first café I visited (Södra Larmgatan 14) is nestled in the corridors of a quaint shopping district where you can get brewed coffee from a pair of Clover machines or espresso pulled on a La Marzocco. My introduction consisted of a honey sweet Panama and a juicy Kenyan Chwele that granted my wish for good coffee in the city.

Just a few blocks away, you can sit down with heartier fare at their larger café, although I don’t think they brew coffee by the cup there. However, if you exit through the back door and cross a small parking lot, you’ll find yourself in an old warehouse that’s been converted into a sprawling showroom.

This spacious venue houses a bakery, roastery, and a shiny collection of home brewing equipment. You can pick up a fresh baked roll and order a pour-over of their latest roasts—sorry, no espresso here—while you relax at a table or tour the roastery. I had a fantastic cup of Ethiopian Nekisse here that could have almost passed for black currant juice.

Next time you’re visiting Göteborg, or if you live there now and haven’t discovered this local treasure, stop by da Matteo for your next fika.

Thanks to Tim Wendelboe for the tip.