coffee plant Colombia

Colombia update, fall 2015

We have been focusing a lot on Colombia over the last two years, putting a lot of time and work in developing the projects we have started with Fairfield Trading (our exporter) and Coocentral in Huila, Cafisur in Tolima, and Buesaco in Nariño. The focus for this trip, in July, was on Hulia and Tolima. 

sorting coffee Burundi

Burundi 2015

It’s no secret that Burundi can be a tricky origin, especially for milling, internal logistics and shipments etc. Even if some of the coffees last year were tasting amazing they came later than expected. I have to admit that we were in doubt this year if we were going to continue because of the logistical issues, but with a great dialogue with the producer Salum we agreed on a different strategy to get it all moved and executed faster.  

drying coffee Ethiopia

Ethiopia 2015

We are proud to again present a great range of Ethiopian coffees. Still, it’s no secret that 2015 was a tough year for Ethiopian coffees in general. Even if we have found great coffees they have been harder to come across than before. There have also been a lot of delays and prices internally have been relatively high across the board.  Even so, the coffees that we bought are super juicy and sweet, and can as always out-cup most coffees around.

El Salvador coffee farm

El Salvador update 2015

After two tough years for El Salvador’s coffee industry, with leaf rust and record low harvests, this year is looking a bit better. When we visited our producing partners the Salaverrias (Jasal) and Gilberto Baraona (Los Pirineos) in February the farms were looking great, full of cherries in the higher altitudes. Quality is great and while volume isn’t huge, it is up from last year.

sorting coffee Ethiopia

Update on incoming coffees from Ethiopia

We are getting in to the peak of the purchasing season for Ethiopia. We have tasted and bought coffees this year that are better than ever. It is still mainly washed coffees we are currently buying, but we have started to see a few interesting naturals coming in from the fields as well. And there will be way more to come the next month or so. There are more great coffees around than what we can currently purchase right now, We are still trying to figure out and plan what you all need, and how much we are going to stock up with for this year.

Ethiopia coffee landscape

2014 Wrap up – 2015 PREVIEW

We would like to take this opportunity to give you all a 2014 wrap up, and an update of what is going on in 2015.

Overall 2014 has been a great year for us at Nordic. Our coffees have tasted great and have been very well received in the market, many baristas have performed well in competitions with our coffees, and most importantly we have had a return of satisfied customers increasing their annual volumes with us.

coffee samples Ethiopia

Ethiopia pricing 2015

On our most recent visit to Ethiopia, we had the pleasure of cupping some pretty amazing coffees, coffees we cant wait to share with you! There are a couple of things we learnt on this trip that we would like to talk about first. Coffee from Ethiopia stands out both because of the incredible diversity of profiles across the different growing regions in Ethiopia and for its complexity in the cup. It is this complexity that has lead to these coffees being widely under valued.

depulping coffee, Ethiopia

Burundi – winter arrivals

We have just received our last shipments from Burundi in to the UK warehouse. These coffees are from the later pickings of this year’s harvest. We think these coffees definitely have a place in the high-end market and are generally undervalued. They work well both as espresso and filter, and are in our opinion very well priced compared to the quality and flavor attributes.

red ripe coffee cherries

Coffee update October

The coming period can be a challenge for many roasters wanting to have fresh crop all year as they often run out of coffees from Centrals and Ethiopia/Kenya, and new arrivals from these regions won’t arrive until spring. This is why we have focused a lot now on other origins with great potential and opposite harvesting periods.

Coffee drying on raised beds, Burundi

Burundi 2014

Some of the best coffees we have ever tasted in Burundi are already purchased and on the way.

We are now in our 3rd year in Burundi and we clearly see great improvement both from the producers end, and also regarding our ability to get things going on dry milling, internal logistics and shipping. We do now feel we are in control of the whole chain, and this is why we are stepping up and increasing volumes. We have locked in three containers this year mainly from three different producers. Still as everything is separated by area and days of picking we have about 25 lots with a very broad range of flavor profiles and lot sizes.

coffee Costa Rica

2014 preview: Central America

El Salvador has been hit hard by leaf rust in addition to the low harvest cycle. Still, we have a selection of coffees from Jasal this year as always. We are increasing our range of Costa Rica this year compared to the past. We have spent some time there to find new producers and have selected a really good range from different micro mills in Terrazu.

coffee grainpro bags

Warehousing updates

We want to let everybody know about some warehousing changes we’ve started for the 2014 harvest. As you can see on our new offer list, we are landing an increasing amount of coffee in the UK at Eniti, a specialty coffee and tea warehouse that is already quite well known in the industry.

There are several reasons for this, and all are related to giving more flexibility, better service, and a smoother and more economical option for coffee delivery.

El Salvador, honey processed coffee drying

El Salvador February 2014

We just finished up a trip to El Salvador to follow up on this year’s harvest. It is still quite early for the highest altitudes, but there were already a lot of samples to cup, and the quality seems to be great. It’s apparently the lowest crop in 50 years, and a huge shortage of coffee, but fortunately we have locked in a lot prior to harvest. In general we are working out contracts for two–three years at a time, mainly for our special preparations.

Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza

Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza

We recently received a range of coffees from the Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF). This is a good mix of coffees from small to medium sized separated lots of different varietals and from different local municipalities. This is based on a concept where FAF is growing and processing their own coffee, while also running a coffee initiative to develop a great range of products from the neighboring farms. We think this is a unique concept for Brazil and the flavor profiles are really complex and interesting compared to many other Brazilians we have tasted.