Coffee Origins Archives – Nordic Approach

Ethiopia 2019 coffees just around the corner

March 12, 2019

Not sure what it is with Ethiopia as there is always a childish excitement building up when you get close to the season and the first arrivals. You can expect a standout range of washed and naturals this year. And yes, it’s finally happening, we have our first Ethiopian containers ready to ship. Pre-shipment samples …

Continue reading “Ethiopia 2019 coffees just around the corner”

Colombia & the Tarqui Cup

January 31, 2019

As some of you know, this wouldn’t be my first time in Colombia. Until May last year I was Nordic Approach’s green buyer there and visited this beautiful country several times a year. This time, in November 2018, I got the chance to experience this from a client’s perspective. I had met up with Kenji …

Continue reading “Colombia & the Tarqui Cup”

Burundi arrivals | first half of fresh harvest

November 13, 2018

Mwaramutse! The most wonderful time of the year has come.…no not Christmas. Scrap the bearded guy with the out of fashion red tracksuit from your calendar, the Burundi’s are coming in. The first container landed last Friday – have to be pretty quick, only 4 lots left. November – This first half of the Burundi …

Continue reading “Burundi arrivals | first half of fresh harvest”

Rwanda arrivals | first half of fresh harvest

October 17, 2018

The time for Rwanda has arrived! Season has come to an end, the last cherries left the drying tables a while ago and we made our buying decisions. Our friends in Rwanda are now hard at work to get the lots we chose onto containers with some of them on the ocean already and on …

Continue reading “Rwanda arrivals | first half of fresh harvest”

Java 2018 crop

October 9, 2018

We are thrilled to announce that we have just received fresh Javas from Frinsa coming in earlier than ever. I am more convinced now than ever before about this being a pretty unique project and concept. The development of the coffees are great as well as the producer Wildan is totally delivering as promised both …

Continue reading “Java 2018 crop”

Brazil harvest update 2018 and effects of the C market

September 25, 2018

We are excited about the Brazilian coffees we have coming in this year. We have a group of 6 producers, mostly small to medium and one larger in size that we are working with consistently and have agreed on fair prices that are not determined by the current market price. These producers are committed to …

Continue reading “Brazil harvest update 2018 and effects of the C market”

El Salvador end of harvest update

September 13, 2018

We have been privileged to work with producers in El Salvador who we have a long relationship with and who have really enriched our business and have given us a unique range of coffees that have always made us proud to have on our offer list. Working with Gilberto Baraona from Los Pirineos, and Andres …

Continue reading “El Salvador end of harvest update”

New management team in Tropiq Ethiopia

September 6, 2018

Meet our new colleagues in Tropiq Ethiopia! Ethiopia is a diverted and a complicated place to work in. We are constantly travelling there, and we have an origin office with ground staff, and a cupping lab located in Addis Ababa. We know what we are looking for and will be cupping through loads of coffees …

Continue reading “New management team in Tropiq Ethiopia”

Love in a time of Roya

August 30, 2018

“If you don’t love coffee, you cannot produce great coffee” Marysabel Caballero When Marysabel Caballero was a little girl, her parents decided to get back into coffee, quit their city jobs and started farming. She remembers life on the farm fondly. She loved being with her family on the farm and helping out. Her mother …

Continue reading “Love in a time of Roya”

Costa Rica Journal 2018

August 17, 2018

I love when the dry season starts in Costa Rica, the sunny weather really makes me feel the harvest atmosphere, we know that the harvest is coming as soon as we see nice sunsets and indigenous people arriving to the farms, coming mostly from Panama to pick the coffee cherries. The first week, after I …

Continue reading “Costa Rica Journal 2018”

Our Burundian selection

July 30, 2018

Burundian washed, naturals and honeys are on their way. Oh yes, and some really good ones too. We were there in end of May to visit our producer, Salum Ramadhan, and to cup. Already then the coffees for this season were cupping very well, and much better than last year at that time of year. …

Continue reading “Our Burundian selection”

Notes from the Costa Rica harvest 2018

July 13, 2018

Costa Rica has always been known for its “tico time” and this is something that you might not have heard of before. In a few words “tico time” means no worries, “Hakuna Matata”, everything will be alright and if we say a meeting will be at 8:00 am, ahh it’s ok if we show up …

Continue reading “Notes from the Costa Rica harvest 2018”

Shade drying

June 26, 2018

It is commonly accepted that the drying phase of coffee production is essential in maintaining the qualities and characteristics that already exist within the bean, and extending the longevity of the product. Initially coffee parchment will have a moisture content of around 45%, and at this stage the coffee is at high risk of being …

Continue reading “Shade drying”

Burundi update – June 2018

June 6, 2018

It seems to be a good year for coffees, and our Burundian coffees are tasting great this year! We should be able to make our first selections now the next few weeks with shipments around July/August. We will buy naturals and washed as well as a small selection of honeys. The harvest is more than …

Continue reading “Burundi update – June 2018”

Ethiopia update: the effect of changes in ECX rules and direct trade

March 22, 2018

It’s been an exciting start for this year’s Ethiopian purchases. First of all we have seen amazing cup profiles, overall much better than last year. Secondly, last year they changed the regulations allowing producers with privately owned washing stations to sell their coffees directly, outside of the ECX (Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, which sells coffee through …

Continue reading “Ethiopia update: the effect of changes in ECX rules and direct trade”

Huila

March 15, 2018

What’s the thing with Huila? Why are we and so many roasters almost addicted to those coffees? Well, I think it’s first of all the combination of tons of fruit, the sweetness, richness and the complexity you can find in many of the great coffees there. But there is also a wide flavor spectrum! There …

Continue reading “Huila”

Harvest and purchase update from Kenya

March 12, 2018

Writing this while sitting in a car on my way to Nyeri and Kirinyaga. After some days with loads of cupping we’ll be visiting Kamwangi and Gathaiti among other places.. Hopefully we can find a way to build in some more value to our relationships there. I am here with Kaya and Alena from Nordic …

Continue reading “Harvest and purchase update from Kenya”

Juan Saldarriaga and Tierra de Cafe

March 5, 2018

We have the last few years been involved in a project with a producer in Antioquia that’s been having such a great progress and development with his coffees and quality. It’s about great washed coffees of different cultivars, but also naturals dried in an innovative way. But most of all it’s just great to work …

Continue reading “Juan Saldarriaga and Tierra de Cafe”

From Addis, with love

February 19, 2018

From being here almost one month now, I am actually starting to get a hang of this place. But for those of you who do not know Ethiopia, I have listed my favourite fun facts about Ethiopia below. Over 80 languages are spoken in this country. The most widely spoken local languages are Oromo, Amharic, …

Continue reading “From Addis, with love”

2018 Harvest and Purchase Update

February 9, 2018

I have tried to wrap up what we are currently doing on the sourcing side, and what to expect of this season’s harvest. ☺ In addition to Colombian arrivals it’s the time of year again when everything seems to happen at once, both in Centrals and East Africa. Ethiopia and Kenya is just done with …

Continue reading “2018 Harvest and Purchase Update”

Coffee Club

February 6, 2018

We’re sponsoring a new educational project in Tanzania called Coffee Club, with the aim to improve the future for the kids in the regions we are buying coffee from, and increase the quality of the coffee in this region long term. We will sponsor Coffee Club in one school, the school is in the area …

Continue reading “Coffee Club”