Hello Everyone,
As I write this I am currently on my way back from a very MAD weekend in Copenhagen (https://www.madfeed.co/) , managing the pop-up brew bar we had at this year’s most anticipated food symposium founded by René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of NOMA. Steph and Kristina were with me, brewing Kapsokisio Espresso from Kenya and Caballero Pacamara from Honduras to approximately 600+ people, and across 4 different brew stations alongside our good friends at April Coffee Roasters, Koppi and The Coffee Collective. It was crazy. I don’t think we’ve ever brewed that much coffee in such a condensed (and highly populated) period of time. We prepared over 110kg of coffee in total, with service running from 8am to 6pm, which meant we were there setting up as early as 6am – a small price to pay for hanging out with the rockstars of the culinary world. Our brief was to show attendees that brewing great coffee can easily be done in a restaurant setting. After all, presenting great coffee is often the last chance we get to impress our guests before they walk out the door. I’d like to think we managed that. If you were there and have any feedback, we’d love to hear from you. Meanwhile, the next few weeks we – as in me and my fellow coffee peers – are preparing for our own sort of symposium, the 2018 Nordic Roaster Forum which will be held here in Oslo, just around the corner from our roastery/office. More details on this below…
Nordic Roaster Forum 2018
Events
Similar to the MAD food symposium – but on a much smaller scale of course – coffee professionals here in the Nordics (i.e. Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland & Iceland) will be gathering on the 20th-22nd of September to exchange knowledge and insights at this year’s Nordic Roaster Forum 2018. The theme? Sustainability – in the industry, environment and workplace. We will be involved in a few ways. Firstly, by giving a talk on my biological farm, Finca El Suelo, and progress being made there. We will also be competing in the Nordic Roaster Competition alongside our peers, to compare and showcase all the different ways you can approach roasting coffee when given the same brief. In one category, we all have to submit our version of a Maracaturra cultivar from Nicaragua provided by the importer Belco. In the second category, we can submit our own coffee but it has to be a Pacamara cultivar. And lastly, Ben, Marit and I will be hosting a roasting workshop for NRF 2018 attendees so that we can share our experiences with the new Loring roaster and how it has improved on the Probat we used to have. We will be sharing some videos from the weekend on our Facebook and Instagram channels, as well as the video archive on our website. So feel free to check those out if you cannot make it in person.
We’ve been shortlisted for “Best Specialty Coffee Roaster – Europe”
Awards
Speaking of symposiums, we’ve been shortlisted for the “Best Specialty Coffee Roaster – Europe” award being announced at the European Coffee Awards taking place during the European Coffee Symposium in November this year. The European Coffee Awards are the most prestigious awards in the European Coffee and Food to Go sector. Now in their 11th year, the Awards recognise and promote company and individual excellence in the field. European Coffee Award winners are selected via a 2-stage process that is designed to be as fair and transparent as possible (more about the awards criteria and process can be found here, where only fellow industry peers are able to vote in order to validate the award based on actual industry experience. So, if you happen to be a coffee professional or work in the food sector, and you have enjoyed our coffee and our service so far, please feel free to vote for us via the link below. I would love to be able to share this honour with my team, who work hard day in and day out even while I am away, to make sure our standards remain consistent and our guests always happy. Voting closes 31st October 2018. Thank you in advance!
Hasle Skole Loppemarked – 22 & 23 September
Sponsorship
To our fellow Oslovians, if you find yourself free on the weekend of 22-23 September and fancy a cup of Tim Wendelboe coffee while perusing second-hand goods, check out Hasle Skole’s loppemarked happening at Haralds vei 1. For our international readers, “loppemarked” basically means flea market, and it’s a common event here in Norway to help raise money for various school marching bands. For a while now we have been looking for a simple way to give back to our local community, and this seemed like a good fit. We provide good coffee for schools to sell and they can then keep the profit for themselves.
You can now drink our coffee at Katla
*New Partner*
We’re happy to announce that our coffee will be served at Katla, the latest restaurant opened by Icelandic cook Atli Mar Yngvason (previously associated with a popular restaurant called Pjoltergeist here in Oslo). The name Katla derives from Iceland’s largest volcano and in similar fashion, the restaurant promises thrilling experiences with an open kitchen, casual atmosphere and a fast pulse. There will be 60 seats in the bar, 45 seats in the restaurant and a separate private chamber that fits 18. Diners in the restaurant will have a good view of the kitchen where the chefs will be preparing food on open flames and making sauces on large lava sticks, or so-called Molcajets from Mexico. Expect Nordic raw materials mixed with Asian and Latin American flavours, which you can then wash down with one of our freshly-brewed coffees before you skip out the door. Do you also work at a cafe, restaurant or business that could use some good coffee? Partner with us!
Karogoto is coming back!
Coffee
The 2017/18 crop from one of our favourite coffee factories in Kenya is back. For those that have never tried this before, the Karogoto from Kenya is of the SL28 / SL34 / Ruiru 11 / Batian cultivars and tastes of blackcurrants, blackberries and red grapes. Karogoto = berry juice. We are starting to roast this coffee on Tuesday the 4th of September so you can start pre-ordering now. As usual, you can order online or visit our espresso bar at Grunersgate 1. Enjoy.
That’s it and that’s all for now. As always, you can find more information and resources on our website – everything from our current coffee menu to our monthly coffee subscription service , brew guides (https://www.timwendelboe.no/brewing-guides) , video archive, accessories and wholesale opportunities (https://wholesale.timwendelboe.no/) . In the meantime, if you have any feedback you’d like us to know, we’re always happy to hear from you. Just email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
Cheers,
Tim & Crew