The Second Annual Coffee Festival by Johan&Nyström

It is coffee Monday again and normally on Monday’s there will be a cafe or coffee bar review but today I opted to write a bit about the Swedish micro roaster Johan & Nyström’s Coffee Festival. It was held a few weekends ago at Södra Teatern in Stockholm. This was the second year it was held and I was not even going to go as I was fairly disappointed the first time around.

The set-up this time had however been improved with more focus on the coffee and less on music and other things around it. Main sponsors seemed to be Oatly and Moccamaster. I do get the need for sponsors but the fact that Oatly is the sponsor means that there was no milk just the wheat based milk substitute they sell. I tried it in a cappuccino and was a bit disappointed – it did by no means taste bad but the wheat flavor was rather overwhelming so the coffee did not at all manage to impact the flavor at all.

Oatly

Södra Teatern

The fact that Moccamaster is the other sponsor worked better, using the Moccamaster to brew the batch brews worked nicely. There was also a variety of different stations where one could sample the same coffees made with different methods so nice to try the same Kenyan on V60, Moccamaster, Aeropress and Chemex. Nice cold brew station was also a highlight.

Chemex

Coffee

In addition to this there were also workshops such as latte art, espresso making and interesting lectures. The set-up was perhaps more geared towards people who are not yet that knowledgeable about specialty coffee. The range of coffee would benefit if they would also cooperate with other micro roasters as it would be more interesting if also some other roasters were represented or that they would present small batch coffees that are not available in their regular store. I did not really try any coffee that I had not already sampled so it was in a sense a pleasant event but I would not really feel that it would have been worth paying for so I was happy I got a free spot here.

It is however a great introduction to specialty coffee and Johan & Nyström are once again making a great effort in marketing specialty coffee in Sweden.

Wineweek 45: The Last of September.

Even though the trees are still vibrant and green, the cool winds and dark evenings remind me about the up closing October. It has been a very soft landing this year with September offering mild fall weather and little rain, thus my prolonged craving for white wines. But it is time to take out the candles (done) and comfy pants (I wear them all year round) and enjoy some herbal reds on the sofa while watching the storm outside. It will be a long winter,  so better make the best of it. Luckily we are still able to take a dip back into summer next week with our trip to Barcelona and Cavatast.

Talking about Cavatast, we had a bit of a pre-party with my friend Patrik last Friday reminiscing last years festivities. We enjoyed a bottle of one of our last years favorite producers, Varias. Their cavas have a distinct taste of fresh grapefruit and minerals. Its a bit like you are licking some wet rocks down in a mine (not the seaside experience) while enjoying a fruity yet dry cocktail. We absolutely love the crispiness of the Varias scavas, and especially their black-label (aged over 30 months) Cuvée Classic. I have been saving up this bubbly for a special event as it is the only bottle of Varias we have left. And this was the perfect occasion as we are soon heading to Barcelona to pick up some more. I will need to get me some of these babies for the long winter.

Popping open a bottle of Varias for celebrating 7 days and counting to Cavatast

A Swedish delicacy, oven pancake with bacon and lingonberries.

Taking some friends to enjoy the Wienercafeet afternoon tea

The three C’s: Candles, comfy pants and champagne.

In addition to the Varias cava, we had some other treats this weekend. Two friends from Finland came visiting and we had arranged some nice, foody experiences to get them into the Stockholm spirit. Saturday started of with a Swedish delicacy, oven pancake with bacon and lingonberries. Those are the ingredients, bacon and lingonberries I mean, that are served with almost every traditional Swedish dish. Swedish meatballs, blood-pudding, even salmon can be served with these toppings. They are the common denominator for Swedish cuisine.

The day continued with champagne afternoon tea at Wienercafeet, tasting delicious Swedish finger sandwiches and pastries. Wienercafeet serves Hatt & Söner Champagne (vintage 2006 blanc de blacs to be specific) as their house bubbly, which is also one of the main reasons I prefer to take my guests there. The afternoon tea package is around 260 SEK, and adding a glass of quality champagne is only 80 SEK more. Thats what I call a bargain (at least in Stockholm).

That was the wine-action for this week. Next week will be extremely busy. However, it does not really matter as on Friday we will be hopping on a plane towards the event of the year. I hope to be posting a lot of fun pictures and reviews from sunny Barcelona.

xx Soile

Wine Review: Franciacorta Brut ‘Le Terre’, Arcipelago Muratori

This is more of a mini-review as I was not able to gather much information about the wine from the restaurant (a small neighborhood restaurant in Milan) where I had it as they did not speak any English and I do not speak Italian. Looking at the bottle I did however quickly see that it was a Franciacorta sparkling wine so made with the traditional (champagne) method and that it was a Brut. It is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but I could not see any information regarding the percentages.

The wine was pale yellow color and the aroma was one with nice lemon and lime with only the slightest hint of toastiness. It has a pleasant acidity and a slight citrus flavor. It lacks complexity and the flavor falls pretty flat. I would say that it works well as an aperitif and especially when it is hot (and that it was when I sampled it – Milan was a steaming +37 Celsius). Not a bad wine but not something I would necessarily seek out. Quality rating it deserves a 2.5 but it was attractively priced, €4.5 for a glass in a restaurant and that I think makes it great value for money so there it rates higher at 3.5

Cavatast Info: Prices, Exhibitors and More..

Cavatast is approaching and I am getting very excited. Not only is there an abundance of good cava to sample, but it is a relaxed event with potential for warm weather and delicious Catalonian snacks. Cavatast is for everyone, not only professionals; and this makes it even more inviting (professional events can occasionally be a bit stiff).

Every year I, however, run into the same problem: there is very little information about the event available in English. I mainly have the same questions every year: what are the exact dates, who will be there and what does everything cost? As we are talking about Spain, things can also change without much notice. So I always hold a healthy skepticism to all of the information out there, and remain flexible if case it is needed. After doing some research online, I have been able to find what I was looking for, so I thought I would share it here with you to save you from the trouble.

Is Cavatast for everyone?
Yes it is! It is like a town party with a mix of wine-tourists and professionals here and there. People bring their whole family, children included, to the event and enjoy the festivities, lectures and of course the excellent cava.

Who will be represented at Cavatast?
In the below picture you can see the participants for this years Cavatast. Our friends from Cellers Carol Valles and Rimarts Cava are also joining, so make sure you stop by their stands for a taste. We recommend also trying out Vilarnau, Pere Ventura and Naveran who are excellent in their price class.

The producers represented at Cavatast Photo: Turisme de Sant Sadurni d’Anoia

What are the prices?
At Cavatast you buy tasting coupons always four at a time. Depending on the cava, a glass costs you from 1 to 4 coupons. For 2015, four coupons plus a tasting glass (that you can keep) costs 6,5€. Further coupons cost 5€ for four. For food: pinxtos, charcuterie and other snacks sold in food trucks, there is a similar ticket system. Four food tickets cost 6€ and get you various snacks throughout the day.

Cava at sundown

Shopping at the Cavatast- boutique

Sampling at the Varias stand

Me and Sami, our loyal taster

How to prepare?
The most important question of all, what else should one take into account before going to cavatast? Three simple steps will save your day:

Step 1. Bring a bottle of water, or two. You should hydrate yourself in between the cavas, otherwise the festivities will come to an end earlier than needed.

Step 2. Bring some wet wipes and napkins. It is inevitable that you need to use the toilets at the event. During the day, paper runs out and the cleanliness of the restrooms deteriorates. You will be fine if you just bring your own paper and own means of cleaning up.

Step 3. Take a backpack: The cavatast shop is like a gold-mine. You can buy all of your favorite cavas for very reasonable prices, so you want to be prepared to carry some bottles home.

So now all that is left is to enjoy the festivities. Hope to see you there cavalovers!

Solde: Excellent roaster and coffee bar in Malmö

I have a somewhat special relationship with this place. For the year and a half or so that I l lived in Malmö it was my go to place. I passed it on my 5 minute walk from home to the office everyday and almost always went in there for a cup to go. Being from Stockholm it is not always that one is met with great friendliness and warmth in Skåne (or when I think of it not in many places outside Stockholm at all) but I always loved the friendly and relaxed atmosphere here. The clientele was and is extremely hipster so if you are allergic to that go elsewhere. For me the good coffee makes me overcome my aversion to hipsters. The coffee has always been very consistent high quality and that is what I really like here. I do not believe I have ever had a bad cup of coffee in this place. That said, I do also seldom come away feeling as it is the best cup I ever had either but they are really solid.

These days they roast their own coffee and they are really good. They do not have the widest range but always some good stuff. At the coffee bar I would mainly go for the espresso based beverages as the skilled baristas here really know how to use the espresso machine. There are also filter coffees available and those are pretty good as well.

Food wise there is basic breakfast stuff as well as pastries and cookies. There are no full meals so more a place to stop by for a cup and a small bite and then be on your way. In a sense the vibe is a bit like what an Italian espresso bar would be if they served good coffee.It is fairly small so not the place to hang out for a long time and not really enough space to comfortably work or so but still one of the top spots in Malmö for coffee and good service.

So how does it rate:
Coffee quality: 4
Ambiance and service: 4
Food: 3
Vs local competition: 4.5

Wineweek 44: Two Weeks to Go Until Cavatast

Another week has passed without me even noticing it. It has consisted of preparations for Cavatast, a business trip to Edinburgh as well as a few great wine and restaurant experiences. Not to mention finally the publishing of my Stockholm travel guide (only a month late from schedule). If you understand Finnish, go and have a look www.tripsteri.fi/tukholma. Time flies by when you are having fun, right? We are also approaching the end of Septembers order-window. Sales have been relatively good so it’s looking good for our charity fund. All of the profit from September will be donated to SOS Childrens Villages.

As with many business trips, I spent most of my three days in Edinburgh inside an office. Staring at the walls of a conference room. It wasn’t even really Edinburgh, but Livingston that is a 30 minute drive away. Great! I did, however, have one evening out with a fellow winecurious colleague, so we went out to a nice restaurant in the heart of the old city. We didn’t really have much time for reservations, but were able to snatch a table at restaurant Mark Greeneway a local celebrity chef (never heard of him). I am not that keen on TV chefs, but M had visited the restaurant before and regardless of the slightly pretentious atmosphere (I can second that) he said the food is excellent. And that it was. We also had some excellent sparkling Riesling from Australia (!!) and Semillon from Margaret Valley. My colleague is extremely knowledgeable about wine, so she gave the sommelier a good test run. To wrap up the work-week, we went to Punk Royale, perhaps one of the most rebellious restaurant in Stockholm, for dinner (again). It is a party every time..

Views to Edinburgh castle

Aperitifs at restaurant Mark Greeneway

Skillogalee sparkling Riesling from Australia

The best oyster I have ever tasted at Punk Royale

Making my own dessert at Punk Royale

And now about some future events. Cavatast is closing in fast (only two weeks to go) and we are fixing up the meetings. We will of course meet up with our friends from Peret Fuster, Rimarts and Cellers Carol Valles as well as we are looking forward to making some new connections. Rimarts and Carol Valles were the result of last years Cavatast, so let’s see how many new “must-haves” we find. Not sure if we have space for new cava producers in our selection right now, but always good to make connections. I was also contacted by some fellow cavalovers from the UK who are kind enough to take us along for a visit at Torello. The blog has proven a good way to meet like-minded people. I am also quite interested in making some new contacts in Priorat and other surrounding wine regions in Catalonia. We are a bit restricted as we prefer not to rent a car (it was a bit of a catastrophe the last time), but hopefully we can find someone to take us around.

That was all the wine-news for this week. Hoping to post some reviews on Mark Greeneway and the Australian sparkling in the coming week. Have a good one!

Field Blend Friday

This Friday, I thought I would write a bit about field blends. Field blends are wines from vineyards with more than one grape variety planted together in the same block. Some field blends might have over 50 different grape varieties planted in a mosaik-like pattern and the winemaker might even be unaware what all of the varietals are. Sounds daunting? Well I actually love (most) field blends. Even with many different “ingredients” they blend together to characterize the terroir; the climate, soil and surrounding fauna.

In the past, before the time of varietal purism, different varieties weren’t always planted separately in distinct blocks as they often are today. Growers used this as a relatively inexpensive way to blend wine and planted their vineyards as a “field blend” of different grapes that they figured would combine to make a good wine. The growers would often pick all of the grapes at the same time, even if they weren’t equally ripe, and pour them into the same vat to ferment together — a technique called co-fermentation.

Filed blends can be found for example in the Douro valley in Portugal

Initially co-fermentation may have been popular because it was easier and less expensive. It required less equipment, from big fermentation vats to barrels. Co-fermentation might seem old-fashioned, but some contemporary winemakers believe that combining different grapes during fermentation can produce wines that are better integrated, more seamless and perhaps more aromatic — a true field blend is whatever Nature gives that vintage.

Most of today’s field blends are from these old vineyards of post-Gold Rush America or the ones that survived the European wine plague of 1948, making them interesting from both a historical and quality perspective. Many winemakers also believe in the superiority of old vines. Initially field blending may have been perceived as a budget way of making wine, however, today co-fermented wines made from those old field-blend vineyards still produce some of the worlds most sought-after wines.

The Winecurious also has some great field blends in the selection. Our Portuguese producer Quinta do Escudial make an Old Vines edition from their family vineyards in the Dao region. The wine is a combination of over 30 different varietals. Also, Antonio Madeira, a producer who makes just one (perfect) red, uses a field blend of around 20 different varietals. Both wines are aromatic and earthy with red fruits and herbal character.

So don’t be daunted by field blends, give them a try. They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you will at least have an interesting ride!

Dinner and Wine at a Furniture Store

Ever had dinner in a furniture store? I have, last Friday. Woodstockholm is a restaurant located in Stockholms Södermalm on the iconic Mosebacke square. It is not a furniture store as such, it is more of a showroom. To be honest, it looks like a normal restaurant, it was more of a savvy start for the post to bring forth that the company behind the restaurant is a design furniture store. And yes, they do use their own designs in the space. The restaurant focuses on ecological food and wine.

We were at Woodstockholm to celebrate my birthday, so we went for a full tasting menu and a full flight of wines. In this case I actually don’t mean a ready selected wine menu, but rather the sommelier helped us find a wine-partner for each course. We started of with some Dhont-Grellet Champagne, a nice toasty aperitif. The price was very reasonable for being Stockholm, only 110 SEK for a glass. With the starters, salmon, tartar and egg, we both chose Austrian wines, a field blend from Vienna and a Grüner Veltliner. Both were nice and crispy. I often find field blends to be quite interesting, filled with fruity character. This specific one Weininger Gemischter Satz was quite young (2014) and slightly in your face (high in acidity). That didnt really bother me though. For main we had duck paired with some truly interesting reds. I had a red Bourgogne made by Koji Nakada, a Japanese man who moved to France to make wine. The wine was velvety and elegant, perfect with juicy duck meat (the main). M had a red from Mikael Boutin, a mechanic turned winemaker. I love it when the restaurant adds some information on the wine, something beyond the grape, area and method. The story of the winemaker often appeals to me when choosing a wine.

The starter with egg, mushrooms and crispy kale was our favorite.

The tartar!

Austrian wines with the first course

Bourgogne red by Japanese Koji Nakada

The ambiance of the restaurant was pleasant. However it being Friday evening and all, the space was fully packed and the staff slightly stressed. We were a bit concerned in the start if they had lost oir reservation (the waiter looked at us a bit nervously and it took some time before we were seated. Service, when we finally got some, was extremely friendly.

Woodstockholm is definitely a place worth visiting if you are in Stockholm. A reservation is highly recommended and be prepared to share the table with others. We were seated in the same communal table as two other parties, but it did not really bother us. Price range is reasonable for being Stockholm and the wines were awesome!

Scandinavian Embassy: High quality coffee & Food in Amsterdam

As some of you may have gathered I do have to spend some time in the Netherlands due to work now and then. When I started coming to Amsterdam the coffee scene was not really much to talk about and then when it started the quality was not really there. For me the place that made all that change was Scandinavian Embassy. It took me some time to make my way there as it is not really close to the areas I go for work (and it is not smack in the center but not too far off Albert Cuyp Market by the calm Sarphati park). The area is lovely so can understand why they set up shop here. When I entered I was promptly met by a cute little dog, one of the owners (Rikard) has a tiny little dog that will happily stare at you in an attempt to get some food from you.

The second thing I noticed was a familiar face behind the counter. Nicolas who used to work at one of my local favorites cafes in Stockholm (Drop Coffee) was now one of the people running this place. I then immediately knew I was in good hands when it comes to coffee. Nicolas is one of the top baristas in the world so I fully trusted him to make me a decent cup. When I was there the first time they had a wide selection of coffees from some of my favorite Scandinavian roasters like Danish Coffee Collective, Norwegian Tim Wendelboe and Swedish Drop Coffee. I sampled several of the Kenyans and they were awesome! On subsequent visits they kept to the Scandinavian roaster and always served impeccable coffee. The coffee is also most often paired with the food they serve.

Apple Cake

Carrot Cake

Food wise there is also a clear Scandinavian touch to the menu and a lot of the things sounded great. I have tried some of the pastries as well as the food (among other things the wild boar sausage as well as poached eggs). In general high quality food, made with carefully sourced and selected ingredients. The food is better than what you will have in most restaurants and I just love sitting at the bar looking at them prepare it. The ambitions are high and yet the prices stay reasonable.

Food

The design is also clearly inspired by Scandinavia. For me, it looks really great and of course familiar, so not sure how the locals like it. The seats are perhaps not the most comfortable but I still like to hang out here. The tables in the back are more nice to sit for a long time at. There is free wifi as well so fine for doing some work. The staff are really friendly and happy to chat about coffee, food and stuff.

So how does it rate:
Coffee quality: 4.5
Ambiance and service: 4
Food: 4.5
Vs local competition: 5

Wineweek 43: Fall Tasting

I must say I am a bit torn about Sundays. It’s usually the calmest day of the week with ample time to just slack off, write and eat nice food. However, I also feel the looming stress of Monday in my bones. It is not like I don’t like Mondays, I do, but the calendar is often very full resulting in Sunday being the only day of the week I can really do something creative. Then again, it is the only day to really rest. What a dilemma. Writing this blog is thankfully a combination of both.

Yesterday we had our fall tasting. The doors to our (rented) tasting room were open for anyone interested in sampling our selection. Last time we held a similar event, it was crazy. We had so many people that we did not really have any time to chat with anyone, we were just serving. Yesterday was much calmer and much more pleasant. We sampled five cavas, four reds and a white from our current selection, as well as wines from Almeida Garret (Portugal), a potential new producer for our range. We had also, as per plan, prepared proper materials to keep people on top of what they were tasting. I must say the planning and the materials paid off. I am now considering if we should have custom made Winecurious tasting books printed for handing out at our events. I wonder what they would cost..

Some birthday champagne before dinner at Woodstockholm

It was my birthday this week

Llagrima d’Or cooling down at tasting

Our tasting reds clearly numbered for easy recognition

Other interesting wine news from this week: it was my birthday and we visited Woodstockholm, a furniture store/ restaurant in Södermalm. They had both an interesting menu as well as a good wine list. We had some Dhont-Grellet Champagne, a nice field blend white from Austria, and a Bourgogne red from a Japanese grower, Koji Nakada. Very interesting wines and stories, not to mention that the food was awesome.

The tartar!

Bourgogne red by Japanese Koji Nakada

The coming week will be tough. We will both be travelling, myself to Edinburgh and M to Antwerp. I will be meeting up with a fellow wine geek from Austria so I am expecting some exploration of the Edinburgh wine-scene (the Scots are more into whisky though). Friday we will be going (again) to Punk Royale (review here) and over the weekend we will have some friends visiting from Finland. Sunday, we will be closing our September order window and organizing transport for our customers in Stockholm. I should also be contacting some of our friends in Sant Sadurni to let them know we are coming to Cavatast. Phooh! That was it for the relaxing Sunday, looking at the agenda I better get back to work. Have a great week you all!