We built this guide because we couldn’t find what we were looking for: an easy way to discover roasters who roast the way we like it - Nordic Style.

We’re constantly hunting for trustworthy roasters and roasters offering exciting new coffee. After years of searching, trying, comparing, we decided to make the work useful for others too.

The guide is not a complete directory of every roastery in a country or city. Instead, it is strictly limited to roasters that appeal to coffee nerds who share our taste in coffee.

The purpose of the guide is twofold:

• We would like to help users find great Nordic style coffee, both reliable everyday options and exciting new coffee to explore.
  
• A guide to find the best places in the world to taste and enjoy coffee from the finest roasters.

When we speak of Nordic Style Coffee, we mean a distinct philosophy that emerged in the Nordic countries in the early 2000s, one that reshaped specialty coffee’s approach to roasting, brewing, and tasting. It’s defined by clarity, transparency, and respect for origin. Rather than masking flavor with roast, Nordic roasters aim to reveal what’s already there, the natural sweetness, fruit, and floral notes that make each coffee unique. The guiding principle is simple: terroir over roast.

The Cup

Nordic Style Coffee is roasted light, often far lighter than traditional approaches, to preserve the coffee’s true character. The result is a clean, vibrant cup with bright acidity and layered nuance. Common notes include jasmine, bergamot, raspberry, and green apple, flavors that speak of place rather than process.

The Bean

Exceptional green coffee is a must. Roasters work with single-origin coffees, often small lots, chosen for clarity and distinction. Traceability and transparency are non-negotiable; every coffee has a story, and it should be told honestly - from farmer to cup.

The Brew

Brewing is a craft. Nordic coffee culture favors manual brewing methods that allow precision and control. The goal is to extract balance and sweetness, not bitterness, and to let the coffee speak for itself. This brew culture is rooted in the region’s love for filter coffee and the daily ritual of fika and hygge - sharing a cup, slowing down, being present.

The Process

The emphasis is on washed coffee: pure, transparent, true to place. We also evaluate honey and natural coffees when they’re clean. We don’t include infused coffees or any with added flavors.

The Ethos

Behind the flavor lies a set of shared values: openness, sustainability, and responsibility. Nordic roasters have pushed for direct trade, pricing transparency, and long-term relationships with producers - an approach grounded in trust and respect.

The Taste of the North‍

There’s something unmistakably Nordic about this preference for brightness and purity - a cultural echo of the region’s love for crisp flavors and clean design. As Scandinavian cuisine seeks freshness and balance, Nordic coffee seeks honesty in taste.

‍World-class roasteries. Consistent excellence in roasting and sourcing, with full traceability and clarity of style. Coffees demonstrate a refined light roast philosophy and terroir-driven taste. To get this recognition the roaster must, besides the other criteria, also operate its own coffee bar where the roaster shows the coffee in context, shows how the coffee should be brewed and served - where the quality can be experienced. These roasteries constitute trips in themselves, and are worth travelling for.

Outstanding roasteries worth seeking out. These roasters delivers excellent quality and craftsmanship, but that may not meet all the requirements for three stars (e.g., no coffee bar, less consistent over time, or more experimental processing focus). These roasteries are worth going out of your way to experience.

Notable roasteries who may not be globally influential but are reliable and deliver a product of high quality. These are roasteries that are definitely worth experiencing.

Roasteries that, for different reasons, are interesting or trending right now. Our intention is that these roasteries are eventually evaluated with our panel and receive a star distinction, or don’t meet the requirements and are removed. In this way it can be seen both as a “waiting list” while we evaluate new roasteries and as a way to discover promising ones that are new to us.

Each roastery is assessed through two pillars, Nordic Style Score and The Taste Panel.

1) Nordic Style Score (0–50)

Our attempt is to make as objective a measure as possible of how closely a roastery works in the Nordic style. The score is based on measurable factors taken from the current offer list and public information:

Single Origin

Share of the lineup that is single origin (not blends). A higher share = a higher score.

Processing Methods

‍Share of coffees using classic, clean processes (washed, honey and natural) rather than experimental or heavily altered processing. More classic, clean processing = a higher score.

‍Traceability & Transparency

‍How precisely origin is identified (farm/mill/producer, varieties, lot separation) and how well producer information is presented. More specific and more information = a higher score.

‍Roasting Approach

‍Stated and demonstrated roast intent: clarity, sweetness, and terroir expression over roast character.

‍Consistency‍

Evidence of consistency over time: producer relationships, style coherence across the range, and reliable cup quality release-to-release.
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Note: If a roaster offers blends or darker roasts, those items do not enter our panel tasting (see below) but do lower the Nordic Style Score when part of the lineup.

2) The Taste Panel (0–50)

A group of +20 people who are or have been professionals in specialty coffee - roasters, green buyers, competitors, baristas, café owners, and equipment specialists.

Method:

‍When we evaluate a roastery, the panel brews, cups, and discusses a selection from the current lineup, at least 3–5 single-origin coffees within the processing range that we evaluate.‍

What we look for:

• Cleanliness & Sweetness
  
• Clarity & Flavor Separation
  
• Roast Support (does the roast reveal the coffee or mask it?)
  
• Consistency across origins and processes

Panelists first record individual impressions, then align on a shared view of the roastery’s overall cup quality and identity. That shared view becomes the Taste Panel score (0–50).

Stars & Final Rating

• Final rating = Nordic Style Score (50%) + Taste Panel (50%)
  
• 1–3 Stars reflect where a roastery sits within the Nordic style and how the coffee actually drinks.
  

We’d love to hear from you. Whether you have a question about the Nordic Style Coffee Guide, want to suggest a roaster, correct information about your roastery, or simply say hello — send us a message and we’ll get back to you soon.

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Email: info@nordicstylecoffeeguide.com

Visiting: Djäknegatan 9, 211 35 Malmö, Sweden

Social links: Instagram, LinkedIn

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