Photography: Cafe Scenes from Malmö, Sweden

It’s been about a year since I moved here, and Malmö is growing on me. It’s a beautiful city when the weather becomes bearable and it’s just big enough to offer some of the dynamism, diversity, & opportunity that a real city should have, but small enough to feel relaxed and peaceful in the quiet summer evenings.

Here are a few pictures from today’s rainy visit to Dan at Solde with Luis from Cafe 14, and a visit from Emil with Fabian at Te & Kaffehuset.

It’s been a coffee filled couple of weeks for me here in Malmö. I’ve been biking around the city and visiting a few cafes, tasting the following coffees (I didn’t write notes because I wasn’t planning on posting anything, so excuse the incompleteness and any mistakes):

Koppi – Hama, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

Koppi – Misty Valley Microlot, Ethiopia

Love Coffee – Kebado Dara, Ethiopia (I think)

Coffee Collective – Hacienda Esmeralda, Panama (Geisha)

Coffee Collective – Gichathaini (I think, it may have been Kieni)

All of the Ethiopian coffees are nice, but don’t really stand out. What happened to the amazing blueberry and strawberry notes that were prevalent in the best Ethiopian coffees of a few years ago? Is this just how Swedish roasters interpret the coffee’s ideal flavor, or is this the result of changes in the Ethiopian coffee export system? Both? Neither?

On a positive note, the Esmeralda Geisha is tasting even more citrusy than what Coffee Collective had last year. A treat.

I tried a number of espresso blends as well, a few of which included:

Haugaard’s Akura (I think it was a natural processed Caturra from Esmeralda, Panama + Mountain Top Peaberry from Australia) which was still too fresh, but I look forward to tasting it when it’s rested longer.

Love Coffee’s current ‘Concrete Jungle’ blend, the contents of which I forgot to write down; tastes very nice, and much better than a couple weeks ago.

Something from Kulbay, forgot the name – Saudade?

Solde’s special blend for Te & Kaffehuset, as well as their own current blend – which is tasting great. Hints of citrus and almond in a cappuccino, if my taste buds weren’t playing tricks on me.

Good times!