Coffee in Finland

[CAD_Guy]

and the additive in Horten's coffee...ummm was a joke..

Yes I know.

There was a rumour at one time that there was an additive in it. The guy I mentioned who loves Tim's can't make it the same way they do, there's just something about how they do it. He's got a tin of it here with him. I still think it's gut rot though. It's never sat well with me for some reason. I also have something against drip filtered coffee, in case you haven't guessed by now.

I didn't drink coffee in Canada and when I went to Australia I started there. When I tried Starbucks for the first time I was disappointed. I tried them several times, in New York, Toronto and Australia. I was disappointed each time, so I've been a little curious as to why people liked them, I guess it must be the fancy coffees you can get.

When it comes to coffee I'm a purist, no flavours and stuff like that, again everyone is entitled to how they want their coffee.

However people wish to view coffee is up to them I myself like a good cup of coffee, what I view as one that is.

There's a saying I got from watching a doco on coffee (yeah I'm obsessed so what?) - Life is too short for a bad cup of coffee. That's pretty much sums up my opinion.

[Violette]

If I can drink a fresh brewed cup of coffee "black", then I consider it to be great coffee.

To Pursuivant: We have a couple of "never used" Samovars. The electrical cords would have to be redone in order to use them.
How cool to have high tea (a British thing I know) with all the trimmings and the Samovar as the centerpiece.... ahhh the days of Tolstoy.
.... but you also mentioned butter with tea ...what's that about?

[EP]

but you also mentioned butter with tea ...what's that about?

That is about Tibet and Mongolia.

[Cory]

Beans, beans, beans... If one truly appreciates a great cup of java, then grinding the beans is the only way to ensure an ideal flavour. And once the beans are home, stick 'em in the freezer to keep the oil in the bean and always fresh.

I've been a member of the coffee culture for a couple of decades and am fussy about what I drink. If I know that the pot is made from a package of ground stuff, then I drink tea. I'd rather have a horrid cup of tea made by dipping the bag in a less than hot cup of water to having a horrid cup of coffee.

My hubby knows that the most appreciated xmas or birthday gift is a 500 gr bag of blue-mountain or Kenyan AA beans!! Since I'm a 1-cup-a-day drinker, they last quite some time. As a matter of fact... think it's time!

[Violette]

but you also mentioned butter with tea ...what's that about?

That is about Tibet and Mongolia.

Oh wow..thanks for the info.

[CAD_Guy]

And once the beans are home, stick 'em in the freezer to keep the oil in the bean and always fresh.

Hate to break the news to you but this is a myth. It is recommended never to store coffee in a freezer except for a one time shot and then making sure that it's sealed properly to avoid moisture as coffee is porous and will suck up odours and moisture fairly easily. Coffee is best kept a room temperature in it's original bag for about two weeks of use.

To put is simply you will ruin your coffee and you might as well be drinking Juhla Mokka.

[pierrot]

1) http://www.iltalehti.fi/hintajalaatu/20 ... 1_l7.shtml

I assume that was supposed to indicate that Lidl coffee is good because three people liked it? Not really convincing, especially when the other brands tested were mostly typical domestic brands. It just suggests then that typical Finnish coffee is worse than Lidl's. (is it really so bad?)

Lidl Coffee also was placed amongst the top 5 in other countries reviews, like f.e. in Germany, one of Europe's biggest coffee importer.
Then again a british tea-drinker might not be the best to judge coffee anyway
Just because something is from Lidl doesnt mean it is automatically bad. The basic food stuff like flour, sugar, milk, butter etc is perfectly fine and tastes like any other brand. The milk f.e. is from Arla afaik. Of course there is also the dodgy stuff which i wouldnt touch with a polestick, but that is something you will find in any discounter (and that's what Lidl is after all).
The reasons why Lidl is more expensive here than f.e. in Germany is that you have a lot of Finnish products here in Lidl (probably to raise the acceptance by the Finnish consumer) and you don't have the traditional competition like Aldi, which is usualy the reason for those pricefights. Lidl knows they are already cheaper than the locals, so they don't see a need to go even cheaper, that wouldn't bring them any further advantage.

1) There's a lot more people out there saying that Finnish coffee is bad, compared to Finns saying foreign coffee is bad - they've got you heavily outnumbered.

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum

Doesn't apply as the matter is subjective. The answer can only be decided by force of numbers. As I wrote, they've got you outnumbered.
Personally, I don't care - all coffee is vile to me, but I hear a lot of Finns saying coffee in Blahblahland is terrible, and plenty of foreigners have said that Finnish coffee is not good (putting it politely).

Depending of what countries people come from, that might be true. And Italians or Swiss might find the coffee here not good, but that might also be due to the fact that they are used to darker coffee (full roast vs light roast). But compared f.e. to French, UK or US coffee, Finnish coffee is quite ok. Mainly a question of what people are used to.

Finland is hardly overflowing with epicures or gourmands, most people want the combination of low cost and edible. And that's what they become accustomed to.

3) http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/ilmiot.shtml ... 01/1038660

There are good restaurants here, I didn't say there aren't, but Finland does not have a foodie culture. Compare with France where food is the raison d'être. As already said, generally people here are more interested in price than quality. In some countries it is sacrilegious to even consider a compromise when it comes to quality.

Yes, but this food culture is disappearing more and more, people want cheap and plenty. They rather pay less for their food and get lower quality rather then have less money available for their holiday or electronics. All a matter of priorities. Is it the end of the world? no, but still rather sad.

[Pursuivant]

If I ever go to Ireland again, I'll pack a jar of LIDL instant - to get decent coffee.... prolly a pack of AleCoq as well. Irish can do light hot stuff in a cup and dark stuff in a pint, but coffee and lager are vile.

[Pursuivant]

BTW Vietnamese coffee is pretty interesting.

[EP]

BTW Vietnamese coffee is pretty interesting

I would just say that it is good. I brought two packages home, different brands. One had a chocolaty side taste. Not what I would want for a wake me up cup, but very nice after a dinner.

[buldozr]

At last, I've found a cafe where I can have a whole pot of relatively freshly roasted coffee. A small place at Aleksi 50. It even has its own mini-roastery.

[ladygrey]

http://www.turunkahvipaahtimo.fi/

I get my beans from this place which are sold at Cafe Art here in Turku. It's the best coffee I've found in Finland and one of the best I've ever had. At least it ranks up there with Intelligentsia and Metropolis espresso beans in Chicago where I moved from. Before I found this I used to buy Nordqvist espresso in black cans at Citymarket, which was infinitely more passable than any Presidentti or the other brands I've tried. It was even better than Illy (which costs more) and Lavazza (which tastes like dirt to me). If you find some small independent roasteries that roast their own beans it would probably be better than anything you can find in a grocery store.

[buldozr]

If you find some small independent roasteries that roast their own beans it would probably be better than anything you can find in a grocery store.

True. The cafe in Helsinki that I wrote about a few posts above brews coffees from Kaffa Roastery.

[stiff]

Who posted that link to Kaffe Centralen earlier? Because close the thread now, that is the best cup of coffee in the capital. And cheap too.

Finnish coffee can be an acquired taste I guess, tending to be quite strong (and yeah, often burnt!) filter coffee. I bloody love it though. For me nothing beats Italian coffee, although I like plenty of different types, French coffee for instance has a very particular taste. Finnish coffee works so well with Korvapuusti it's untrue. I will say that at least Finnish Filter coffee, even left on the hot pan for half a day, is still a mile better than the disgusting instant coffee which people are so 'fond' of in the UK.

The only thing that bugs me about the coffee situation in Helsinki is that it seems to be fairly normal for a Latte to be upwards of €3.50. Oof. And difficult to find a decent espresso too - though this is also true of London, it's an adopted thing rather than built into the bones of the people serving it.

Other places that I've had a decent cup of (espresso based) coffee at include Cafe Java, Korjaamo, Erottaja (before it was taken over, no idea now), Tin Tin Tango is ok, and Tori isn't bad either. And Cafe Helsinki in Töölö on the corner of Urheilukatu is worth picking up a take away from.

[Pursuivant]

One had a chocolaty side taste.

I think I have that, I also have a "vietnamese filter" for it and the result is quite pleasant, although not my morning cup either.