Tim Wendelboe, Oslo, Kenya Giakanja

There comes the post for probably the most famous Nordic specialty coffee spot, Tim Wendelboe. I guess it won't be overestimation if I say that he is one of the key names behind the current state of roasting profiles in specialty coffee business in especially in Europe and people dealing with light roasts and nuances around it. It was a break moment between heavy and multi-directional rain showers of Oslo when I decided to walk the way of around 3 kilometers from my hotel in city center. The unique façade -which really looks like a gourmet kitchen entrance indeed- opens into a single cozy room full of coffee people one of whose corners is allocated with a roasting machine. There are some passages to other small rooms which I think are used to pack the beans and prepare the posts throughout the Europe. TW is continuously delivering coffee to professionals as well as home consumers over subscription. The bar had always been busy and the queue had always been long when I was there. When I managed to order I asked for the tasting menu of 4 brewings for 4 different beans which is indeed suitable for 2 people. It was too much for me but I could easily find someone else there to share this impressive tasting session with me. As far as I can see TW only uses aeropress for brewing. Two Honduras in the first set is followed by another table for a Geisha variety next to a Kenya. Well, the beans, the brewings, the serving styles... They were all great. The elegant acidity was there in all cups with no clue of unwanted sourness or unnecessary heaviness. The details and layers in flavours were really beautiful. The clarity was impressive especially for aeropress.

Kenya Giakanja made the biggest impact and I carried a 250 grams package with me on my way back home, where I tried my reference recipes for aeropress, V60 and kalita wave brewings. My best cup was in V60 12/200gr. Aeropress was better with a little bit coarser setting in the grinder compared to my reference. The specific flavours of these beans are rose hips and red berries. Adding the inevitable tea-like background for Kenya beans in general, the output was a like a very high-end floral tea. I am really looking forward to trying other beans from this amazing place as soon as possible.