Finnish People Are Turning Into True Coffee Connoisseurs: Are You One of Them?

The latest changes in coffee consumption habits show that over the last 2 years, marked as they were by the coronavirus pandemic and numerous quarantines, Finland managed to reach a particularly high level of coffee-drinking culture. Instead of buying regular coffee, more and more people are now searching for specialty coffee beans of the highest quality. What’s most intriguing here is the fact that we’re not talking about coffee brewed in restaurants — we’re talking about coffee drinks prepared and enjoyed at home. By encouraging people to spend more time in the comfort of their home, the pandemic of the recent years also resulted in our daily rituals flourishing, one of such rituals being an everyday cup of delicious coffee.

Freshly Ground Beans = The Most Delicious Coffee

According to the data of the “Coffee Mate” group of companies, which manages the Finnish brand “Kahvikaveri” specializing in the sales of coffee and coffee machines, in 2021, the turnover generated from the sales of coffee increased by 97% in Finland, while the greatest growth was observed in the sales of coffee beans — the turnover in this field increased by as much as 108%, resulting in the sales of beans taking up an impressive 77% of the entire coffee category. This proves that Finns are well aware of the fact that coffee should be purchased in the form of beans and ground just before brewing. Due to the process of oxidation, coffee that has been ground already tends to lose its features of flavor and aroma extremely quickly — in other words, it becomes “flat”. Only a drink brewed using freshly ground coffee beans can unveil the best features of high-quality coffee and consequently gift coffee drinkers with a truly unforgettable aroma.

Growing Popularity of Specialty Coffee Beans

Even more surprises are in store! The data provided by “Kahvikaveri” shows that amongst Finnish coffee drinkers, specialty coffee beans are the quickest to grow in popularity — the turnover generated from the sales of such beans increased by as much as 164% in 2021. To be regarded as specialty, coffee must, first, be traceable to a single coffee estate. Certified experts from the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) then score such coffee using a 100-point system: they begin by assessing the appearance of unroasted beans and afterwards move on to evaluating the features of flavor and aroma. Only coffee that scores more than 80 points is allowed to be called “specialty”. As little as 10% of the entire coffee produced globally is awarded this title!

What makes specialty coffee so exceptional is its rich and diverse flavor palette. The most unexpected natural tasting notes can be detected: ripe blueberries or strawberries, milk chocolate or caramel, kiwis, or passion fruit… These drinks allow people to discover a whole new world of coffee. Here, coffee isn’t just coffee — instead, it’s a unique adventure. Even more interesting is the fact that specialty coffee is never the same: due to different climate conditions and changes in its yield, coffee grown in the same estate is one-of-a-kind every year. Specialty coffee is guaranteed to take the fans of this drink on an intriguing journey of new flavors and aromas. It is this journey that more and more Finnish coffee drinkers are now embarking on.

How to Brew Delicious Coffee at Home?

Once you’ve purchased high-quality coffee, it’s important to know how to avoid ruining it, how to brew it properly and how to unlock its best characteristics. Piibe Aikio, customer service manager at “Kahvikaveri”, reveals a few simple specialty coffee brewing rules, which will definitely come in handy when seeking to prepare delicious coffee at home:

1. Coffee should always be brewed using freshly ground beans, so make sure to grind them just before preparation every time.
2. Avoid boiling water when brewing coffee — the temperature of your water should instead be around 85–95 °C. This temperature will unveil the best features of your coffee’s flavor. If the water is too hot though, it’ll end up “burning” the ground beans.
3. There’s a so-called “golden ratio” of coffee to water, approved by the Specialty Coffee Association: it’s 6 grams of coffee per 100 ml of water, or 3–4 scoops of coffee for a 200-mililitre cup.
4. Give various brewing tools a try — they’re becoming more and more popular nowadays. Such tools don’t take up much space, they’re easy to use and they’re great at unlocking the natural flavour of your coffee. The V60 coffee brewing filter is all the rage right now. Watch this video to learn how to use it: https://youtu.be/SNxlgBp62Xo.