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C Story / Elizabeth Escobar Illustration / Yalan Zhang

The City with Coffee Aroma

Since coffee first arrived on the Scandinavian peninsula around the 1670s, to be used
mainly for medicinal purposes, it is no secret that, year after year, the Nordic countries top
the list of the main coffee consumers per capita in the world. At that time, coffee was not
considered a beverage to be enjoyed, but rather, a beverage that was consumed out of surviv-
al instinct, as it helped people to fill up with energy during the relentless winters experienced
in this part of the world.
It was not until the Swedish King Charles XII made a trip to Turkey and took a tradition-
al Turkish cezve back to Sweden that his obsession for this delicious beverage spread to his
court and then to all the people. In this way, coffee became a significant phenomenon in all
of Scandinavia and has been deeply ingrained in its culture ever since.
There are many theories, but what is certain is that most Scandinavians agree that coffee
has become the perfect excuse to socialize and break with the introversion, characteristic of
these countries. Coffee time, or how the locals call it, “Fika”, is respected as much as tea time
in English culture, and it has become an almost sacred everyday ritual. After all, who doesn’t
like to take a break to enjoy a coffee to recharge their batteries and spend some time with
friends and colleagues, especially on dark, long winter days?
Denmark was just behind Sweden in the coffee race. In 1665 the first cup of coffee was
served in Denmark. However, the passion felt by the Danes for coffee did not become noticeable
until the decade of the 1730s when the taste for coffee became popular. Still, it was only a
pleasure for the few since it could only be enjoyed by the nobles, the rich, and the famous. The
Danes banned alcohol in the 19th century and encouraged the population to drink coffee instead.
Coffee imports increased, making coffee more affordable and accessible to all, even the poor
in rural areas. People carried on coffee-drinking habits as they moved from rural to urban areas
during industrialization in Denmark. This officially made Denmark a coffee-loving country.
However, palates are becoming more demanding year after year, and with it, the desire
for new sensory experiences, which is paving the way for a new coffee culture: the rapidly-grow-
ing specialty coffee culture. Not for nothing, Denmark ranked in one of the top spots in the
2022 World Barista Championship. Proof of this growing culture is the continuous opening of
new coffee shops and local coffee roasters that permeate the air of the streets of Copenhagen
with a subtle but clear aroma of freshly roasted coffee. In Copenhagen, quality, design, and
customer experience are things that cannot be missed. Here, you will only find excellent coffee
and those beyond that. So, here I present to you the top 5 of the best cafés in Copenhagen!

Coffee

in Copenhagen

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