Drop Coffee Roasters, Stockholm

Coffee is about taking some time out.

The Swedes love their fika (afternoon coffee break) and there is perhaps no better place in town than Stockholm’s Drop Coffee Roasters to enjoy a great cuppa.

With a roastery in Västberga, an award winning streak – their baristas frequently end up in the semi-finals and finals of the Swedish Roasting Championship, Swedish Brewer’s Cup and Latte Art Championship – and a café in the indie neighbourhood of Mariatorget, filled with beautiful homes and creative folks, Drop Coffee Roasters is the epitome of Nordic cool.

Roasters and co-owners Joanna Alm and Erik Rosendahl are fanatical about sustainably grown and traded coffee that tastes awesome in the final cup… and that’s exactly what they deliver thanks to the equally passionate baristas on their team.

My cup of Ethiopian coffee was sublime; even after cooling, the aftertaste of the brew is long and delicious. Meanwhile the cappuccino came with a decent head of microfoam, resulting in the perfect mouthfeel. Besides coffee, their smörgås (Scandinavian open sandwiches) and soup are great on a cold day.

Consider no visit to Stockholm complete without a pilgrimage to Drop Coffee Roasters, whose name is simply a nod to them being one of the first contemporary cafés, when they opened in 2009, to offer customers hand-brewed coffee.

去年初冬之際，趁著還在荷蘭工作之便，
我在某個週五搭乘了夜班飛機飛往斯德哥爾摩，在那渡過了一個週末。
雖然是初冬，但對於來自熱帶國家的我，還是冷得受不了，
與其在街上亂逛，我寧願躲在咖啡館，讓自己浸淫在咖啡香的氛圍里。
於是在週日的早晨，我約了一位在當地工作的友人；
一起到Drop Coffee Roasters這家著名的咖啡館朝聖、喝咖啡。
從拉花、豆子烘焙到咖啡師冠軍，
Drop Coffee Roasters在瑞典囊括了大大小小無數的獎項，
說是來朝聖，一點也不為過呢。

先點了一杯衣索比亞手沖黑咖啡和一份Smörgås（瑞典三明治）。
從香氣到口感，那咖啡讓我為之深深著迷，
尤其是當我把三明治吃完後，
那早已冷卻的咖啡卻依然香醇，尾韻悠長的讓人驚歎。
於是再去點了一杯卡布來續杯。
綿密的奶泡，適中的溫度，在加上一點也不含糊的底層咖啡，
除了滿意，還有滿足。
下次有機會再次到訪斯德哥爾摩，我必定還會來光顧。