It was a nervous bunch who were ready for the opening party of the coffee shop =Kaffe. Together with Petter Nyquist, best known as Petter Uteligger, they have been working hard for the past two months in the run-up to the opening.
The city's new baristas have been working on this project for a long time, breaking several barriers and taking the challenge in their stride. Over the past year, they have travelled to Africa to see how coffee is produced and attended barista courses at Solberg & Hansen. They have received expert guidance and prepared well, and now they are ready to get started.
Why =coffee?
=Kaffe is a new answer to an old challenge. When the street magazine =Oslo became a reality twelve years ago, the goal was to give vulnerable people human dignity through work, a sense of belonging and meaningful days. However, after many years of =Oslo, it became clear that more jobs were needed, and that's how the idea of the coffee shop came about.
A new start
Few coffee shops are lucky enough to fill an entire street during their opening, but now =Kaffe is no ordinary coffee shop either. People flocked to see concerts by Paperboys and Endless. They also got to hear Sondre Foyn Gullvåg read his own poems. Sondre has been selling = Oslo for several years and has also published three collections of poetry under his own imprint despite struggling with addiction for several years. Now he's going to work as a barista at = kaffe.
Sondre's poems can also be read on the cups in the coffee bar, where each of the seven employees has contributed their own words of wisdom.
- Here the coffee cup is magic medicine. It swings at the top, it's called caffeine.
Sondre Foyn Gullvåg
Now the adventure begins
Sondre has performed his poems for larger audiences before, but he had to admit that he was a little extra nervous before going on stage this evening. The coffee shop has attracted a lot of attention and many people turned up to support the project.
- "This is beyond all expectations. Now we're up and running, now the adventure begins. We've become a very close-knit group, and it's incredible that we've achieved all this in such a short time. The aim is to spread good humour and make good coffee. We received good training from Solberg and Hansen and it's coming in handy.
Becomes a documentary series
The entire journey of Sondre and his new colleagues has been documented and will be shown on TV 2 sometime next year. Sondre says that the trip to Rwanda made an impression:
- The past year has been very educational. Travelling to Rwanda made a big impression on me. We learnt a lot about coffee, but also about how unfair the world can be. You should be happy that you live here and have the opportunities you have. Fortunately, the conditions on the farm we visited were very good. It's good that we're familiar with the quality of the coffee we serve," says Sondre seriously.
Ready for a visit
=Kaffe is now open and ready for visitors who fancy a cup of really good coffee. The beans you'll be served are from Solberg and Hansen - a deliberate choice to be able to compete with other coffee shop chains.
If you're interested in a good cup of coffee with a smile, you now know where to go. Sondre and his colleagues are ready to welcome you to their cosy premises in Akersgata 32.
