Kaffa Oslo, one of Norway’s most respected specialty roasters, took the top prize at Nordics Best Roaster 2026 — a blind cupping competition held at Nordic Coffee Fest in Gothenburg, Sweden, and widely regarded as the most prestigious roasting award in Scandinavia.
The Win
Nordic Coffee Fest is an annual specialty coffee festival. Its flagship competition, Nordics Best Roaster, is open to roasters from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Åland, and Svalbard. This year’s field began with 25 roasters submitting coffees for a blind preliminary round judged by 17 industry professionals. Ten finalists competed live at Bananpiren in Gothenburg’s Frihamnen harbour from February 28 to March 1, 2026.
Kaffa took the title ahead of Solberg & Hansen (Norway), Coffee Collective (Denmark), and Good Life Coffee Roasters (Finland).
The Coffees
Each finalist roasted two entries: a mandatory lot provided to all competitors, and a coffee of their own sourcing. Kaffa’s mandatory entry was a wet processed Heirloom from Ethiopia, approached with light Nordic style roasting and careful development for body. Their sourced coffee — the entry judges identified as decisive — was an anaerobic natural SL28 from Brazil, fermented for 96 hours before drying. Flavor notes: red berries, brown sugar, milk chocolate.
SL28 is a variety developed in Kenya, prized for bright acidity and layered fruit character. Anaerobic natural refers to a fermentation process in which whole coffee cherries are sealed in an environment with no oxygen before drying, amplifying sweetness and intensifying fruit notes.
Where to Buy
The competition lots themselves are small production runs not available for general sale.
Kaffa Oslo ships internationally from their online store, and the sourcing philosophy and roasting discipline that earned the Nordics title runs through their full commercial lineup.