Norway's old way is kokekaffe, boiled or steeped coffee. Water is boiled, ground coffee goes in, and it steeps for about four minutes. It is still made over campfires and on hikes, where it is called turkaffe.
Coffee first appeared in Norway in 1694 but was rarely drunk until the 1700s. An 1861 guide by the folklorist Peter Christen Asbjørnsen is credited with shaping how Norwegians thought about it.
Today Norwegians drink just under 10 kg per person a year, and filter coffee is the most common brew. Barista Tim Wendelboe links the habit to prohibition-era Norway, when coffee was one of the few cheap, sober drinks.
Boiled coffee · kokekaffe
How it's made. Bring water to the boil, add ground coffee, let it steep about four minutes, then pour.1,2,3
How it's served. Made over an open fire or stove, especially outdoors on hikes as turkaffe.
What time is taking away
Hiking coffee
Turkaffe, coffee brewed over a fire or stove on a trip, is a long-standing tradition often passed down through families.3
What the record says
- Kokekaffe is made by boiling water, adding ground coffee and letting it steep for about four minutes.1,2
- Coffee first appeared in Norway in 1694 but was rarely drunk until the 18th century.1
- Peter Christen Asbjørnsen published an extensive guide to coffee in 1861.1
- Norway averages just under 10 kg of coffee per person per year, imports about 47,000 tonnes a year, and black filter coffee is the most common type.4
- Norway had a prohibition on alcohol from 1917 to 1927, mainly on spirits; some believe this helped make coffee the main social drink.3
- Former World Barista Champion Tim Wendelboe says the Nordic love of coffee began in the early 1900s during prohibition, when coffee was a cheap, sober choice.2
- According to Norsk Kaffeinformasjon, 9 in 10 Norwegian adults drink coffee.3
Sources here are mostly a tour operator, a lifestyle site and a trade publication; the national encyclopedia (SNL) confirms consumption but not kokekaffe history. One source dates coffee's arrival to 1694, another to the early 18th century. 'Church coffee' and 'karsk' (coffee with spirits) were not found in any opened source and were left out.
- The evolution of Norway's coffee culture · Fjord Tours in the bibliography
- Boes B4 Spros: Wendelboe & Holmboe Bang Talk Coffee · Sprudge, 2016 in the bibliography
- Coffee Culture in Norway · Life in Norway, 2023 in the bibliography
- kaffe · Store norske leksikon in the bibliography
