The Story
Drop Coffee was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2009 as a coffee bar near Mariatorget focused on serving tasty coffee.
A year later, we started roasting on a 1kg roaster in the back of our shop. The timing was significant – back in 2010, the coffee scene in Sweden was far more limited than it is today. Filter coffee was seen as a cheap, refillable option, and no one talked about specialty coffee.
Drop Coffee originally came from that we served heaps of Drip Coffee. In 2009, cafés were mainly serving espresso while Sweden has a very strong filter coffee culture at home. We wanted to focus on the different unique coffee beans, where the guest ordered based on varietal, process and farm.
The company’s evolution reflects careful, methodical growth. In 2012, we made the leap to a 25kg Diedrich roaster and moved production into a dedicated facility to begin supplying wholesale customers.
In 2013, Drop Coffee became the official supplier of Kalita brewing equipment in Sweden, and we’ve been brewing together ever since.
In 2018, we relocated our roastery to Rosersberg, just north of Stockholm, where we currently operate as a certified organic roaster.
Today, Joanna Alm and Stephen Leighton are co-owners of Drop Coffee and run the company with help from a small but mighty team of skilled roasters and baristas.
Stephen has recently even ventured into coffee farming, founding Finca Sunderland in Nicaragua, which will soon be yielding its first harvest.
We first met at the World Barista Championships in Seattle, where Drop Coffee was representing Sweden and Stephen was emceeing the competition.
Sourcing & Relationships
We firmly believe that our roasts can only be as good as the raw beans we source, and that full transparency in coffee trade and business practices is essential to the long-term viability of the entire industry. As such we regularly visit all of the producers we work with abroad and, by tirelessly seeking out the choicest beans and distributing risk evenly across the entire supply chain, we proudly pay several times more than the commodity price for all the coffee we purchase.
We only purchase fully transparent coffee from single farms and cooperatives that we’ve personally visited. With help of a sustainability attorney, we have created detailed internal criteria to guide us through the entire buying process and ensure fair practices for all involved.
We primarily focus on the origin countries of Bolivia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ethiopia and Kenya, as we find their quality standards to be most aligned with ours.
Our joint mission is to work closely and genuinely with producers for the long run, buying green coffees scoring over 87 points in cupping, and carefully roasting them with the bright, clear and sweet profile for which Drop Coffee has become known. Together we regularly travel to all of the origins of our coffees and also host many of our producers here at home in Sweden. We work directly and transparently with some of the most talented coffee producers in the world, with many of our partnerships spanning 10+ years.
All the coffees we source have an SCA cupping score of 86 or higher and we always publish the FOB prices paid.
While tirelessly seeking out the choicest beans (must have a cupping score of 87 or higher) and distributing risk evenly across the entire supply chain, we pay several times more than the so-called “commodity price” for all the coffees we purchase. We always disclose the FOB prices we’ve paid and also publish an annual sustainability report, which we encourage all to read on our website.
Roasting Philosophy
Drop Coffee has a flavour vision of a clear and bright cup where the origin of the coffee should shine through. We like to present as much of the coffees’ acidity and sweetness as possible. Some coffees will be more acidic and juicy - and some creamy and chocolatey - depending on the origin, but all the coffees are roasted for clarity.
To achieve this, we stick to a light to medium roast profile, tailored to bring forth as much of the bean’s natural acidity and sweetness as possible. Some coffees will inherently taste acidic and juicy, while others will feel more creamy and chocolatey. Regardless, we always roast for utmost clarity, consistency and maximum flavour, making all our coffees equally exceptional for every brewing method.
Since 2013 we’ve been roasting in small batches on our Diedrich IR-25 roaster.
We only roast to order, in small batches of 8-16 kg, as this not only ensures freshness, but also zero waste.
Most of our days are spent roasting to order, in small batches of 8-16kg on our Diedrich IR-25 roaster. This approach not only ensures maximum freshness, but also zero waste. We pay extremely detailed attention to sweetness, clarity and vibrancy and aim to display every coffee’s distinct origin and individual personality at front and centre.
We are roasting the coffee carefully with complete focus on the sweetness and vibrancy of each unique coffee, always striving for a clarity in the coffee, without ashy roast flavours.
We are not doing blends since 2010 and stopped roasting different for espresso, the year after that. This commitment to single origins and unified roasting approach reflects their dedication to showcasing each coffee’s inherent characteristics rather than manipulating them through different roast profiles.
What to Try
Produced exclusively for Drop Coffee by our longtime partner and Cup of Excellence winner, Ernesto Menéndez, Los Andes is an outstanding coffee that showcases just how different a varietal can taste simply based on the terroir in which it was cultivated. At the 5 hectare Los Andes farm, this Bourbon varietal is grown “wild” alongside their SL28 trees, some of which are now almost 80 years-old. This is not only atypical, but results in a mature sweetness and bigger mouthfeel than we’re used to experiencing in El Salvadorian coffees.
Brewing Los Andes Washed Bourbon you can expect a nutty aroma, followed by a juicy, bright and clear cup. It has a medium acidity reminiscent of lime juice, with sweet notes of ripe red apple and freshly-baked almond cake.
We invite you stop by our coffee bar where you can taste our ever-changing lineup of sustainably-sourced single-origin coffees, either on filter or espresso. Our beverages are expertly brewed to your preferences, and can be served hot or cold.
I chose the Bolivian Carmelita, sat down and waited whilst it was prepared in a Makita drip filter. It was quite simply the best cup of coffee I’ve ever drunk.
For home brewing, Drop Coffee offers a subscription service where you can discover your new favourite coffee, delivered fresh to your door every month. Enjoy a 250g bag of our most exciting, freshly roasted coffee, handpicked just for you. A carefully selected coffee is sent to your doorstep on the first Friday of each month, no need to reorder, and the shipping is on us.
The coffee has a light to medium roast profile, suitable for all brewing methods. Their consistent approach means whether you’re brewing espresso, pour-over, or any other method, each coffee delivers the clarity and brightness that defines the Drop Coffee experience.