European Coffee Brewing Centre

Norwegian Coffee Association is an information centre for coffee. Its aim is to secure the highest possible quality of coffee in Norway, from the roasted ’raw material’ we buy in grocery shops to the ready brew poured into coffee cups in homes, cafés and restaurants.

Norwegian Coffee Association simultaneously serves as the joint organization for all actors in the Norwegian coffee business. Its members account for 90% of the total coffee sales in Norway.

Norwegian Coffee Association promotes coffee as a quality product and is the trade’s neutral professional body. From owners of small coffeeshops to large-scale importers, everyone involved in the coffee business are welcome to be members of this organization.

The organization’s office is run by three employees and funded through means from international coffee agreements, an annual subscription from members, the sale of simple coffee-related products and profit from seminars.

Quality

Both in terms of quality and consumption of coffee, Norway leads the world. This is largely due to the organized promotion of quality standards that has been carried out since 1962. No other country can boast a similar, continous effort to enhance the quality of coffee, and Norwegian coffee professionals are highly recognized worldwide. The central body for these experts is Norwegian Coffee Association.

European Coffee Brewing Centre. Instrumental in the achievement of such outstanding quality has been the oldest – and until recently the single – independent professional coffee laboratory in the world: European Coffee Brewing Centre (ECBC). This laboratory is a subdivision of Norsk kaffeinformasjon.

Laboratory

In the laboratory, coffee machines are tested against the high quality standards established. Based on these tests, the laboratory determines whether a machine is entitled to use the centre’s exclusive approval sign.

Seal of Approval. Unfortunately, not all coffee brewers give a good cup of coffee. The brewing time and temperature are the two most important features of a coffee brewer. Repeated studies have shown that prolonged contact time between the water and the coffee grounds adversely affects cup flavor. The brewing time relates directly to coffee grind. The brewing temperature should stay between 92-96°C.

This seal is awarded only to products that have passed the painstaking quality control of Norwegian Coffee Association. Look for this sign next time you want to buy a coffee machine. It guarantees that the machine will extract the very best taste substances from your coffee.

“Coffee police”

Through random sampling in grocery shops, Norwegian Coffee Association checks that coffee producers comply with Norwegian grinding standards, generally known as “filter ground” and “boil ground”. Norwegian coffee processors have committed themselves to these general standards, which specify the correct size of the ground coffee grains and the amount of “power” permitted. “Filter ground” is processed to provide maximum taste when exposed to hot water for 4-6 minutes; “boil ground” for 6-8 minutes.

Exposure times for the various grinding degrees in large machines are as follows: Automatic ground up to 1 minute, extra fine-ground 1-4 minutes, fine-ground 4-6 minutes, and coarse-ground 6-8 minutes.

Look to Norway

The work carried out in the laboratory of Norwegian Coffee Association is highly recognized throughout the coffee business world. Specialty Coffee Association of America is now in the process of setting up a similar laboratory, using the same quality standards. It is hoped that this will gradually lead to a higher quality of coffee in America. The Norwegian and the American offices have recently agreed to collaborate with a view to establishing worldwide standards for coffee machines. Only the machines passing the test in the laboratories will be allowed the worldwide use of the seal of approval.

Courses and seminars

Norwegian Coffee Association regularly organizes seminars in our purpose-built seminar room. These range from short, 2-hour introductory courses to advanced 2-day seminars. Courses are tailormade on request.

Precise brewing standards that are universally understood offers numerous benefits.

First and foremost, the standards will lead to a higher level of consumer satisfaction. The more nearly perfect beverages that are available for consumption whenever coffee is prepared, the more coffee will be sold. In turn, the more equipment will be needed and the more reasonable and rewarding use of accessory features will prevail. In addition, standards form a firm foundation for successful advertising and promotion efforts.