Despite Norwegians normally drinking coffee at home, coffee houses also abound. Most streets in the capital, Oslo, harbor a coffee house in which to take refuge during the frigid winter months. The cold may be one reason Norway is only second to Finland when it comes to global per capita coffee consumption.
To be the largest producer of coffee in such a passionate and discerning market takes dedication to quality and taste, and Joh. Johannson Kaffe produces 45 percent of the coffee sold in Norway. “Joh. Johannson is a family business. We have been doing grocery trading for over 150 years – since 1866. Today it is a wholesale and retail business, and most importantly, it is still a coffee business with a history of quality,” explains Johan Johannson, Chairman of Joh. Johannson Kaffe. The company roasts 12,000 metric tons or 50 million bags of coffee a year, producing two of Norway’s most renowned coffee brands, ALI Kaffe and Evergood, among others.
The second great passion in Norway is the environment. “Norwegians always have a really strong connection to nature,” says Bengt Ove Bitnes Hagen, Production Director at Joh. Johannson Kaffe. “We are so proud of our nature and so for us it is not a question of if we are going to live sustainably or not, it is how we are going to do it.” And they are setting a good example. Norway leads the world in electric car adoption with 95 percent of Norway’s power coming from hydropower, while the rest comes from renewables such as thermal and wind.