Interview with da Matteo

The October batch of fresh roasted coffee will be coming to us from Da Matteo Roasters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Bean Bros team had the opportunity to sit down with Rosterichef, Christian Gullbrandsson as well as Roaster & Barista, Markus Vestergaard.

“If the farmer has done as best as he can, and we roast it as best as we can, then it will be an easy cup of coffee for the customer to brew.”

What do you normally expect to hear at a coffee shop? Maybe general chatter or a barista pulling shots? Walk into Da Matteo in historic Gothenburg, and you might just hear something a bit unusual- the sound of a 35 kg Loring Smart Roaster. Da Matteo roasts on location at their main cafe, allowing onlookers and cafe guests to watch the process take place.

“Even if people don’t know much about coffee, they do know what good coffee is. Then they want to know more about it. Our baristas educate a lot of people everyday. People can come here and see us roasting it” says Markus.

Da Matteo has been roasting since 2007. The popular coffee mecca boasts three cafes and a restaurant in Gothenburg where they serve locals and tourists alike. Da Matteo was born to create a quality cup of coffee that people could gather around. Their light-roasted specialty coffee was fairly new to the scene when they started back in 2007. “People are more used to dark roasted coffee here in Sweden” says Markus. Many of their first-time customers, have never seen the original green coffee bean before. “Most of the people who come here have high expectations of the coffee, but for some people it is a shock, they don’t know what to expect. It might be pretty strange”. While it seems that Da Matteo might be reserved for the coffee connoisseur, it has proven to be a modern day cafe for everyone, earning them the title of Best Cafe in Sweden in 2015. “It’s a place for passion, but we do coffee for everyone. It shouldn’t be hard to understand it.”

There are many aspects of Da Matteo that sets them apart from your average coffee shop. Their roasters are committed to providing their customers with fresh coffee. “When you order coffee from us, it won’t be 3-4 days from the roasting date” says Christian. What is their secret? Christian tells us, “We roast 500-800 kg a week”. He explains that “you can control the roasted coffee better when you roast in small batches”. What’s the final aspect to Da Matteo’s success? High quality beans from a positive trade relationship with coffee farmers! “It needs to be a good product from the beginning”, Christian tells us. Their unique relationship with the coffee farmers assures that the beans are dried and picked to perfection. “If the farmer has done as best as he can, and we roast it as best as we can, then it will be an easy cup of coffee for the customer to brew” says Christian.

Their precision and dedication to their craft has earned them the title of Nordic Coffee Roaster champion in 2014. They continue to develop and grow, telling us, “You learn every day. We keep seeing if we can do it better. Every day is a fun day, it’s challenging, but I will say that we are better roasters today than we were last year”.

Small roasting batches, fresh coffee, and commitment to quality beans has us honored and excited to partner with Da Matteo for the next box of light roasted beans.