Copenhagen - Following the Current
Have you ever been so locked in to something that you lost track of time? Art, reading or maybe it was a game you were playing. The famed psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described this as reaching a ‘flow state.’ Being in the zone is another way to put it. Distractions are rejected in favor of the intrinsically rewarding work you’re engaging in. You’re in motion and you’re unstoppable. How fitting then to enter the city of Copenhagen.
I have visted a similar city (Amsterdam) where the cyclists move along in a sort of ordered chaos. Sure, Copenhagen is also home to bikes. A lot of them. But walking along the waterfront on the first morning of the tail end of this particular European adventure, I easily noticed and felt the difference. We stayed in the Nordhavnen area, which sits on the water near the northern edge. The morning sun was reflecting off of the canals as locals sat along the waterway. Some diving into the water and others emerging from saunas. Quiet I thought as I could hear only my footsteps and the shutter of my camera as I snapped away at the sun soaked architecture and the low grade humming of commuting cyclists. Cold and yet sunny was this particular morning and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that first cup of coffee.
Poetry in motion I thought. How fitting.
Design comes through in many aspects of our lives and it’s quite obvious in the cities, towns and places we call home. Regardless of where you are in this city, you never feel boxed in. There was significantly less weight here. No impenetrable castle. No monstrous skyscrapers. No downtown with more empty business buildings than tenants.
What there is - are opportunities for individuals to travel in the way that makes most sense to them. The canals allow freedom of movement. Windows face morning or afternoon sun depending on the architect. Walking paths and bike lanes are filled with locals and those experiencing it for the first time. While it may be intimidating to get started on a bike for instance, I think you’d find that once you got going, you’d have a hard time stopping.
Andersen & Maillard | @andersenmaillard | https://www.andersenmaillard.dk
If you’ve been on this coffee journey with me, then you know, or are perhaps learning that I try and find places that roast their own beans. I also consider location, seating, energy, pastries and many other variables. In a city like Copenhagen, the number of places to enjoy a cup of coffee will outnumber the days you have. So you have to be selective. I’m happy this place was so close to our home base. It was a great starting point.
This bakery and café felt open and airy. The windows faced the water which allowed the morning sun to blanket our faces as we sat against the window. Light wood chairs and stools and an interior color palette of beiges and stone made it feel like the 55 degree sunny morning we were awarded. The coffee was balanced and restrained. The cardamom bun baked to perfection. Some coffees pull you into another dimension. Loud and needy. Sometimes, cutting out all that noise in your coffee lets it sit with your customer a little more humbly. There is a time and place for loud coffee of course. But not here. Not in this moment.
This place allows you to move at your own rhythm without distractions.
I want to believe in the notion that you know the moments in your life when things were, or maybe currently are, coming together. You can feel it. Each decision, every successive step and conversation begin to build. It feels like your energy is compounding.
We got on our bikes and decided that we would head into the center of the city. Bold we thought as some of us in our group had little to no experience on a bike. While the first few moments can certainly be awkward, and perhaps even outright terrifying, we quickly found that we started moving together in unison. Energy tends to operate this way. Those who were learning observed the motions, signals and effort required to move toward a destination effectively. Soon enough, we began to blend into the movement of other riders. A group of cells on wheels flowing in unison through the arteries of the city.
It’s an interesting thing to be within the masses of bikes. Other riders are somehow aware, and not aware of you at the same time. The city feels as if it were built to harness this. The way you lean and gesture communicates the direction of your flock and others can feel it. You don’t have to say anything as you shift your gears. You don’t stop. You adjust up or down and keep moving forward confidently even as you continue to learn. No noise required. Just going with the flow as the breeze cools the button of your nose.
In a city with all the time in the world, it somehow does not have the time to come to a stop.
The Artisan Copenhagen | @theartisancph | https://theartisan.dk/en/
Set up against Sortedams Sø, regulars and those lucky enough to visit can sit outside and take in the morning air as cyclists whisk by. A reminder that even in the moments of rest, the city continues to move.
I loved walking into this cozy neighborhood coffee roastery and café. I knew it would be a standout as I could hear the gentle whips and wisps of the espresso machine perfectly texturing the milk in our round of flat whites. I served myself a small glass of on-demand sparkling water and walked out to meet the rest of our group. Now in the middle of the morning, the sun began to reach its peak given the time of year. I could feel that warm shiver you get when the sun hits your body just right. I sat along the canal, our group happily planning out the remainder of the day. A plate of danish cheese, jams and rolls placed in front of me. A classic Danish breakfast. One of my favorites.
Doubling as an on site coffee roastery, this spot, and this city began to take a hold of me. This is what happens I thought, when spaces and ideas consistently show up in our lives. They create curiosity. Conversations last a few lines longer. More energy. Excitement leads to the next gear. You start to wonder how far you may be able to take it. More energy. You know the feeling. Building. Freely.
You start to understand that these are the types of feelings you get when something … just works.
The next morning, the majority of us needed a deep rest. But for me? I wanted to continue waking early so as to feel the city in all its morning glory.
We grabbed our bikes and easily found our way into the center of the city. The roads and flow of transportation becoming familiar already. In the center another major canal bookended by colorful architecture and cheerfully adorned with cafés and shops. As dawn approaches, the water begins to reflect a pale blue and the light dances along the surface. You can take a moment if you feel the need. To see and hear that the city continues to move around you. It’s energy never ceasing. It began to move many years ago.
I never would have thought that I would find myself taking photos and drinking coffee in Copenhagen. It was only a handful of years ago where instead of roasting coffees and writing blogs I was preparing lectures at Seattle University thinking that would be my forever career. Life doesn’t really care about our plans does it? And once enough energy was put into this coffee thing, it sort of started moving on its own. Life can be that way sometimes. It’ll keep moving along. We just have to decide whether or not to move along with it.
The time came when we would meet up with the remainder of the group. Our morning was spent patiently waiting and snapping memories along the canal. On our list was as experience to be had. I had heard and read about this next place and learned that one must make a reservation. That is, if you’d like to engage in their tasting menu.
Generally, tastings are reserved for wineries. But, coffee is quickly approaching this level in many ways. Customers care more about farming, process, origin and care more than ever. Some of you are even beginning to roast your own coffees. This next place takes precision roasting to the far end of the world, and I will never forget it.
April Coffee Roasters | @aprilcoffeecph | https://www.aprilcoffeeroasters.com
April Coffee Roasters is not a coffee shop in the traditional sense of the word. That is, you won’t find people on their phones or laptops in here. You’re more likely to feel like you’re in a zen-like meditation space where the baristas discuss with you, at your pace, the daily offerings. I felt like I was in a Japanese Zen Garden having tea. The closest coffee roaster in the world that I can compare it to in terms of precision and craftsmanship would be Tim Wendleboe in Norway who is a perennial Top 5 coffee roaster in the world.
The coffee offerings were printed perfectly inside a clean white menu and we had a mix of single varietals out of Costa Rica and Colombia. Fruit forward and expertly crafted I took a break from my coffee to gaze at the collection of available coffees locked in the glass case. Something to aim for I thought as I continue to offer the best coffees I can find for you.
April is a crystal clear representation of the origin of the coffee, and they are honest in their presentation. Each coffee felt different. When you cut the noise out and simplify, your energy can be spent on honing. And doing a few things really well over time leads to meetings with interested parties, inquires, and people discussing what you’ve made with those they care about. Momentum is a consequence of becoming.
Like most of you, I’ve spent years testing and enduring. I’ve rock bottomed quite a few times and I’m sure there is another learning opportunity around the corner. But lately, it feels a little different. Writing this blog for you. Roasting coffees for you. Meeting you at the roastery. It could be that enough energy has been put into this coffee dream that it’s finally starting to take shape. A completely different place than when I wrote about the idea for the first time in the blog where we road tripped through Glacier. Things grow, evolve, and keep moving. They always will.
There have been moments of zig-zagging tho. I’d spend a few solid months building this only to be called back or distracted into something else. Yet every time I would separate from the coffee work, I could feel it. Still moving. But gingerly. Waiting for me to return. And I would. Full of new ideas and micro adjustments. Some would stick and others not so much. But all is part of the un-pretty and unpredictable nature of starting along a path you believe in. We just need to keep feeding it. The return is on its way.
La Cabra | @lacabracoffee | https://us.lacabra.com
Fully vetted in our bike skills, the final day of our Copenhagen voyage was about rounding the trip out the right way.
If you’re into speciality coffee, then you’ve likely heard of La Cabra. Although their beans can be somewhat challenging to find on bar here in Seattle, they do have a location in the states (NYC). However, Denmark is their origin. Naturally, we had to go. Take the words art, craft, cleanliness, purity, mood and architecture and weave them into a coffee shop. That’s La Cabra. Their offerings are stellar. The design is reminiscent of a quaint Danish cottage in the countryside with a mix of Japanese influences.
The flat whites were impressive and I enjoyed the lot so much that I went back in for a second cup for the road. A cortado this time. The thing about a cortado compared with a flat white is really the volume of milk in the drink. A cortado is awfully close to a 50/50 ratio of espresso to milk. Not a lot of room for error. No matter. La Cabra nails it.
I think visiting a location on its home turf is special. A flagship location offers the coffee in the purest way. And while I can go to Cardoon in Ballard and occasionally get a La Cabra coffee, there is something so wonderful and light about experiencing this level of craft where it was originally created. If you can, go to the origin. You’ll make memories worth talking about with those closest to you.
The final day of our nearly three week trip was a culmination of everything I have discussed across the NYC, London and Edinburgh blogs. It was all completed in one trip which made for dangerously high caffeine levels and tired legs. But the memories. You see, growth doesn’t always feel like a firework show. Instead, it’s filled with a series of small moments, marginal wins and plenty of setbacks. And despite this slow pace of growth, it’s one I am incredibly proud of and one that I am happy to share with you all.
It would be our longest bike ride of the trip. Nearly an hour to the far reaching southeastern edge of the city. Up and around, winding through the city streets Copenhagen was kind enough to grant us a final sunny sendoff.
We stepped off our bikes, and walked through the best food truck garden I’ve ever been a part of. A little of this, a little of that we celebrated. And what better way to cap off a trip of tired legs and coffee shop recon than to cheers our hazy IPA’s along the sun drenched canal? Before we would return to our hotel on that long bike ride, we sat in silence as the afternoon sun crept over the cities apex. The last moment of reflection. Cities, the ideas we hold close, and life all move. The only question remaining is whether we’ll move with it.
