In the spirit of socially distancing during COVID we had a virtual interview with Markus from Viking Coffee. He tells us a little more about their journey, what they're up to and what we're trying this month!

Settle in and grab yourself a coffee...

Who are Viking? When did you start? 
We are specialty coffee roasters and educators located in the SALT district CBD Christchurch. We first started in a garage in 2015 on a small 2kg coffee roaster with absolutely no experience. Making every imaginable mistake along the way we have now perfected the science of coffee roasting but still believe that roasting is a journey and you are never fully done.

We first had a cafe In invercargill called the Global Byte which is also located in the city centre. Not long after taking on this business we soon grew disappointed and wanting more with our current coffee supplier. The need to take control of the coffee roasting lead to the drive to learn the science of coffee roasting. Yes science... We treat coffee roasting in a systematic way rather than artistic way which has enabled us to take coffee to the next level and set ourselves apart from the crowd.

In 2018 we moved to Christchurch to open our Cafe Espresso245 and the coffee Roastery Viking Coffee currently located at 6/245 St Asaph Street. It is down a cute little lane way between St Asaph and Taum Street. Our philosophy is to source the highest quality coffee. We believe first and foremost good ingredients and high quality processes are critical to delicious coffee. "Crop" to "Cup" this our responsibility to do the farmer's justice for their hard work and why not share it with the world. We share information freely and believe that this key to moving our industry forward. We believe that the experience of great coffee can change lives and we're ready to prove it.

What do you roast on? 
Following on from the garage startup 2kg, we have recently upgraded our machine to the Probat P12 which has been modified to have all the latest and greatest addons to allow us to roast amazing coffee. We take this very seriously as we are also coffee roasting educators / consultants. We work with other roasters around NZ and globally to help take their coffee roasting businesses to the next level. We know exactly how hard it is to get into the roasting industry as there is no formal education available in NZ and the roasting community is pretty tight lipped. We enable newbies to bypass all the expensive silly mistakes in the beginning and get them on the right path to extremely tasty coffee much earlier on.

What roast are subscribers receiving? Can you tell us a little more about it?
This month subscribers will be receiving a coffee from Brazil, It is from the Serra do Caparaó region and is named "Kaparao". This particular coffee is a fully developed, extremely soluble light roast, designed for pressurised brew methods. Subscribers will be able to taste the following flavours through espresso (Soft tropical fruit, medium acdity, creamy body and a sweet lasting finish). Those who decided to brew this in any filter style method (or plunger) will experience similar flavours but with a dominating sweet heavy body / mouth feel.

What’s your favourite way to drink this roast?
This roast has been designed for pressurised brew methods in mind solely espresso. Our recommended brew recipe is ...
18gr Dry Dose
26-28 second extraction
38gr Wet Yield in cup

Topped with 4oz of steamed whole fat milk
This recipe will produce crazy sweet flat white shots