Tim Wendelboe - Specialty Coffee Roaster \| Unpacking Coffee [Skip to content](#main-content) [ ![Unpacking Coffee Logo](/images/cuppin-logo.svg) Unpacking Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee) [ Coffees ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees) [ Roasters ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters) [ Cuppings ](https://unpacking.coffee/cuppings) [ Recipes ](https://unpacking.coffee/recipes) [ Origins ](https://unpacking.coffee/origins) [ Log in ](https://unpacking.coffee/login) [ ](https://unpacking.coffee/login "Log in") [ Register ](https://unpacking.coffee/register) [ ](https://unpacking.coffee/register "Register") [ Roasters ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters) Tim Wendelboe Tim Wendelboe ============= Oslo, Norway · Roasting since 2007 Tim Wendelboe is a celebrated Oslo specialty coffee roaster, espresso bar, and training centre founded in 2007 by Tim Wendelboe, the 2004 World Barista Champion. The roastery and offices sit at Tøyengata 29c with the espresso bar in Grünerløkka, and a training centre upstairs serves as both an experimental laboratory and learning hub for professionals worldwide. Log In to Cup Log in to your account Enter your email and password to continue Email address Password Remember me Cancel Log in Need an account? [Sign up](https://unpacking.coffee/register?intended=https%3A%2F%2Funpacking.coffee%2Fcupping%2Fnew%3Froaster_id%3D211) On the record --------------- Coffees 0 Cuppings 0 The roaster ------------- Based in Oslo, Norway Since 2007 Website [timwendelboe.no](https://timwendelboe.no) Added May 2025 The interview ------------- From the Unpacking Coffee video series, 2015–2019. ![](/storage/roaster-profiles/211/featured-1200.webp) Watch the interview Episode 042 · March 28, 2017 Tim Wendelboe, Grüners gate, Oslo, Norway ### From the episode - [Tim Wendelboe](https://www.timwendelboe.no/) - [Tim Wendelboe on Twitter](https://twitter.com/timwendelboe) - [Tim Wendelboe on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/TimWendelboeCoffee) - [Tim Wendelboe on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/timwendelboe/) - [La Marzocco Home Espresso Subscription](https://home.lamarzoccousa.com/subscription/) - [Needmore Designs](https://needmoredesigns.com) Read the transcript HELLO Ray: I'm Ray. Kandace: I'm Kandace. Ray: Welcome to Unpacking Coffee. This week... Kandace: Tim Wendelboe from Oslo. Do you remember the first time we saw Tim in action? Ray: It was at the SCAA at the time, right? Kandace: Right. Ray: Yeah. Kandace: Back in the old days, where it was a double "A." He was at a booth and there were just crowds of people around and I remember thinking, "Who is this rockstar?" Ray: He seemed nice. He was making some self-deprecating jokes. Kandace: Yes. Yeah. Tim: Hello. I'm Tim Wendelboe and I'm a Norwegian barista. I was a World Barista Champion in 2004. I own a coffee shop in Oslo, Norway where we also roast coffee. We import coffee. I also have a coffee farm in Colombia, which is called Finca El Suelo, and I've also written a couple of books on coffee in the past. Ray: Tim Wendelboe is originally known as the World Barista Champion, in- Kandace: 2004. Ray: Right. In 2007, he started his own roastery named appropriately, Tim Wendelboe. Kandace: Mm-hmm Ray: Zero room for confusion there. Kandace: No. No confusion. He started this roastery after he had been a barista for nine years. Ray: Yeah. Kandace: Yeah. Tim: After winning the World Barista Championship in 2004, I decided to move on and quit Stockfleths, and then I opened my own store, the roastery, in 2007, so 10 years ago, we've been up and running. Coffee in Norway Ray: Did you know, Kandace, that Norway is the second largest drinker of coffee per capita in the world? Kandace: Second only to Finland. Ray: That's right. Tim: Most people drink coffee in the office and also at home. Coffee is free always in the office, and it's the only drink that you ask people if they come visit you. You always ask if you want a cup of coffee. It's a very, very social drink for us, but also a drink that we drink a lot, because we're, I think, second place in the world that drinks the most per capita, so coffee is a big thing in Norway. On the Farm Ray: In 2012, Kandace, he bought a farm. Kandace: What kind of farm, Ray? Ray: I assume coffee. Kandace: Finca El Suelo. Tim: The reason why I started getting interested in owning my own farm is because I've been traveling a lot for the last 10 years to visit farmers that I've been working with, the same farmers every year, and trying to improve their quality. It was a natural thing when I started roasting my own coffee. I early understood that it doesn't really matter how much we do trials and errors and tests and try to improve our roasting technique if the ingredients aren't good. If you start off with poor ingredients or old coffee or something, it doesn't really matter what you do with the roaster. The coffee is never going to taste good. That's why I started traveling more to origin to help the farmers improve the quality and also develop the qualities that I want to drink and I want to buy, and that led to me finally purchasing some land in Colombia. I bought this from a farmer that I've been working with since 2012. The reason why I did it was because I'm slowly starting to believe that there has to be a different way of growing coffee in order to improve the quality, without using so much pesticides and fungicides and chemicals, because I don't believe that's very sustainable. After I bought the land, I ended up taking some soil biology classes with Dr. Elaine Ingham, and that's the kind of techniques that I'm going to test out on the farm and try to prove to the world that we can grow better and more coffee by using no chemicals or mineral fertilizers, so by only using compost, compost teas and extracts and so on. All in Good Taste Kandace: He also talked to us about ... Not only is he trying to produce better-tasting organic coffee, but he told us a bit about how to improve your own ability to taste coffee. Tim: Well, it's not that difficult actually to learn how to taste anything. I would basically recommend that you start by buying two or three different coffees that are very different. Not three different Kenyan coffees, but maybe one Kenyan coffee, a Brazilian coffee, and maybe an Ethiopian coffee, and then you can brew them on a French press or a V60 or whatever side by side and taste them side by side. It's much easier to taste or be able to describe flavors when you have something to compare to. It also helps to go to public cuppings on coffee shops or attend any cupping events and tasting coffees with the coffee professionals that are used to tasting coffees and discussing the coffees afterwards. La Marzocco Home Espresso Subscription FTW Kandace: Tim Wendelboe, the roastery, is the roaster in residence at La Marzocco right now. And, there's something else happening that's pretty exciting. La Marzocco just introduced a home espresso subscription program, and Tim is the first coffee that's going out. I believe you have two days. How many days are in March? Can we say that we're pretty excited about this program? Can we go ahead and...? Ray: Yeah. Actually, we as Needmore Designs built this website in the future for La Marzocco Home. Kandace: We made the badge/identity. Ray: Mm-hmm. Kandace: Took the photos. This is so exciting. This was a really amazing project to be a part of, and it's really exciting. Tim: The service we will be doing at the La Marzocco Café in Seattle will be quite similar to what we're doing in Norway. We don't do any food or anything in our café, so all the focus will be on the coffee itself. We will have two different espressos. One, more sweet and less acidic coffee from Colombia, from Finca Tamana, and then we will have Ethiopian washed Sidamo coffee from Hunkute, Incorporated, that's more floral and quite bright and acidic and very citric. We will also do only AeroPress coffees for the black coffee serving, and there will be a coffee menu, so you can choose from different coffees. I think we will have four coffees on the menu that has very different tastes. We will also have AeroPress tasting flight, so you can come with a friend and buy a taste flight, and you will be able to taste four coffees made on the AeroPress, and have a good explanation from the baristas, what to look for when you taste them and so on. Of course, we'll do all the lattes and the cappuccino drinks, but we'll do them in the format that we actually do in Norway, so with whole milk only, organic whole milk, and serve them in small glasses, not in huge buckets that you can find somewhere in the U.S. Eight-ounce is our largest size, actually, and that's our latte. You might ask, "Why do you do the small sizes?" Well, we want the milk drinks to actually taste coffee. The less milk you have, the more coffee you're going to taste. Ray: Tim Wendelboe Coffee of Oslo, Norway. Watch the Show https://vimeo.com/210323185 HELLO Ray: I'm Ray. Kandace: I'm Kandace. Ray: Welcome to Unpacking Coffee. This week... Kandace: Tim Wendelboe from Oslo. Do you remember the first time we saw Tim in action? Ray: It was at the SCAA at the time, right? Kandace: Right. Ray: Yeah. Kandace: Back in the old days, where it was a double "A." He was at a booth and there were just crowds of people around and I remember thinking, "Who is this rockstar?" Ray: He seemed nice. He was making some self-deprecating jokes. Kandace: Yes. Yeah. Tim: Hello. I'm Tim Wendelboe and I'm a Norwegian barista. I was a World Barista Champion in 2004. I own a coffee shop in Oslo, Norway where we also roast coffee. We import coffee. I also have a coffee farm in Colombia, which is called Finca El Suelo, and I've also written a couple of books on coffee in the past. Ray: Tim Wendelboe is originally known as the World Barista Champion, in- Kandace: 2004. Ray: Right. In 2007, he started his own roastery named appropriately, Tim Wendelboe. Kandace: Mm-hmm Ray: Zero room for confusion there. Kandace: No. No confusion. He started this roastery after he had been a barista for nine years. Ray: Yeah. Kandace: Yeah. Tim: After winning the World Barista Championship in 2004, I decided to move on and quit Stockfleths, and then I opened my own store, the roastery, in 2007, so 10 years ago, we've been up and running. Coffee in Norway Ray: Did you know, Kandace, that Norway is the second largest drinker of coffee per capita in the world? Kandace: Second only to Finland. Ray: That's right. Tim: Most people drink coffee in the office and also at home. Coffee is free always in the office, and it's the only drink that you ask people if they come visit you. You always ask if you want a cup of coffee. It's a very, very social drink for us, but also a drink that we drink a lot, because we're, I think, second place in the world that drinks the most per capita, so coffee is a big thing in Norway. On the Farm Ray: In 2012, Kandace, he bought a farm. Kandace: What kind of farm, Ray? Ray: I assume coffee. Kandace: Finca El Suelo. Tim: The reason why I started getting interested in owning my own farm is because I've been traveling a lot for the last 10 years to visit farmers that I've been working with, the same farmers every year, and trying to improve their quality. It was a natural thing when I started roasting my own coffee. I early understood that it doesn't really matter how much we do trials and errors and tests and try to improve our roasting technique if the ingredients aren't good. If you start off with poor ingredients or old coffee or something, it doesn't really matter what you do with the roaster. The coffee is never going to taste good. That's why I started traveling more to origin to help the farmers improve the quality and also develop the qualities that I want to drink and I want to buy, and that led to me finally purchasing some land in Colombia. I bought this from a farmer that I've been working with since 2012. The reason why I did it was because I'm slowly starting to believe that there has to be a different way of growing coffee in order to improve the quality, without using so much pesticides and fungicides and chemicals, because I don't believe that's very sustainable. After I bought the land, I ended up taking some soil biology classes with Dr. Elaine Ingham, and that's the kind of techniques that I'm going to test out on the farm and try to prove to the world that we can grow better and more coffee by using no chemicals or mineral fertilizers, so by only using compost, compost teas and extracts and so on. All in Good Taste Kandace: He also talked to us about ... Not only is he trying to produce better-tasting organic coffee, but he told us a bit about how to improve your own ability to taste coffee. Tim: Well, it's not that difficult actually to learn how to taste anything. I would basically recommend that you start by buying two or three different coffees that are very different. Not three different Kenyan coffees, but maybe one Kenyan coffee, a Brazilian coffee, and maybe an Ethiopian coffee, and then you can brew them on a French press or a V60 or whatever side by side and taste them side by side. It's much easier to taste or be able to describe flavors when you have something to compare to. It also helps to go to public cuppings on coffee shops or attend any cupping events and tasting coffees with the coffee professionals that are used to tasting coffees and discussing the coffees afterwards. La Marzocco Home Espresso Subscription FTW Kandace: Tim Wendelboe, the roastery, is the roaster in residence at La Marzocco right now. And, there's something else happening that's pretty exciting. La Marzocco just introduced a home espresso subscription program, and Tim is the first coffee that's going out. I believe you have two days. How many days are in March? Can we say that we're pretty excited about this program? Can we go ahead and...? Ray: Yeah. Actually, we as Needmore Designs built this website in the future for La Marzocco Home. Kandace: We made the badge/identity. Ray: Mm-hmm. Kandace: Took the photos. This is so exciting. This was a really amazing project to be a part of, and it's really exciting. Tim: The service we will be doing at the La Marzocco Café in Seattle will be quite similar to what we're doing in Norway. We don't do any food or anything in our café, so all the focus will be on the coffee itself. We will have two different espressos. One, more sweet and less acidic coffee from Colombia, from Finca Tamana, and then we will have Ethiopian washed Sidamo coffee from Hunkute, Incorporated, that's more floral and quite bright and acidic and very citric. We will also do only AeroPress coffees for the black coffee serving, and there will be a coffee menu, so you can choose from different coffees. I think we will have four coffees on the menu that has very different tastes. We will also have AeroPress tasting flight, so you can come with a friend and buy a taste flight, and you will be able to taste four coffees made on the AeroPress, and have a good explanation from the baristas, what to look for when you taste them and so on. Of course, we'll do all the lattes and the cappuccino drinks, but we'll do them in the format that we actually do in Norway, so with whole milk only, organic whole milk, and serve them in small glasses, not in huge buckets that you can find somewhere in the U.S. Eight-ounce is our largest size, actually, and that's our latte. You might ask, "Why do you do the small sizes?" Well, we want the milk drinks to actually taste coffee. The less milk you have, the more coffee you're going to taste. Ray: Tim Wendelboe Coffee of Oslo, Norway. Watch the Show https://vimeo.com/210323185 Coffees ------- No coffees from Tim Wendelboe yet. Cup one and it goes on the record here. Use filters or recent searches to refine your results. 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[ ### [ Arturo Paz, Dark Room Dried: Natural Geisha, Honduras ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/206-arturo-paz-dark-room-dried-natural-geisha-honduras) by [Ritual Coffee Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/180-ritual-coffee-roasters) Process Natural Varieties [Geisha](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/16-geisha) Country [Honduras](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/honduras) Harvest June 2026 Source El Itacayo First noted Oct 20, 2026 Last tasted Oct 20, 2026 1 cupping [ elderflower syrup](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/264 "elderflower syrup") [ honey](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/22 "honey") [ stonefruit](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/102 "stonefruit") [ citrus](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/110 "citrus") [ candied tropical fruit](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/265 "candied tropical fruit") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/206-arturo-paz-dark-room-dried-natural-geisha-honduras) [ ### [ Indian coffee beans from Coorg, Karnataka, India ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/205-indian-coffee-beans-from-coorg-karnataka-india) by [Paul John Caffeine](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/307-paul-john-caffeine) Country [India](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/india) Region Karnataka Source Indian Coffee Beans From Coorg, Karnataka, India First noted Oct 14, 2026 Last tasted Oct 14, 2026 1 cupping ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/205-indian-coffee-beans-from-coorg-karnataka-india) [ ### [ Jhoan Vergara Las Flores Pink Bourbon ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/204-jhoan-vergara-las-flores-pink-bourbon) by [Kafiex Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/249-kafiex-roasters) Process Thermal Shock Washed Varieties [Pink Bourbon](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/1-pink-bourbon) Country [Colombia](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/colombia) Region Huila Source Jhoan Vergara First noted Oct 13, 2026 Last tasted Oct 13, 2026 1 cupping [ froot loops](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/262 "froot loops") [ candied lemon drop](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/263 "candied lemon drop") [ green apple](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/116 "green apple") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/204-jhoan-vergara-las-flores-pink-bourbon) [ ### [ Mama Cherri ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/203-mama-cherri) by [Creature Coffee](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/84-creature-coffee) Process Washed Varieties [Caturra](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/12-caturra), [Catuaí](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/11-catuai) Country [Costa Rica](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/costa-rica) Region Coto Brus Source Doña Isa First noted Oct 09, 2026 Last tasted Oct 09, 2026 1 cupping [ cherry pie](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/141 "cherry pie") [ caramel corn](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/261 "caramel corn") [ butterscotch](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/32 "butterscotch") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/203-mama-cherri) [ ### [ Uganda 96 Hour Natural ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/202-uganda-96-hour-natural) by [DOMA Coffee Roasting Company](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/268-doma-coffee-roasting-company) Process Natural Varieties [SL14](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/102-sl14), [SL28](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/30-sl28), [Nyasaland](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/103-nyasaland) Country [Uganda](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/uganda) Region Mt. Elgon Elevation 1400 - 2000 maslm Harvest 2026 Source The Coffee Yards/norman Mukuru First noted Oct 05, 2026 Last tasted Oct 05, 2026 1 cupping [ cherry](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/5 "cherry") [ lime](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/19 "lime") [ fudge](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/128 "fudge") [ dark chocolate](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/34 "dark chocolate") [ lemon candy](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/251 "lemon candy") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/202-uganda-96-hour-natural) [ ### [ Mustefa Abakeno ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/201-mustefa-abakeno) by [Marigold Coffee](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/252-marigold-coffee) Country [Ethiopia](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/ethiopia) Region Oromia First noted Oct 05, 2026 Last tasted Oct 05, 2026 1 cupping [ orange peel](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/132 "orange peel") [ honeysuckle](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/62 "honeysuckle") [ cacao nibs](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/241 "cacao nibs") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/201-mustefa-abakeno) [ ### [ Dark Star ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/200-dark-star) by [Little Amps Coffee Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/306-little-amps-coffee-roasters) Process Natural Varieties [74110](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/85-74110) Country [Ethiopia](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/ethiopia) Region Jimma Elevation 1950-2150m First noted Sep 29, 2026 Last tasted Oct 21, 2026 1 cupping [ dark chocolate](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/34 "dark chocolate") [ berries](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/199 "berries") [ jammy](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/169 "jammy") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/200-dark-star) [ ### [ Friend Blend ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/199-friend-blend) by [Little Amps Coffee Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/306-little-amps-coffee-roasters) Process Washed Varieties [Caturra](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/12-caturra), [Landrace](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/40-landrace) Country [Ethiopia](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/ethiopia) Elevation 1600 (Colombia)m First noted Sep 29, 2026 Last tasted Oct 16, 2026 1 cupping [ caramel](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/23 "caramel") [ citrus](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/110 "citrus") [ milk chocolate](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/33 "milk chocolate") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/199-friend-blend) [ ### [ Kajere Honey ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/198-kajere-honey) by [Counter Culture Coffee](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/46-counter-culture-coffee) Process Honey Country [Uganda](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/uganda) Region Bulambuli First noted Sep 26, 2026 Last tasted Sep 28, 2026 2 cuppings [ black cherry](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/176 "black cherry") [ raw sugar](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/160 "raw sugar") [ grape](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/11 "grape") [ butterscotch](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/32 "butterscotch") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/198-kajere-honey) [ ### [ Headliner Seasonal Blend ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/197-headliner-seasonal-blend) by [Broadsheet Coffee Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/300-broadsheet-coffee-roasters) First noted Sep 17, 2026 Last tasted Sep 24, 2026 2 cuppings [ cherry](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/5 "cherry") [ fudge](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/128 "fudge") [ plum](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/10 "plum") [ milk chocolate](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/33 "milk chocolate") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/197-headliner-seasonal-blend) [ ### [ Strawberry Shake ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/196-strawberry-shake) by [KOS Coffee Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/304-kos-coffee-roasters) Process Co-fermented and experimental (Strawberry) Varieties [Pink Bourbon](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/1-pink-bourbon), [Castillo](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/13-castillo) Country [Colombia](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/colombia) Region Quindío Elevation 1400m Source Viviana Martinez First noted Sep 16, 2026 Last tasted Sep 16, 2026 2 cuppings [ strawberries](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/259 "strawberries") [ peach](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/3 "peach") [ creamy](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/260 "creamy") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/196-strawberry-shake) [ ### [ Peru Guardian del Bosque ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/195-peru-guardian-del-bosque) by [Northbound Coffee Roasters](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/301-northbound-coffee-roasters) Certifications Organic Process Natural Varieties [Geisha](https://unpacking.coffee/varieties/16-geisha) Country [Peru](https://unpacking.coffee/origins/peru) Region Amazonas Harvest 2025 Source Ronal Carranza Montenegro First noted Sep 10, 2026 Last tasted Sep 10, 2026 1 cupping [ dried strawberry](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/248 "dried strawberry") [ floral tropical fruit](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/257 "floral tropical fruit") [ fruit loops cereal](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/258 "fruit loops cereal") [ raw sugar](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/160 "raw sugar") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/195-peru-guardian-del-bosque)