Our philosophy is pretty simple. We offer great coffee in a straightforward way, doing our very best to make the entire coffee chain as sustainable as possible. We work exclusively with specialty coffee. As we like to say: Life is far too long not to drink good coffee!
KOMPASS IS A TRUE LOVE STORY
A love story that began back in 2017, when Märta—then manager of one of the country’s most sought-after coffee bars, Johan & Nyström’s concept store—first laid eyes on the new head roaster, Philip. Philip stomped straight in during the middle of the rush—literally stomped—because who wears rubber boots in the middle of summer? “What a goof” Märta thought. A few months later, love was a fact. And before long, the moving truck rolled south to Ystad.
What you should know about Märta is that food and drink experiences are the meaning of life for her. She has run everything from small cafés to large concept stores, and she would never plan a trip without at least one coffee stop. From the choice of crockery to the little snacks, when you enjoy coffee with Märta, everything is carefully thought out to create a lasting gastronomic — and, if you’re so inclined, soulful — impression.
Philip, on the other hand, is what the pros call a “nerd of the highest order,” with a focus on production. Production of his own ice cream, beer, and especially coffee. That last passion began with small-batch experiments on the stove (which turned out to be a bit too smoky for the kitchen hood), moved on to roasting 10 tons of coffee a day at Johan & Nyström, continued with a tiny roaster in the garage on Kompassgatan in Ystad, and finally landed in his very own coffee roastery.
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ROASTING
Coffee is never better than the green beans themselves — the unroasted beans that were once cherries on a coffee tree somewhere in the world. That’s why we source green coffee of the highest quality from farmers who grow, harvest, sort, and process their beans with great care and expertise before sending them to us.
When we recieve a new coffee, we roast it in a small sample roaster to see its full potential and discover the flavors it has to offer. Nothing that isn’t already in the bean can be created, but we can choose to highlight certain notes, acidity, or sweetness. Each coffee is roasted by hand in the way we think brings out its best. Some beans get a light roast, others a bit deeper, and some a medium-dark finish — but always with the coffee’s origin in mind.
There are many factors to consider, and it takes careful, methodical work to roast a coffee the same way every time. That’s why every roast is logged with software for maximum control and to be able to repeat a successful roast. Once you’ve found the perfect roast profile for a coffee, the challenge is making it exactly the same next time — when the air is 5 degrees cooler, the humidity is different, or the green beans are at a slightly different temperature.
We roast all our coffee in a modern German quality roaster from Probat, which is well-insulated and maintains heat very efficiently.
Our coffees
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is an important aspect for us, focusing on both social and environmental responsibility.
Social: We only source coffee that is traceable all the way back to the farmer, farm, or washing station. This means there’s always an exciting story to tell about the coffee. Farmers are paid fairly for their beans and can pay their workers appropriately. It’s always possible to see exactly how much of the coffee price actually reaches the farmer.
Environmental: The coffee we purchase is shipped by boat — which produces about 47 times less emissions than air freight (source). The bags we pack our coffee in are made of paper, with a protective barrier made from BioTrefilm where 60% is a biodegradable cellulose and the rest a plastic with an additive that allows it to break down naturally within 10 years.
We do our very best to do things the right way. It costs a little more, but it tastes so much better — for your body, your soul, and the planet. And most of all, in the cup!
