Coffee Collective, Torvehallerne

My cortado, seen from above, at Coffee Collective, Torvehallerne, in Copenhagen.My final instalment from this summer’s trip to Copenhagen is perhaps its most famous name in coffee, the Coffee Collective. Known across Europe for the standard of its roasting, the Coffee Collective also has three coffee shops: the original, out to the west of the centre, the second, in the nearby roastery, and this, its third, right in the heart of the city at Torvehallerne, once again demonstrating that speciality coffee can thrive in the mainstream if done properly.

Torvehallerne is a food and produce market, which reminds me of Boston’s Public Market, where George Howell is doing a similar thing. The Coffee Collective occupies a long counter at the end of the eastern of Torvehallerne’s twin halls. There’s plenty of space, and a limited amount of seating in the shape of window-bars, although you can also take your coffee and make use of any of the public seating areas.

Talking of the coffee, it’s what you come here for. There’s a choice of a blend, single-origin or decaf through the Kees van der Westen espresso machine, or you can have one of three single-origins as a Kalita Wave pour-over, with a fourth on bulk-brew if you’re in a hurry.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • Torvehallerne, home of the Coffee Collective, as seen from the southern end.
  • And here in more detail. There are two halls, and a central area between them.
  • If you're heading for Coffee Collective, you want this one, on the right.
  • Alternatively, this is the view of Torvehallerne from the northern end...
  • ... where this is the hall you want (on the left).
  • One inside, you are faced with a long aisle, rows of stalls to either side.
  • There are handy navigation signs hanging from the ceiling. The halls are called '1' and '2'...
  • ... and helpfully have their numbers written on the side.
  • If you're coming from the northern entrance, the Coffee Collective is on the right...
  • ... while if you enter through the southern entrance, it's immediately on your left.
  • There's a little bit of seating here, in the shape of two window-bars opposite the counter...
  • ... and two more down the side.
  • Each window-bar seats four.
  • Alternatively, I believe that you can use the tables down the sides of the halls, or...
  • ... if you head outside, there are more tables, here between the halls...
  • ... and here right outside of Coffee Collective itself.
  • Inside, the layout is simple: a long counter with till & espresso at one end.
  • There's more work space at the back, where there's also a map of the tropical regions.
  • The famous soft-serve machine. Unfortunately, I only learnt of its fame after I left!
  • There's a small retail shelf at the back at near end of the counter...
  • ... next to various bags of coffee for sale.
  • This is the single-origin guest espresso that was on while I was there...
  • ... while I bought a bag of this to take home as a gift for Surrey Hills Coffee.
  • The coffee menu: concise and to the point. Coffee Collective only serves drinks here.
  • Bags of filter coffee by the till: a clever way of showing what's on bulk brew and pour-over.
  • The Coffee Collective was bustling while I was there. I counted six baristas at work!
  • At the far end of the counter is the brew-bar, with its Kalita Wave filters.
  • One of the baristas, weighing out some beans before grinding them in the EK-43.
  • Add the ground coffee to the Kalita Wave...
  • ... and off we go!
  • Meanwhile, while all that is going on, this barista is serving three people from the bulk-brew.
  • I can see the attraction from the coffee shop owner's perspective: far more efficient!
  • I, however, had been recommended something from the espresso machine.
  • I do love a good Kees van der Westen: they are such gorgeous machines to look at.
  • There are three Mythos 1 grinders: house, decaf and guest.
  • The business end of the Kees van der Westen...
  • ... and my coffee, a single shot espresso and cortado, made with the guest bean.
  • My espresso, on its own...
  • ... and my cortado, in a glass.
  • For some reason, I loved the presentation. Here's my espresso...
  • ... and here's my cortado.
  • I'll leave you with a flavour of Torvehallerne itself and its many stalls.
  • This is Laura's bakery, just across the way from the Coffee Collective...
  • ... while next door to that is a tea shop.
  • Torvehallerne also has wine bars...
  • ... ice cream parlours...
  • ... and butchers.
  • Outside you can find a fruit and vegetable market...
  • ... as well as various street food stalls...
  • ... with plenty of outdoor seating.
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Torvehallerne stands just to the west of Copenhagen’s Nørreport, occupying a large, open space between two busy roads, Frederiksborggade to the north and Vendersgade t the south. Twin halls with high, peaked roofs, run perpendicular to the roads, each housing two rows of stall, with a central aisle and aisles down either side, plus plenty of cross walks. There are all sorts of food-related businesses here: grocers, butchers, bakers, speciality shops, all selling produce.  You can also get anything from a cup of coffee through a snack to a full-blown meal, either to go or to eat there and then.

The stalls can be full width, spanning a complete row, like Coffee Collective, or they can be half width. These means that some stalls only face onto a single aisles or cross walks, so if you really want to see the full range of what’s on offer, you have to pretty much walk around the whole place. More stalls can be found outside, between the two halls, which mostly cater to street-food operations, although you’ll also find a fruit and vegetable market out here.

Depending on which end of Torvehallerne you enter, Coffee Collective is either immediately on your left, or it’s at the far end on the right. Either way, it’s opposite Laura’s Bakery, occupying a corner spot. The counter runs the full width of the stall, facing the front (or back) of Torvehallerne. For seating, there are two bars in the windows in front of the counter and two more down the aisle to to the right, each seating four people on bar stools.

You order at the end next to the central aisle, then move down past the three Mythos 1 grinders and the shapely curves of the Kees van der Westen espresso machine to the collection point. Carrying on, there’s the brew bar, where the Kalita Wave pour-overs are made, with its built-in hot water dispenser and EK-43 grinder. Finally the water station is at the end of the counter. On the work surface behind the counter, there’s a bulk-brewer, with a flask of coffee ready to go for those who don’t want to wait. A map of the world on the wall behind the counter shows the tropics (that is, the coffee-growing areas)

At the recommendation of Nicholas Muncey, I tried the single-origin espresso, a Kenyan Kieni. However, he neglected to say espresso or with milk, so I tried it as both, ordering a single-shot espresso and a cortado.

The espresso was bright and fruity, perhaps a little too much for my palette, the first mouthful (literally) sending a shiver down my spine. The second mouthful was mellower, but still retained the fruity zing of the first. In milk, however, it lost none of its fruity character, the brightness of the coffee offering an interesting contrast to the sweetness of the milk. I often find that in these circumstances, the milk and coffee can be in conflict with each other, but here, while I wouldn’t call the end result harmonious, I would say that they complemented each other, making an interesting change.

You can also buy any of the beans to take home with you and while there isn’t any food, there are plenty of options in the rest of Torvehallerne if you’re feeling hungry.

TORVEHALLERNE • VENDERSGADE 6D • 1363 COPENHAGEN K • DENMARK
https://coffeecollective.dk +45 60 15 15 25
Monday 07:00 – 20:00 Roaster Coffee Collective (espresso + filter)
Tuesday 07:00 – 20:00 Seating Window Bars, Tables (outside)
Wednesday 07:00 – 20:00 Food No
Thursday 07:00 – 20:00 Service Counter
Friday 07:00 – 20:00 Cards Mastercard, Visa
Saturday 08:00 – 19:00 Wifi Free (with code)
Sunday 08:00 – 18:00 Power No
Chain Local Visits 2nd July 2016

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8 thoughts on “Coffee Collective, Torvehallerne

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  2. We have just been staying in central Copenhagen, close to Torvehallerne. My daughter went to Coffee Collective first and her comment was that her coffee was rather weak/thin. We went together the next day and I had a flat white and I have to agree with her comments from the previous day. Also went to Kent Kaffee Laboratorium close by and I thought exactly the same. Maybe I am spoiled living in Edinburgh…Brew Lab, Machina Expresso, Cairngorm etc.

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