Journal — August 2024

First, I wanted to thank everyone for their patience last month, as FedEx took their sweet time (3 weeks) delivering the coffee we paid a whole lot to have delivered fast (2 days). We deal with all kinds of new issues each month, but it’s never been that bad. I was grateful it happened with a roaster that recommends such long rest time, and all their coffees are tasting great now, but I just want it said that I don’t take that lightly and will be doing everything in my power to keep it from happening again. Thanks for your patience and for trusting me with your coffee each month.

Last time we featured Morgon (Swedish for morning), we had just opened our cafe. Time’s flown by and this month we are celebrating the start of Yonder’s 7th year sending folks coffee from all over the world. I’m so glad to be celebrating that by sharing Morgon again. Morgon Coffee Roasters is a long-time passion project that came to fruition in the summer of 2018 (just like Yonder, actually—and we were one of their very first wholesale accounts too). Christian Gullbrandsson, Gabriella Sand, and Markus Vestergaard united together, combining over 40 years of coffee experience to finally start a roastery of their own.

And that is where we find Morgon today, nestled under a crane in the port of Gothenburg, Sweden, where the ocean opens up endless possibility at their front door. The roastery approaches coffee and branding with the spirit of the harbor in mind, somehow connecting this little port at the top of the world to so many places throughout the rest of it. Scandinavian design sensibility is obvious in all they do. I especially love each coffee’s still life, which showcases both the taste and personality of each of their coffees visually.

This month’s line up is a lot of fun. Both African coffees are stunning, and almost sing when they’re dialed in right. It’s also very exciting getting to share two single varietal offerings from the same producer. Sandra Milena Mora is an amazing producer who we’ve featured before (from both Morgon and from other roasters), and the chance to try two offerings from her—same terrior, altitude, processing, and roasting—where the only difference is the crop varietal is a pretty unique opportunity. I’m grateful that Morgon shared both with us. Their team demonstrates careful passion for each step of the growing, sourcing, buying, and roasting process, and that care always shows in the finished product.