At the Bakke Coffee Museum, the search for the history of coffee never ends...

The Bakke Coffee Museum contains hundreds of vintage espresso machines, and each machine is hiding its own mysteries. Sometimes it is behind a gorgeous chromed exterior, and sometimes it is underneath an apparently boring facade. But there is always something unique and intriguing to be learned from a machine, a variation in the evolution of espresso machine technology that has something to contribute to the larger history of espresso.

Kent's very first espresso machine! On its way to making coffee again after decades on the shelf...

At the museum, it is part of our mission to learn more about the history of espresso through the process of taking the machines apart, restoring them, and hopefully returning them to working order. Even when the project seems straightforward, there are always new things to be learned and unexpected problems. In between major landmarks of espresso development — the portafilter, the lever, the electric pump, the heat exchanger, to name a few — there are infinite variations and approaches to the core of the problem, which is how to make the best espresso possible.

Kent testing out his original machine

As we continue to gather new information through the process of repairing and restoring machines, it is extremely important to collect it in a regimented way, so that in the future we can look back at specific details, and also so we track what changes have been made. Most importantly, we want the information to be stored in a format that will be easily accessible and clearly delineated to people in the future who are interested in the history of espresso machines, and maybe even taking care of the machines in the Bakke Collection.

We are so grateful to have as a partner and fellow investigator the team at CYA Cover Your Assets. Most of the clients of CYA are large commercial operations managing thousands of machines, usually hundreds of the same model. At the museum we have the opposite problem, with hundreds of machines that are all completely unique. But CYA has helped us adapt their information database to catalogue the machines in the Bakke Collection, and keep track of all the information associated with them. And perhaps even more importantly, the CYA folks have shared with us a passion for the history of coffee that has resulted in inspiring conversations and dreams for how we can better share all of the important information we are gathering with people in the future!

Read this article to learn more about what we are working on here at the Bakke Museum, and how the CYA group is helping us work toward accomplishing our goals, one of which is eventually having a searchable database accessible through our website.

Thank you CYA!

Coffee Traditions in Swedish Culture - Fika!

All over the world, coffee rituals are deeply entwined with everyday life. Whether you are in Vietnam, France, or Cuba, drinking coffee is part of the daily routine. Often this involves a brief pause from work. (Even if you are Italian, throwing back your espresso while standing at the bar!) On April 19th the Bakke Coffee Museum will celebrate the Swedish coffee break tradition of Fika, which has long been essential to daily patterns of life in that northern country. At least once a day, more often twice, Swedish people pause from their jobs and studies to enjoy not only coffee, but also small treats and good conversation.

This time set aside to fika, or to have a fika has been going on pretty much as long as Swedish people have been drinking coffee, which is hundreds of years. The fika was especially important for rural communities, presenting a chance to pause from a long day's work. Many of these more out of the way places developed their own special fika traditions over time. One such place is the island of Uvlön, part of the Swedish archipelago in the Gulf of Bothnia.

A postcard from picturesque Uvlön

The island of Uvlön has been an important fishing location since the 1500s. It is especially known for the fishing and fermentation of herring, producing the smelly delicacy called surströmming. This part of Sweden, along the northern part of the coastline, is sparsely inhabited. Uvlön is one of the larger communities, with a population of 40. All of the homes are situated along the edge of the coastline, and in front of each home is a boathouse, where the fishing boat is housed and the work of processing the fish is done.

On Uvlön the fika is part of the ever-repeated pattern of fishing, returning, and processing the caught fish. Historically, the fishermen set out their herring nets in the evening. Then the next day, they left early in the morning to pull in their catch. In the middle of the day, or early afternoon, the women of the community would go down to the dock of their boathouse to meet their boat as it came back. After years of repeating this work, the fisherwomen, the Uvlögumman, knew just when to expect the fishermen. After the boat was tied up, the fish were unloaded and cleaned. Then there was always a break for fika. Neighbors and family would gather together to share coffee and a traditional snack, such as an open-face sandwich or sometimes sweet rolls or cookies. Almost always there would be someone playing music on a guitar or accordion. On Uvlön the Fika has long been an important time to enjoy each others' company, to take pleasure in life, and a break from hard work. And it still is!

Inside the old church on Uvlön, where during the winter the fishermen would store their nets

The coffee shared at fika in a place like Uvlön was usually boiled or made in a percolator. It was served piping hot, in a cup with a saucer. The saucer was an essential tool for drinking the coffee. Impatient for their coffee to cool down, drinkers often poured some out of their cups onto the flat surface of the saucer to help the coffee cool faster. Then they would place a cube of sugar between their teeth and suck the coffee down through it. A sweet, delicious, long-awaited first sip for the eager drinker! So if you want to have Fika the traditional way, you must have a coffee cup with a saucer, and some lumps of sugar.

Sweden also has a long tradition of wood carving. Many people are familiar with the traditional Dala horses, which are often beautifully painted with intricate designs. In Uvlön, carvings are often made of the fisherwoman, Uvlögumman, since her figure, wrapped in a cloak against the cold wind, waiting for the boat to return, is so emblematic of the place. To celebrate this unique cultural tradition we have two hand-carved Uvlögumman to give away at our April Fika.

We hope you can join us on Saturday, April 19th, from 11am to 2pm, for community, coffee and celebrating the tradition of Fika! Please RSVP here to help us prepare. We look forward to meeting you and hosting you at the Bakke Coffee Museum!

RSVP here to join us for Fika!

Coffee's Renegade History in Sweden

Coffee has been in Sweden for several centuries, since 1674 in fact. And it grew very quickly in popularity. But over much of that time it has had an interesting and tumultuous history...

Scene from a 17th century coffee house in North Carolina during the revolutionary period.

Swedish people have always loved coffee but their rulers have not. Coffee was banned in Sweden on at least five different occasions between 1756 and 1823. Some decrees against coffee claimed that it was terrible for health. The government also wanted to reduce the importation of foreign luxury goods. It is also very possible that it wasn't coffee itself that was so dangerous, but the fact that philosophers and thinkers tended to gather over coffee to discuss big ideas. Regardless, the people loved their coffee. During those dark periods when coffee was banned people often held funerals for their coffee pots in protest. Coffee "bootlegging" became a profitable black market, and their were regular coffee raids. Even coffee paraphernalia was considered illegal, and the police could seize your cups and saucers.

The most famous instance of coffee being forbidden came under the rule of King Gustav III (1746 - 1792). Gustav was a man of strong opinions. His personal stance was that coffee was poison. In order to prove his point to the Swedish people he undertook a rather eccentric experiment.

King Gustav III

At the time there were a pair of twins in prison for murder, waiting for execution. King Gustav decided to give them a different punishment — instead of death, the twins would be subjected to drinking extreme amounts of coffee and tea each day, in hopes of proving that coffee was evil. One twin was required to drink three pots of coffee each day, and the other three pots of tea. The king expected that they would both suffer and die very quickly, hopefully the coffee drinker first. But there was no remarkable change in either prisoner. Then in 1792 King Gustav was shot at a masquerade ball, and died soon after. The twins continued to drink their coffee and tea. Eventually the doctor in charge of the experiment also died. The first twin, the tea drinker, lived until the age of 83. And no one knows when the coffee drinker died... but he certainly lived the longest!

So the experiment proved nothing, except that perhaps coffee extends ones life... although as far as we know this is the only instance this exact type of trial has been carried out. Since that time, the Swedish peoples' passion for coffee has only grown stronger, and the country remains one of the most prolific consumers of coffee in the world!

In celebration of Sweden's stalwart coffee drinking tradition and Ballard's Scandinavian heritage, please join us at the Bakke Coffee Museum on April 19th for a community Fika! Bring a friend and meet a neighbor while enjoying Swedish style coffee and treats, and learning more about the history of coffee.