Nørlo Premium Coffee Review

Coffee has become a bit of an obsession for us over lockdown. That initial caffeine hit first thing in the morning, then again at midday has become part of a daily ritual that we’ve come to love.

You could also say we’ve also become Coffee Snobs, trying some absolutely amazing (but premium) blends, with Nørlo being no exception here.

First off, how nice is this branding! There is no mistaking this super slick and sophisticated brand is inspired by the Nordics.

The product itself is organic certified & speciality-grade, joining just 1% of other elite coffee producers in the world.

To taste, this is extremely smooth and flavoursome, without being overpowering in the slightest. It’s low caffeine so if that caffeine buzz is sometimes uncomfortable for you, rest assured you can enjoy this if you’re prone to the shakes!

This is a coffee to be savoured for sure. It’s a treat.

You can select from Caffeinated, Lightly Caffeinated and Decaffeinated beans, Nespresso pods or ground coffee, with pricing at £9 for 200gms.

Check out the Q & A session with founders Dan & Steph below.

Have you always been into coffee?

Yes, always. We have always been coffee enthusiasts and always sought out great quality coffee. My previous career (Dan – co-founder) in aviation took me to numerous Scandinavian countries and I always enjoyed the coffee over and above anywhere else. What really appealed to us was not only the naturally great tasting coffee but the healthier benefits and science behind a lighter roast. 

2. What made Oslo/ Norway stand out the most for you?

Oslo has an iconic coffee culture. They roast their coffee much lighter than anywhere else and, as a result, far more of the naturally occurring elements of the bean is preserved. From the healthy properties like antioxidants and minerals to the bold, natural flavours and aromas, their coffee is far more flavoursome and is what we think coffee should taste like as opposed to a generic bitter ‘caffeinated’ taste. 

Steph (co-founder) read a New York Times article that highlighted Oslo’s thriving coffee culture which spurred the two of us to visit some of the great coffee houses out there. It was from this visit a few years ago that we began talking about developing an innovative Nordic-inspired coffee brand for the UK market that offered a healthier, more natural coffee.

3. Tell us what makes Norlo stand out from the other coffee on offer in the UK market?

Norlo, as a premium-luxury brand, has a few clear points of differentiation from its competitors. Our coffee is both speciality-grade and organic with less than 1% of all coffee served worldwide being so. In terms of our roast-profile, Norlo offers the UK’s lightest roast which makes for a far healthier more naturally flavoursome coffee. Our lighter roast-profile also delivers a far smoother taste without that bitter caffeinated aftertaste present with many other coffees.

We have spent just as much time on our branding and packaging as we have on our intrinsic coffee qualities. The Norlo brand concept is based on style and culture over solely origin. The only other coffee culture we, as a market, are familiar with is Italian coffee culture with their darker roasts. Norlo is a brand, not purely based and marketed based on origin but based on Nordic coffee style that offers a much lighter roast. Moreover, all of our packaging is 100% recyclable and/or compostable with all of our tubes being made from 100% recycled FSC cardboard.

Out Lightly Caffeinated coffee products were the UK’s very first of their kind that offered a coffee with less caffeine for this that wanted to enjoy their coffee in to the evening without the worry of that strong caffeine buzz. It’s also a great product for pregnant women that are recommended to reduce their caffeine intake.

From the outset, we wanted to disrupt the traditional retail coffee space with something truly fresh and innovative, with a brand concept to rival the Italian status-quo.

4. When did you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in coffee? 

We have always been somewhat entrepreneurial-minded. It was, in fact, Steph that had the idea of creating a premium Nordic-inspired coffee brand and I (Dan) didn’t need much convincing! I loved the idea since ultimately it paired our love of great quality coffee with our passion for creativity and desire to offer people something truly unique in a somewhat stale retail marketplace. Since our first trip to Oslo back in 2014 we began to plot our route to market and all other things that have lead to what you now see as ‘Norlo’. Lockdown 1.0 acted as the catalyst for us to really accelerate things and we launched in September 2020.

5. Is there anything else you would like to add?

We’re delighted with how Norlo has been received since we launched last year with our branding and brand concept received some really high acclaim. We were absolutely delighted to start supplying Fenwick earlier this year followed by Anthropologie shortly thereafter. We are very soon to be also be supplying one of London’s most exclusive department stores which we can’t wait to announce. We also supply some fantastic smaller premium independent delis and boutiques. As a brand, we’ll continue to innovate and offer the very best quality coffee to both our direct and retail partner’s customers going into the future. As such, we have some exciting new products in the pipeline that we’ll be announcing later this year.