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Black Friday- don’t get lost in a cup!!

Today is ‘Black Friday‘ part of ‘Black Week‘ the day in which all prices of every physical and online store get slashed for the joy of the masses – apparently.

This “tradition” started in the USA and as many things in popular culture it spread to this side of the Atlantic too. In Sweden it arrived fairly late, only the last year or two but now it’s a big thing and countless emails spammed each and every one who had the misfortune of signing up to newsletters from online shops and retailers.

This new phenomenon of Black Friday in Scandinavia is all the most interesting because it encourages people to rush, push and go grab the best deal – something that is not really that common in this part of the world.

Ironically today is the first day of real snow in the Uppsala – Stockholm region with several centimeters which fell over night. I would like to think that it was the old spirit of Janteläget blowing its white dust to cover the country and hinder people from the shopping craze some might have been keen on taking part in.

Those of you who follow carefully Lost in a Cup’s social media might remember from last year that the prices were not slashed and that there was actually a campaign to underline how the whole selling tactic goes against our ethos and way we see the world.

 

 

 

Therefore, even this year Lost in a Cup will have no discounts. But luckily there is lots of snow around here, so feel free to join us in a snow fight instead of doing so in a shopping centre or on our online shop.

Enjoy the snow and don’t get too lost in a cup of black (Friday) coffee. Look beyond!

#EspressøYourself

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Ofvandahls – A Fika Institution

Uppsala is a very lovable city, especially for students. It’s a place where many historical events took place and if buildings could talk, most would tell fascinating stories dating back centuries. Cafés too played a key role in fuelling the academic work, a great example of this is Ofvandahls.

The café opened its doors in 1878 as ‘Erik Andersson Konditori og Damkafé’ and changed name to Ofvhandals in 1901. In many nation songbooks you find a song dedicated to it which mentions a series of things you could have ordered at the time (including ‘avec’ such as cognac, punsch etc.) which shows the long lasting love affair between the café and the student community.

A former Uppsala student, class 1968, told me that she and her friends often used to take lunch or fika there and then when the cathedral bells rang they would run up the hill to Universitetshusset to attend lesson. “Many cafes and restaurants come and go but Ofvandahls stays” said the lady who was visiting Uppsala for the day and chose to stop by at her cherished café.

Today the student atmosphere lives on and there still is a dedicated discount on coffee. Many still choose to meet there as opposed to going to more modern cafes in the center, prefering its coziness to free Wi-Fi. Homemade cakes, soups, sandwiches and the selection of teas offer something for everyone’s taste, especially on a cold winter day when something comforting is what you need.

Many things in Uppsala’s society are changing for better or for worse but the fika is a lasting institution in which people meet up, chat for hours and no matter how many cups you drink your bank account doesn’t suffer and drowsiness is not a problem; on the contrary, the more you drink the more you get pepped up, talkative and creative, as the caffeine rush goes through your veins.

This daily ritual lives on strong and so does the temple of traditional fika such as Ofvanhals, with its over 140 year history. It is a guarantee that no matter what happenes in the world, in that corner of Sysslomansgatan the hot drinks keep flowing; providing continuity in service that stands outside the boundaries of time.

  • Location: Sysslomansgatan 5, 753 11 Uppsala – Sweden
  • WiFi: No
  • Student Discount: Yes
  • Best for: ordinary Swedish coffee (filter) and traditional cakes!

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‘Kär the Kärlek!’

cappucino

Share the love this winter with Lost in a Cup!

In cold days we all need a bit of love and love is all about coffee.

cappucino

Make the most of this lovely deal in which all existing Lost in a Cup customers get a 15% discount off the next coffee purchase when they introduce a friend to our products.

Friends, on the other hand, will experience good quality, Italian coffee and fall in love at first taste.

If they love it, they will love you too!

How does it work? The new customer registers an account on the website and makes a first purchase then sends an email to alex@lostinacup.com with the name and surname of the friend who tipped them about Lost in a Cup.

Bellissimo!

Kär the Kärlek and EspressøYourself!

#KärTheKärlek #EspressøYourself

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60 Years of Cultural Institute – PopUp Café

Text: Alexander Maxia – Photos: Marcus Sätherström

Last November ‘Italienskkulturinstitutet‘ or the ‘Italian Cultural institute in Stockholm’ celebrated their 60th birthday. On this occasion ‘Lost in a Cup‘ was there with our Pop-up Café to contribute by bringing quality Italian coffee to the party.

PopUp Café at the Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm

The participants to the event included many Italian expats who have made Sweden their home but also many locals that for one reason or another fell in love with Italian culture and took any opportunity to practice their Italian.

Over a hundred guests attended the celebrations

We designed the stand so that the coffee machines were facing the public and not the baristas. Our idea was to teach people to make Italian espresso themselves – for each other! After all, our hashtag is #EspressøYourself so what better way to promote the company ethos than by encouraging people to get a hands-on experience in espresso making and interact with others around them?

Luckily Ismaele Rombi, La Tazza d’Oro’s coffee expert, was on hand to supervise the many amateur baristas who were keen on learning how to make good coffee like in an ‘Italian Bar’. Italian espresso nowadays can be enjoyed across the world as long as the ingredients are of good quality and you have the right tools to make it. For the occasion we collaborated with the Italian household brand ‘DeLonghi’ who lent us their grinder and espresso machines that together with our own ‘Adesso Espresso’ capsule machine delivered fantastic espressos to the many enthusiasts.

Ismaele Rombi (left) sharing his knowledge on good espresso making

A few hours and 200 coffees later, the party ended. It was a great evening and the team at the Institute really did a phenomenal job in organising such a popular event. Driving back to Uppsala we reflected on the many interesting conversations we engaged in, the many stories of people who love ‘il Bel Paese’, the feedback and encouragement many gave us. We felt a sense of satisfaction. On a cold and dark winter evening we brought the taste and atmosphere of a ‘bar della piazza‘ to a location so very far from Italy, yet so strongly connected to it.

The team: Edwin Oldfield, Ismaele Rombi and Alexander Maxia

Thanks to the team at the Italian Cultural Institute, Ismaele Rombi and DeLonghi Nordics for making this PopUp Café such a success. See you next time?

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Black [Coffee] Friday

Today is “Black Friday“!

Here at Lost in a Cup prices and philanthropist mission stay the same today as everyday of the year, so there will be no discounts on the products sold.

However we do strongly encourage people to celebrate today by having ‘black coffee’. 

We believe that a good cup of black coffee tastes more authentic and is more rewarding than any percentage of discount a retailer can give.

Many put milk or sugar, or both in coffee but it’s good to have a pure, black coffee to really appreciate its taste.

The simplicity of the flavour, appreciated even more if lukewarm, is something rather special. Often our lives are complicated with too many extra things but every so often if we just stripped it down to the basics, the essentials then we would really appreciate what we have.

It is a naked coffee, you appreciate every detail, both good and bad.

However if you do this, you might discover that the coffee you are drinking is not really great tasting in its ‘naked form’.

So then, why not try to fix that?!

 

Happy Black [Coffee] Friday!

 

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Social Experiment: Pop-Up Café in Studentstaden

Pop-up shops, restaurants and venues have been popping up everywhere like mushrooms after the rain and appear to be the latest hipster trend.

So why not try out this concept with a Café?

That is exactly what we did today here at Lost in a Cup HQ in Studentstaden – Uppsala. The name of the neighbourhood in Swedish means literally ‘the city of students’  and it is the part of the city with the highest concentration of student rooms; Uppsala in general is also known as the most important university city in the country. You can’t get more student-centric than this!

 

The amazing part is that although so many students live in proximity of each other they rarely say hello to each other, let alone engage in conversations with neighbours.

So here came the idea: to attract people with good coffee and create a social space where strangers would actively be encouraged to engage with each other. Truly a social experiment. One of the attendees pointed out how this was ‘so not Swedish’ and chuckled and the fact it was something out of the ordinary attracted her to visit in the first place and would come back to future events.

 

Factors such as the size of the venue, limited to one 13 sq. meters plus a corridor and the authenticity of the Pop-Up Café being in an authentic student corridor made the setting ideal for spontaneous social interactions. Like a student house party but without alcohol and blaring music, just a chilled atmosphere and good conversations.

Only glitch in the project was the out-reach as the idea and development of the Café came around 24 hours before the actual event took place. Many Swedes plan their schedule with at least a week in advance so Italian spontaneity does not work as much as the organiser had hoped so the crowd was fairly small.

However, Sunday the 25th of November it will happen again! This time with more people and maintaining the good coffee and gingerbread biscuits which really went down a treat.

 

Will you join?

Check out the link to the Facebook event with all the details.

 

#PopUpStudentstaden

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White [Milky] Friday

Today is ‘White Friday‘ on Lost in a Cup. Today we celebrate white, milky, some say ‘weak’ coffees such as the popular ‘Latte’ or to be correct ‘Latte macchiato‘ you can see depicted below.

Mixing milk with coffee in Italy is usually done in the mornings, for breakfast and there is the unwritten rule of ‘no cappuccinos after midday’. Often touristy destinations offer Cappuccinos on the menu of restaurants and pizzerias but be aware it is just for tourists! Most Italians would not have milk in their coffee after breakfast. The only exception is when they ask to stain their espresso with a splash of milk called a ‘macchiato’, which literally means ‘stained’. Macchiatos can be done with hot steamed milk, ‘a caldo‘ or with cold milk, ‘a freddo’.

 

Spoiler: next week will be “Black [Coffee] Friday”