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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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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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Event: ‘Espresso Yourself’ – Uppsala

Ever wondered what’s the secret behind a great tasting Italian coffee? Love the barista made cappuccino but at home the froth never comes out right?

This is your chance to find out what makes a good Italian coffee and gain tips from a professional on how to become your own barista.

Join Lost in a Cup and La Tazza d’oro for an evening where all will be revealed about espresso coffees, latte art, Italian coffee tradition and much more.

You will get the chance to see Italian coffee expert and barista trainer Ismaele Rombi working his magic. He came especially from Italy to showcase great coffee so make the most of his tips! Feel free to ask him for advice and find out what it takes to make great tasting coffee, even at home or in the office.

 

There will also be the opportunity of tasting La Tazza d’oro coffee which is roasted in Cagliari, following 80 years of Italian espresso tradition. Discover one of the most renowned coffee brands in Sardinia that is now available on the Swedish market.

The event will be hosted in the beautiful Hamnpaviljongen Restaurant in the centre of Uppsala, just by the river.

Entry is Free of charge but you need to fill in the form and let us know how many will attend. If you no longer can make it, please let us know asap! The number of spots at the event is limited.

Click here to be re-directed to the RSVP form

More Info:

Facebook event

Hamnpaviljongen Restaurant website

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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