Löfbergs Espresso Beans: Dark Roast Guide and Shot Recipe

Löfbergs Espresso Whole Coffee Beans: A Nordic Espresso Roast

An espresso roast is designed around 25 seconds or so and nine bars of pressure, not a long steep in a cafetière. Löfbergs takes its Espresso beans dark and slow, and the Nordic reading of that brief is drier and more cutting than the sweet, heavy Italian bar blend.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

Löfbergs Espresso Whole Coffee Beans: A Nordic Espresso Roast, in summary: A dark, slow-roasted Arabica bean built for pressure: dry and bitter-edged rather than syrupy, with Löfbergs naming dark chocolate and roasted almond. Grind it fine for an espresso machine and it cuts cleanly through milk.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

An espresso roast is designed around 25 seconds or so and nine bars of pressure, not a long steep in a cafetière. Löfbergs takes its Espresso beans dark and slow, and the Nordic reading of that brief is drier and more cutting than the sweet, heavy Italian bar blend.

What an espresso roast is for

Espresso is a short, forceful extraction, and that changes what the roaster is aiming for. Taking the roast further breaks down more of the sharp acids that would taste sour under pressure, and builds the heavier bittersweet compounds that come out well in a short shot. Löfbergs describes this coffee as a dark, slow roast of 100% Arabica, Rainforest Alliance certified, with notes of dark chocolate and roasted almond.

Our reading of the result is dark and dry rather than sweet and oily: a medium, clean body, a firm bitterness with a clean edge, and a long finish of bitter cocoa and toast. Put the same beans through a cafetière and they will taste noticeably more severe than a filter roast, because they were built for a different job. Of the Löfbergs bags we carry, this is the one we point espresso-machine owners to first.

A starting recipe, and how to adjust it

Begin with 18g of ground coffee in the basket and aim for 36g of espresso in the cup, over 25 to 30 seconds, with the machine's water at around 92 degrees. Grind fine and change only one thing at a time. If the shot is finished well inside 25 seconds, grind finer; if it is still running well past 30, go a notch coarser. That ratio of one part coffee to two parts liquid is a sensible middle from which to find your own.

If the finish still feels too severe, run the shot a little longer, to around 40g, instead of coarsening the grind; the extra water rounds off the edges while keeping the body. Before judging the beans at all, clean the machine. A roast this dry has no caramel sweetness to disguise stale oils in the grinder, tired group seals or a build-up of limescale, and every one of those shows up in the cup.

Flat whites, lattes and who it suits

Milk is where the firm bitterness earns its keep. In a flat white or a cappuccino with around 130ml of steamed milk, the coffee cuts through rather than disappearing into it. For a big 300ml mug of latte, raise the dose of coffee rather than pulling a longer shot, which only thins it out.

Buy this if you drink espresso black and like it with a backbone, or if you build milk drinks and want the coffee to stay audible. If you prefer espresso round, syrupy and chocolate-sweet, it will simply seem harsh, and the softer Löfbergs Brazil Single Origin beans are the gentler choice for the same machine. At two coffees a day the kilogram lasts roughly two months, so keep the bag sealed and decant a week of beans at a time.

The packs we stock

Löfbergs Espresso Whole Coffee Beans, 1kg (barcode 7310050015132)

What to eat with it

Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: Dark chocolate matches the cocoa finish, and the ginger has enough warmth to stand beside a dry, bitter shot.
Lotus Biscoff Snack Pack, 248g: Caramelised sweetness is exactly what this dry Nordic roast leaves out, so let the biscuit on the saucer supply it.
McVitie's Hobnobs The Oaty One Milk Chocolate Twin Pack Biscuits, 2 x 262g: An oaty milk chocolate biscuit for the flat white, and a twin pack to keep up with a kilogram of beans.

Elsewhere in the Löfbergs range

The full range is on the Löfbergs brand page.

FAQ

Can I use Löfbergs Espresso beans in a cafetière? You can, but they were roasted for pressure and will taste more severe than a filter coffee; the Löfbergs Brazil or Colombia coffees suit a cafetière better.

What shot should I start with? 18g of ground coffee in and 36g of espresso out, over 25 to 30 seconds with water at about 92 degrees. If the finish is too severe, lengthen the shot to around 40g rather than grinding coarser.

How is a Nordic espresso different from an Italian one? Broadly, it is drier and cleaner, where the Italian style is rounder, heavier and sweeter. Your preference comes down to one thing: a clean, bitter snap at the end of a shot, or a finish that lingers and coats.

What does it taste like? Löfbergs names dark chocolate and roasted almond. Our reading is dark, dry and firmly bitter, with a long finish of cocoa and toast.

Is it 100% Arabica? Löfbergs states that its Espresso is 100% Arabica and Rainforest Alliance certified; check the current bag for the marks it carries.

Curator's note: Descale the machine and clean the grinder before the first shot, then judge it black. If you like a coffee that stands up straight, this is the bag. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Löfbergs Espresso Whole Coffee Beans: A Nordic Espresso Roast

Field	Detail
Brand	Löfbergs
Packs we stock	1kg
Category	Coffee Beans
Caffeine	caffeinated
Machine	Espresso or bean-to-cup, ground fine
Starting shot	18g of Löfbergs beans for a 36g shot pulled in 25 to 30 seconds
Best with	Something caramelised on the saucer