Kalve Coffee Roasters - meet the coffee enthusiasts changing the coffee habits of a small nation.
Latvia is a Eastern European country with a population of two million people. A small country, but a country full of surprises. One of those surprises is Kalve - one of Baltic States' leading specialty coffee roasters.
And they led me straight back to their coffee shop in Latvia too.
Starting a new coffee concept in 2019, Gatis and his partner Raimonds’ company is still quite young. Their main motivation? They saw specialty coffee as a niche sector and wanted to change that.
“We really loved this specialty coffee and we wanted to make this coffee more accessible to people, emotionally and financially.”
Gatis Zēmanis is the co-founder and general manager of Kalve Coffee Roasters. When asked why Kalve’s home is Latvia, he simply said: “Because I’m Latvian!”
However, as much as Gatis and his team are truly Latvian, they see their company as part of the world.
„Of course, we’re Latvians, we’re based in Latvia and are Latvian patriots, but we see ourselves not as a regional, but more like a worldwide company. We are all brothers and sisters.”
At the moment, Kalve is heading in two directions - roasting for different companies, and roasting for Kalve as a brand. With two coffee shops in capital city Riga, called Espresso Rooms (and my personal sanctuary whenever I’m in town now), they are also opening up a third shop very soon. A concept called Kalve Mini Market, it will be an espresso room plus a market selling all kinds of craft food, drinks and other products that Kalve enjoy themselves.
„I think it doesn't matter whether you’re working in coffee or in other products, if you're dedicated, honest, have a great team and you love what you're doing, then it’s not hard at all.”
Latvia’s coffee scene is quite developed now. When you live in a specialty coffee bubble, like I do, and go visit Latvia, it feels like Kalve is everywhere you go.
But Gatis says that’s just the bubble I’m living in.
„If you step out of the bubble, you will not see Kalve around. If you’d go up to regular people on the streets who aren’t interested in specialty coffee and ask about Kalve, they would be wondering – What is Kalve?”
Maybe he is right. But I like my bubble, and plenty of other people like it too. When you step into Kalve they don’t judge you for how you drink your coffee. They just want to show how they see it too. Expanding the bubble is the idea.
„Our main goal is to show how we see coffee. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hipster, a millionaire or an old lady – if you like coffee, you are welcome at our place.”
This kind of mentality and honest, novel approach to coffee is probably why they are so popular. And it’s true what Gatis says. My granny loved our Kalve coffee date and her flat white with pea milk.
People are changing their coffee habits. Most of Latvia now knows pea protein milk and uses it in their favourite drink. But it is still something usually unheard of for people abroad.
Oat milk, almond, coconut or cashew? Kalve only uses pea milk as their milk alternative option - making the choice for the customer less confusing. After a blind tasting, Kalve team decided that pea milk is the one which compliments their coffee the best.
If you’re new to the coffee scene and still confused about this crazy world, Gatis has the answer for you.
“Stick to your habits and order the same as you usually would.”
Listen to Gatis - and go to your nearest coffee shop for that flat white, latte or batch brew you’ve been thinking about.
Or go to Latvia and meet Kalve. For me, it definitely makes the trip home more exciting.
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