I ran Gourmet Girl (Gourmetbönans Te & Kaffe) in two rounds. First in Märsta Centrum outside Stockholm 2006-2008. Then the store was reopened online in 2018 and for six months also in a physical store in Filipstad in Värmland. ("Gourmetbönan" is a pun, not easily translated. "Böna" means bean, but is also a word for girl. I was the gourmet bean girl.)
In the premises in Filipstad, I organized many different events. I invited people to music evenings, art exhibitions, tea and coffee tastings, book circles and much more. It was a fantastic time in a lovely room with lots of space and room for my interests. I made new friends there, who shared my interest in music. Unfortunately, the business was closed down when the pandemic came, but I continued online until the spring of 2021. Coffee and (above all) tea are still two of my passions in life!
Gourmet Girl Ingela takes a break in the shop and plays a favorite song:
The time with Gourmetbönan (Gourmet Girl) in Märsta was wonderful and eventful! I learned a lot and met many interesting people. There too, I organized art exhibitions and music events. My piano was in the store.
Here are some of my top tea and coffee tips. Enjoy!
Tea
The champagne of teas is Darjeeling. Tastes good anytime, but especially when the very first harvest arrives in Sweden from the Himalayas in spring. This is usually sometime in May, or April at the earliest. Darjeeling First Flush is called the tea, and it tastes delicious. The taste can vary from year to year and from plantation to plantation, but if it is a good year and a good plantation, you can enjoy a tea that is unlike any other tea, a special mild and round taste, fresh and almost a little green, although this is a black tea. For me, this is the tea event of the year and I drink with reverence and presence. Sure, it costs more than regular tea, but I have been waiting and longing for this tea since August! It is definitely worth its 250 kronor per hecto. Most shopkeepers tend to be decent, and let you buy half of it. That could be a good idea if you have not tried it before.
Coffee
Remember that coffee should be fresh, don't leave it to lose its flavour for too long in the pantry. Brew with freshly ground beans if possible. It is best to have your own grinder at home and buy good quality beans from a coffee shop. If you don't have a grinder, buy smaller quantities. Store the coffee in a tightly sealed bag in a jar, not in the fridge or freezer, where moisture can affect quality and taste.
Do you like flavoured coffee? There are ready-made blends available in coffee shops, but you don't have to buy flavoured coffee, you can flavour it yourself at home. For example, add a pinch of cardamom to your cup or leave it in when you brew the coffee. A small piece of dark chocolate can also put the finishing touch to your everyday coffee. Experiment with different spices and flavourings.
My favourite coffee? Well, it would have to be Monsoon Malabar. An Indian coffee with a nice round taste that I think is a bit different, maybe because it's an aged coffee, exposed to the monsoon winds for a few months, just like in the old days, when the coffee beans were shipped to Europe and had to endure a lot of humidity. Try it!
Here are the Gourmet Girl videos that I made to promote my business:
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