Fuglen Coffee Roasters

Overview

Fuglen — 'the bird' in Norwegian — has occupied the same Universitetsgata corner in Oslo since 1963, when it opened as the tea-and-coffee shop Kaffefuglen. In 2008 Einar Kleppe Holthe, then a Norwegian Barista Champion who had worked alongside Tim Wendelboe at Stockfleths, took over the shop for a symbolic 1 NOK with vintage furniture dealer Peppe Trulsen and bartender Halvor Digernes, renaming it Fuglen and adding a cocktail bar and Scandinavian mid-century furniture-for-sale concept. The first Tokyo location opened in 2012, and Fuglen Coffee Roasters launched as a separate roasting business in 2014.

Known for

• Cafe-by-day, cocktail-bar-by-night format with every piece of vintage Scandinavian furniture priced for sale
• First Norwegian specialty roaster to build sustained operations in Japan (Tokyo 2012)
• Gamlebyen Oslo roastery (2018) houses Tim Wendelboe's old Probat
• Migratory tern logo, drawn from the bird that nests in Oslo harbour and travels the longest annual migration on earth
• Monocle named Fuglen one of the world's best retail concepts in 2011

Why it matters

Fuglen is one of the few Nordic specialty operators that has translated its aesthetic and roast philosophy outside Europe at scale. The Tokyo expansion that began in 2012 helped seed Japanese acceptance of Nordic light-roast filter coffee, and the brand's 60-plus-year continuity at the same Oslo address makes it the longest-running specialty venue in the city.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Ludvik Bonna Hopstock (Oslo); Joakim Pedersen oversees daily Oslo roastery operations

color sorting

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roaster machine

Probat (formerly owned by Tim Wendelboe) at Gamlebyen, Oslo

filter equipment

Kalita pour-over

cupping frequency

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roastery location

Gamlebyen, Oslo (St. Halvards gate) and Tokyo (Tomigaya area roastery)

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

Universitetsgata 2, 0164 Oslo (Sentrum)

Recognitions

• Monocle — One of the World's Best Retail Concepts (2011)
• Einar Kleppe Holthe — Norwegian Barista Champion (2007)
• Featured Speaker, SCA Coffee Retail Summit (Holthe)

Sources

• https://fuglen.no/About
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuglen
• https://mtpak.coffee/2025/04/fuglen-coffee-roasters/
• https://andershusa.com/fuglen-coffee-roasters-gamlebyen-roastery-cafe-shop-oslo-norway/
• https://kaffetid.com/cities/oslo/gamle-oslo/fuglen/
• https://sca.coffee/sca-news/video/coffee-retail-summit/the-potential-of-sustainable-economics-in-specialty-coffee-the-story-of-fuglen