1. What got you interested in coffee roasting? Did it start as a passion for drinking coffee, to then making your own? 

The idea of establishing a coffee roastery here in Jyväskylä, actually started in Tampere, in the cafeteria of Tampereen Paahtimo. We were visiting the place and started talking about Cuban coffee etc. One thing led to the other and soon we realized that we had bought their old 5kg roasting machine. About 6 months later we have a company and place where to start Finland's first totally (100%) organic coffee roastery. We were just tired of bad-tasting coffee that was sold in every grocery store in Finland.

2. How important is traceability to coffee? To know who is growing your coffee, and to be aware of their socio-economic reality, is this one of the most important ethical aspects of coffee today? 

Actually, the organic certificate is the first thing - because I right away know the cooperative or farm/estate behind the coffee. The organic certificate system in the EU is very strict, safe, and secure. The Customs test every lot/batch before letting it be traded as organic certified inside the EU. There is a worldwide system of organic certified products, TracesNT, where all legal operators (farms, authors, importers/exporters) are found. All documents are based on this system and you'll get the COI (certificate of inspection) with every purchase of green coffee you made. So organic certified coffee has always been very "transparent" or 100% traceable. 

We have known from the very beginning where our coffee is from. And this information customers could find in our webshop where the story of coffee is written. For us, the fact that workers (and nature) are not exposed to any kind of pesticide or chemical liquid, is very important. People in the coffee industry stay healthy and are able to take care of their families. Of course, the FairTrade system is important too, but in organic certified farming, the selling price is usually much higher than "non-organic certified" but FT certified coffee. And "non-organic certified" coffee is not at all as traceable as organic one. There is one exception to this and that is small farmers and cooperatives that are focusing on specialty coffee. They are doing a very very good job.

3. Paahtimo Papu has a passion for good and balanced coffee, and mostly, organic. How is your process of finding organic producers, and is it's easier with many labels, certifications, and organizations overseeing good practices?

During these years, organically farmed coffee all over the world has become very familiar to us. We offer a quite large range of organic coffee. The harvest is at different times depending on the continent, so the coffee selection varies throughout the year. Labels... Luckily there is a QR-code helping us with that problem. Customers could find the specific details of coffee thru that. The QR-code leads straight to the details of that coffee. I think we have now good practices with all certifications (organic, Demeter, FairTrade) and we could serve the customers with a very good selection of organic certified tea and coffee. 

4. Finland is still number one in coffee consumption, and traditionally committed to filtered coffee at home. How is the growth of people interested in other extraction methods, exploring roasting types? Or is the traditional medium roast still a favorite?

Using other methods than brew filter coffee has increased a lot. I think the main reason is the taste. People are more secure to test different coffee and different methods. The very old-school way of doing "different coffee" by adding a few extra spoons of powder isn't working anymore. Many have realized that using totally different method correspond better with what coffee drinkers are looking for the taste and quality. 

5. As the pandemic affected the whole food industry for almost two years, what are the expectations of Papu for 2022, and how companies like Korjuu can help?

It would be awesome if our coffee could be found all over Finland. Our webshop is serving customers quite well but we have good capacity to grow much more. We get almost every week nice feedback on our selection and the taste of tea and coffee. That is the best thing! I have a feeling that this collaboration with Korjuu will increase the trust in good organic-produced products and also the people behind the products (well-selected farms/cooperatives) will become more familiar to consumers.

Photo: Paahtimo Papu Facebook