Nordic Coffee Fest Returns: An Exclusive Interview with Founder Steven Moloney
Get Ready for the Nordics’ Biggest Coffee Celebration!
The wait is over! The Nordic Coffee Fest is making a grand return for its second edition on March 1-2, 2025, at the iconic Bananpiren in Gothenburg. After a highly successful debut in 2024, the event promises to be even bigger and more exciting, bringing coffee enthusiasts and industry professionals together under one roof.
We sat down with Steven Moloney, the founder of Nordic Coffee Fest, to dive into the inspiration behind the festival, what’s new in 2025, and how it continues to shape the Nordic and global coffee communities. Join us in this exclusive conversation to uncover the highlights of the upcoming event and what makes it a must-attend experience for coffee lovers worldwide.
The idea behind NCF actually started back in 2021. Coming out of the pandemic, we wanted to reconnect with the coffee community in Sweden. We had been organizing events all over the world, but not in Sweden for years. Through our research and conversations, it became evident that while the industry was growing, there was no unifying event like the old Nordic Barista Cup—no space where coffee professionals and consumers could gather, share knowledge, and engage with the industry.
The response to the first event in 2024 was incredible! It became clear that such an event was much needed. We were also surprised by the strong interest from outside the Nordics—so many people want to visit, exhibit, and participate. That kind of attention to Nordic coffee culture has been incredibly meaningful to us.
With the festival doubling in size this year, what are the most exciting additions attendees can look forward to in 2025?
This year, we’re introducing some major highlights:
- Barista School: A hands-on workshop where attendees can brew coffee with professional baristas, ask questions, and refine their coffee-making skills.
- Expanded Content Program: Our main stage will be more accessible and fun for consumers, while our industry stage, produced with Simonelli Group, will host in-depth discussions on the future of coffee. The industry talks will also be available later on via their coffee knowledge hub.
- Nordic’s Best Roaster Competition: We’ve refined the structure of this prestigious competition to focus on what truly defines a great roaster. Attendees will have the chance to taste competition coffees and vote in the Public Choice Award, in collaboration with Victoria Arduino and Ceado.
How do you see the festival contributing to the growth of Nordic coffee culture and the global coffee community?
The Nordic coffee scene has historically played a major role in shaping the global specialty coffee industry. The influence of Tim Wendelboe, Coffee Collective, and the Nordic light roast style put the region on the map. However, over the years, the cohesiveness of the Nordic coffee scene has faded.
By bringing together top industry professionals, roasters, and enthusiasts in one place, we hope to revive that sense of connection and innovation. The level of expertise and talent at this festival is unparalleled, and we want to continue making this a place where ideas and collaborations flourish.
Sustainability is a key focus for the festival. What specific steps have been taken this year to reduce waste and make the event more eco-friendly?
We approach sustainability with three key pillars:
- Reduce – We are eliminating single-use items, adhering to a carbon budget, tracking our footprint, and making sustainability a core part of our planning process.
- Challenge – We challenge our partners and suppliers to be more sustainable. For example, Adapt, our production company, is developing a tool to track electricity usage per exhibitor—an industry-first initiative.
- Inspire – Beyond our direct impact, we want to influence change. If an exhibitor or attendee leaves the festival questioning the norm (like why other events still use paper cups), we’ve already made a difference.
How do you balance sustainability while hosting a large-scale event with international participation?
We can’t avoid the fact that the most sustainable thing for us to do is to not host events, but we know there is a need for connection, a need for events.
. Instead, we strive to be a model of how coffee events can reduce their environmental impact while still thriving. We publish our sustainability data openly—the good and the bad—and we invite everyone to challenge us. Transparency and progress are what matter most.
Can you tell us more about the new Barista School and how it aims to engage both professionals and enthusiasts?
The Barista School is designed to bridge the gap between professionals and consumers. It has four interactive stations:
- Espresso
- Latte Art
- Pour Over
- Brewing
Visitors get hands-on experience, guided by expert baristas. They can ask anything—from basic storage tips to complex extraction techniques. Home brewers often struggle without direct access to professional advice, so this initiative aims to provide that missing link.
The Nordics’ Best Roaster Competition is a major highlight. What can we expect from this year’s event?
This year, 27 roasters applied, with 10 finalists set to compete in Gothenburg. The competition evaluates not just roasting but sourcing, consistency, and technique. Attendees can taste all competition coffees and vote for the Public Choice Award. Our partners at ROEST are also introducing advanced data tracking, providing deeper insights into the roasting process.
Where do you see the Nordic Coffee Fest in the next five years, and what is your ultimate vision for its impact on the coffee industry?
Our goal is clear: NCF should be the top coffee event in the Nordics. If you want to understand the future of coffee, this is the event to attend.
By 2027, we will be moving the festival to another Nordic city—though that’s still a secret for now!
What has been the most rewarding part of organizing this festival for you personally?
Seeing some of the world’s most respected coffee professionals at the festival has been deeply rewarding. But the most meaningful part? Watching my team rise to the challenge of organizing such an ambitious event.
I started as a barista with a dream to create great coffee events. Today, we have an agency of incredibly talented people making the best coffee events possible. That’s humbling, and it’s what keeps me inspired to push forward.
Mark your calendars for March 1-2, 2025, and get ready for an unforgettable coffee experience in Gothenburg! Whether you’re a coffee lover, an industry professional, or simply curious about Nordic coffee culture, this is the place to be.
See you at Bananpiren for two days of coffee, connection, and innovation!
