Java Kaffebar

Java has become a landmark coffee shop right by St. Hanshaugen park ever since it opened its doors in 1997. Its owner–and the main barista–Robert Thoresen, originally trained as an architect, is one of the leading figures of the third-wave coffee movement in the Oslo coffee scene.

The original plan, according to Thoresen’s interviews with local newspapers, was that the coffee bar should serve as the front to his architecture studio. Yet Thoresen got so fascinated by the coffee business and went on to win a string of illustrious coffee-related titles including the first edition of the World Barista Championship in Morocco in 2000.

In 2001, Thoresen opened a sister coffee bar Mocca in western Oslo’s Briskeby area. Together with Mocca, he started also a micro roastery—the very first of its kind in the entire Norway, which in 2005 expanded into an independent roastery named Kaffa and relocated a few years later to eastern Oslo’s Ryen area.

Over the years, Java has attracted many illustrious guests residing in the area. Among them are the Norwegian Crown Prince Couple, Mette-Marit and Haakon, who used to hang out in the coffee bar early in their relationship.

Most recently, the coffee bar attracted worldwide attention when Renate Reinsve, a young and up-and-coming Norwegian actress with international recognition, mentioned it as her favourite Oslo coffee shop in her interview with Financial Times in late 2024.

Simple, elegant, classy with a Scandinavian touch—that was how Java was portrayed for a wider international audience. This was also our first impression of the shop.

The interior is decorated in a modern Italian style, with a Scandinavian minimalistic touch. Surrounded by walls covered with small moss green mosaic tiles, a long, rectangular wooden counter occupies the central position of the shop, offering counter space for people to enjoy their drinks either standing or sitting on bar stools. The high ceiling and large glass windows let in abundant day light, accentuating the open airiness in the space.

The contrast between the natural coloured wooden surface, the large, faint cherry-coloured geometric painting on the wall, the bright crimson steel coffee machine and the overhanging metal lamps from the ceiling, on the other hand, creates a relaxed feeling of Scandinavian cosiness, blended with a subdued passion of romance.

Back in 1997, the Italian way of coffee drinking was still relatively new in Norway, and “people were not quite sure how to use the space–should they stay, go, sit or stand? But they found it out eventually,” Thoresen told local newspapers.

We came to the coffee bar on a snowy Saturday afternoon, allured by their recently launched tasting flights. Here, you will be served three cups of coffee: one single espresso, one single cortado and one filter. This is a great deal for coffee enthusiasts: The tasting flight costs only 85 NOK, whereas a single cortado costs 56 NOK.

Our espresso and cortado were made with the “Dari Hernandez” beans from Guatemala, and the filter coffee was batch-brewed with the “Santa Ines” beans from Brazil—both roasted by Thoresen’s Kaffa roastery. Both the espresso and cortado were very good, but we were particularly impressed by how fresh the batch-brewed filter coffee tastes. This is one of the benefits of having a popular neighbourhood coffee shop: you can enjoy their distincitive roasting style at close proximity while at the same time the popularity makes sure the coffee is always fresh.

You can also find a selection of pastries from good bakeries across Oslo: sourdough sandwiches from Babbo Collective, croissants, pain au chocolat and other pastries from Gladbakst and Skillings.

Despite the weather, the shop was completely packed. People came to the shop alone, reading a newspaper or a book over a cup of coffee; there were also families with their dogs, sitting around a low table and chatting; even more people, looking like neighbours in their comfortable weekend clothes, just dropped by for take-out, together with a bag of beans.

The charm of a coffee shop is never just about the drinks and the beans, but rather the connection between the people and the place—a familiar greeting, the easiness of picking up a bag of beans, and a simple yet reassuring nod as a goodbye. Java is exactly such a place that has become a indispensable part of life in Oslo.