Behind the Scenes at Prolog: Copenhagen’s Amazing Coffee Gem

It's a bit of a rough morning, and I've started to get worried. But it's here that we truly enjoy it. It is a Sunday morning. It is 7 a.m. We are in the Meatpacking District. I lit the candles in front of my shop here, since there was a party last night. One of the unique things about the Meatpacking District is that it is a truly dynamic area. It's open from 12 to 12 a.m., and it's fantastic. The machine is on, the music is playing, it's nice jazz. We're warming up for all the guests who are coming. For a few hours, the terrace will be full of people who enjoy coffee and fresh pastries from Juno Bakery. We just enjoy it. We make a difference in every single detail. We're doing something that's quite simple. One will always remember that the things one does precisely and pays attention to are precisely the things guests will appreciate. Even though one carries out an extinction, and the tablet looks nice and neat, Then I can truly enjoy the simple things when entering a place. I also hope the guests will appreciate it. This shop is almost 10 years old. We opened in March 2016, my business partner Jonas and me. This place was offered to us by two chefs, Bo and Lasse. They probably had a company called I Am A Combo. The invited us to open a small pop-up store at this location. Formerly, it was a department store. So we said yes. We really wanted to do it. We really thought this area was very interesting. As I mentioned before, I'm truly in love with the dynamic view you see all around. We have the café that opens up here. Later on, it's all the restaurants for dinner, Mother, Kamur, Fiskebarn, and so on. Later, the ladies with high heels will arrive, and they're ready for a big night instead. They go to The Master and The Apprentice and all the iconic places around. And then it goes around. So I really like the circular system that's around here. In fact, we've only just opened our fourth major site in this new area, called Paper Island. New buildings, not new areas. In 2023, we opened our large store on Randersgade in Østerbro. Then, in January this year, we opened a place next to our roastery in Frederiksberg. So it's our next place after our roastery, and it's also really nice, where we roast all of our coffee. It all began with her. I think it also took about 7 years to open another location. And it's truly roundabout that quality is what's most necessary for us. We really want to put effort and good energy into every single cup we serve. And when you build an organization like this, it takes time to find the right people. And now we believe we have it, so we truly believe in people that they can do the same. What is special about it? It's now 7:45, which means we'll open in 15 minutes, until the first guest arrives. What we need to do now is prepare all the coffees. We have recipes for all the coffees we use here. That means we have two espresso recipes. We have one for batch brew and one for pour over. One thing that Juan does is a real necessity in what you have to do again and again and again and again. Reputation today is about showing off and making sure everything looks nice and neat, with nothing expensive around. So we start by using the first batch brew. We have some dark coffee ready for the guests. Especially Danish guests—they prefer batch brew. And then make sure all the cakes are beautiful and delicious. One of the most important positions we can have on a shift is the head barista. The head barista ensures the coffee tastes exquisite and is perfectly brewed. So all recipes are random and fresh. Then all your colleagues must know which ratios we use and which recipes we use. Who is the head barista today? Juan Nito Ladies and gentlemen from Argentina. I think one of the biggest challenges in the coffee industry, or in a café, it's climate change. At the café begins to become very careless, or there might be some. So the farmers are forced to come up with creative solutions, how to protect them from cold winds, unexpected weather just rain, as expected, or unexpected times. And how they can still turn it into a major incident. So I think it's one of the biggest challenges if you overlook a café or a coffee shop. There are many things. But I think one of the necessary things is, the amount of hard work one is forced to do to produce 100 kg of coffee, or 10 kg of coffee. All is hung up. All is hard work of dedication, and also passion. for Kaffeskabet. I think it's the biggest thing that people don't know. Another thing might be the green coffee, The coffee in the forest is loose. That's definitely not the case. Not if we're working with the kind of quality we're doing here. We've just received our pastries and baked goods from Juno Bakery. Wildly imprisoned bakery in Hvidehavn, Østerbro. And in my opinion, it's simply the best in Copenhagen. And by the way, we get a cardamom bun. The wildly imprisoned cardamom bundle. And then we get these beautiful almond croissants. And we get panko chocolate. And then these seasonal rhubarb buns. That's also very nice. And then to the evening, we get this beauty. Which is... What is it called? Limon Shadow One of the plans for the opening of this place was that we would share our beloved coffee. But we felt that the industry was a bit more limiting for guests back then. There was a great deal of yeses and noes, and something you couldn't do. Or perhaps even the right to do so. So if you walked into a shop and asked for sugar in your espresso, Then the barista will just say that you need to leave the store. Or if you asked for milk in your pour-over, Then the barista will also say that you have to leave the shop. Good morning. Welcome to. So it was really about setting limits for the guests, for things they could not do. And we thought that this wasn't the right way to share such a beautiful product as coffee. So we wanted to make it more random. And then we also came to this decision: we don't exist without our guests. Guests are the most important, and their experiences are the most important. Yes, and that's why we say we celebrate our coffee. We celebrate you. Good morning. So now it is 8:00 a.m. The café has just opened. The weather is good, and it is July. So I think we can expect a rather uneventful day. Yes. No, but I mean there are a lot of people who have their time back. And there are lots of tourists. It's a truly beginning time of the year. So I think we can respect an early morning and an early evening. Filled with good guests. We are a coffee shop. We are four coffee shop owners. And then four, and four, and four of most. We are a coffee roastery. And the company is BCorp-certified, as you can see here. It might be a somewhat holistic, present-oriented certification. So you'll have to go all the way around with your current habits and systems in the organization or in the company, those who leave, how we treat our workers, and also, how we use our coffee How is our transparency, What is our use? all these kinds of things. So all those things mean. And if you score over 80 points, Then you will receive a certificate. And so you are part of a great movement, for companies that wish to make things better It's not here just for profit. We scored about 83, so we're just above the line. But we are actually obliged to describe again this year. It is every third year that we are required to describe, So we have to rebuild our application again, which I think is truly fantastic, where we are forced to change and upgrade all our systems when it comes to the matter of proportionality. And I think it's really fantastic, because it keeps you motivated to be in this certification. Hi, welcome to. It's 9 p.m. now. Oh, we've just finished our very short shift. And now we're on our way to our new store on Papirøen. So let's get in the car and let's go. Let's take a look at the spot here now with the flowers. So we're almost at our newest place, on Paper Island. You can almost see it from here, from the distance to Nyhavn. What I really love is, where one can cycle around each civil bay, each civil area in Copenhagen, from Østerbro to Vesterbro to Frederiksberg, And then on to the city center here. And since it's summer now, I think, that it's one of the most beautiful times to go cycling around, with regard to winter. But there's where we truly love it, Oh yes, it's a beautiful morning. I believe this moment, as we cycle here now, It's quite unique. Normally it's packed with people, He goes to work, Oh yes, practical things, Meet friends. Hi, Thomas. Yes, of course, with a large number of tourists as well, I rent or lease cars. But now it's almost finished. There is a story titled "Pæle Alone in the World." Alone in the world. And it feels like that right now. In these pyramids, I entered this island. It's called Paper Island. Find our new place, where you can shoot into the ocean. You can shoot. You can enjoy the look of Opera, at Opera House. Yes, it's a nice area around here. Here we are. Hi, folks. Hi, Callum. Good to see you. How are you? Hi, June. How are you? Are you good? Perfect. Yes, fine. So one of the things we're working on at this place, the light, or the daily, natural light coming in for di... Okay, now there's a little bit of air, But we want morning light inside here, with windows, Will it create a really funny space? and we thought, It would really make this place dynamic. So we made a slightly more classic café setting here, with chairs and seats, a high bar Since we're on Paper Island, We had to add paper. So we made a small library here. So we have a library ladder, With a twist up here, or maybe somewhere where it's a bit more refined to focus on Oh yes. We opened the door to this place almost two weeks ago, you know, it's a really concerning area, a large number of tourists, especially, and also people who live in the areas around here. So we have been... You're truly, truly welcome here, Overwhelming, I would say. That's quite interesting, when you open new places, There are always different rumors. and there are the daily ones, how do you say, peaks of the tax here. It's very different, so... Right now, the shop is quite high, It would become quite worrying, then. because people want to go around, Oh, hopefully the water will get better, And that's it now. So this is a stream bread brioche, something that's just at its peak right now Dense rye bread. It's not getting any better. My name is Callum. And I have been working with Prolog for four years now. A year as a barista at the beginning, in Copenhagen's place, the original place, For the past three years I have been Holding Manager at Prolog. So I assist our partners, as well as our coffee beans in different places, so it could be backfires, hotelier, officer or different coffee shops. I really love working for Prolog. For I think it is a cooperation with law, in all places in the case. It could be coffee sales, coffee drinker, Coffee drinker. It really is something to have that attention for details about the power, Oh, it really is about prioritizing it. I think what makes Prolog Coffee special, It's worth noting that there is attention to detail. and also really try to make coffee Be as attentive as possible to people. We do not wish to be overly pretentious, as I think could be quite easy at the coffee shop, but we are really trying to change it, also with the category icons, as we have at our bakery. For example, the round and sweet, The fresh, the funky, and the crazy. I think it really does make a difference. especially for people, who have not had the opportunity exposed at live especially for coffee before, an opportunity to understand, what I personally like and we can have these conversations quite easy That is really lovely. We have our coffee beans from all over, where it is possible to produce coffee, so basically in Central America, South America and Africa. We use a large amount of our legs, from Mexico. Nindo Ndaje is one of the largest the longest project, We have worked together every year. There's also a lot of coffee, as our partners use for a large number of times each year, Likewise, Juno Bakery, where we get our pastries, for example As I said, also from Peru, Colombia, some of my favorite coffees from Africa, like Chichelle from Ethiopia, or some washed coffee, as we have today at Batch Brew. I'm a sucker for African coffee. especially Ethiopian coffee. Washed coffee from Ethiopia it's definitely one of my favorites, for this little, fresh taste. It could be tea. It's a large quantity of dark tea. a mass of flowers, bergamot-sculptor I think it's unique. oh, really tasted it. For folk, there is interest I'm coming in for coffee in this trap, to be open Have conversations, be communal. I think that the municipality here, especially in Copenhagen It's quite small, but it's also very close old friend. So I think, to be open at heart of course, if you show coffee scoops, have conversations with my barista, so people are always needing to be open of their power, He is passionate over its power. So if you want to learn more, and if you potentially want Fall into this trap, Just talk to your barista, and I think, The doors can be opened from there. Okay. So here is Røsteri. It is an old one heritage village. It was earlier at the gas station It was a restaurant. That is also why there is a gigantic pipe in the middle of the room, who will stay there. But what's really sweet from this place, er, if you come to the coffee shop, so you can come Look inside. So it's a super sweet connection Between Røsteri and the coffee shop. So everything is just to begin They are warming up machine for the morning. We have green coffee here. We are now going to voting, original packaging, And then labeling as well. So the green coffee Enters here. It's all weighed out. It will be such a sigh In this hopper. It kills at a certain place It begins to roar. And after about 10 minutes Does it go into the refrigerator? Oh yes, indeed. We're ready. So here at Røsteri We work with in Loring, It is extremely accessible Oh, really, really good. And we drink coffee for all of Copenhagen, for all four of our coffee blends, And the world goes around as well. And for some among our long-standing clients Do we have more? present facility, where we can give them coffee in the tin, That's a really nice thing to do and also to hold Keep this current facility operational. Yes, it all begins here with the green coffee with Røsteri, with the clients working from Monday to Wednesday on production. Above all, as we also do labeler with my hand oh packages. So yes, The worker works from 8 to 4. oh, votes, And that's it, finished. We vote around your coffee every week It depends on about 20 packs every week, No, every day. I think, what matters most is, what we are working with at we have super beautiful relationship with all the farmers, Oh, it's something, He is extremely important to us. And it all begins with the green coffee. So we want to have super high quality. So right now we are in the training room So this is it, where we hold courses three times a week but we also take all the new farmers, Oh, get all of them up to infancy I don't understand Prolog A little bit more. Yes, there are three courses held in the evening. Sometimes we make them on the weekend, Oh, it is one of our colleagues, who has worked at Prologge In seven years. So it's just Super FloT Oh, it's been a good couple of hours, where one can bare learn, Oh yes. So we have in an espresso brewing course, and we have in the filter brewing course, And then latte art. So it is also Really great to understand the way, we use. It is also to understand what one can get from our coffee. And it has just been in a super float experience So long ago.