Swedish Kokkaffe

Kokkaffe is Swedish boiled coffee, the old way of making coffee across Scandinavia: very coarse coffee and water brought to the boil in a pot, left for the grounds to sink, and poured off. In Norway it’s called kokekaffe. It’s simple, strong and full-bodied, and it’s still made in summer cottages, on hikes and over campfires. Here’s how to make it.

The short version

• Very coarse coffee, at least French press coarse.
• About a tablespoon per 180 ml of water, according to one guide.
• Bring it to the boil and boil it only briefly, for a minute or two at most.
• Off the heat, and let the grounds sink.
• Pour gently, or strain into a flask.
• Too fine a grind makes it muddy and bitter.

How does kokkaffe work?

It’s the simplest kind of boiled coffee: the coffee and water are heated together in an open pot, briefly brought to the boil, then left alone so gravity pulls the grounds to the bottom. There’s no filter, so the grind does the work: very coarse grounds sink cleanly and don’t over-extract.

What grind size should I use?

Very coarse, at least as coarse as for a French press. A finer grind clouds the coffee and turns it muddy and over-extracted.

How do you make kokkaffe, step by step?

1. Bring the water to the boil in a pot.
2. Stir in the coarse coffee, about a tablespoon per 180 ml.
3. Boil it briefly, for up to a minute or two.
4. Take it off the heat and leave it 3 to 5 minutes to settle. A splash of cold water helps.
5. Pour gently, leaving the grounds, or strain it into a flask.

Brew mode on this page times the boil and the settling for you.

How long should kokkaffe boil?

Sources differ. Coffee Voila suggests about 30 to 60 seconds at the boil once the coffee is in, warning that longer brings out bitter flavours; Our Coffee Corner says one to two minutes of gentle boiling. Home Sweet Sweden, writing from Sweden, puts the water and coffee in the pot together and simply brings them to the boil: “The coffee is now ready.” Either way, a long rolling boil is what makes boiled coffee harsh.

Cold water or boiling water first?

Both are traditional. Wikipedia and Home Sweet Sweden describe adding the coffee and water to the pot together and bringing them to the boil. Other guides boil the water first, take it off the heat briefly, and stir the coffee in. Try both: the coffee is boiled only briefly either way.

Kokkaffe vs other boiled coffee

	Kokkaffe	Cowboy coffee	Egg coffee
Where	Sweden and Scandinavia	American West	Scandinavian-American Midwest
Coffee	Very coarse, boiled briefly	Coarse, usually steeped off the boil	Mixed with egg, boiled
Settling	Gravity, or strained	Cold water splash	The egg binds the grounds
Cup	Strong, full	Strong, full	Smooth, clear

How is kokkaffe served?

Often from a flask, strained so it stays hot, especially outdoors. In Sweden, coffee is closely tied to fika, the coffee break with something sweet.

A short history

Coffee reached Sweden in the late 17th century, and Wikipedia describes kokkaffe as a historic method that is still common in northern Sweden. Clearing boiled coffee is old, too: Richard Tellström, a food historian at Stockholm University, told The Takeout that fish skin, often from lutfisk, was used in the 1700s to clear coffee, a forerunner of Scandinavian egg coffee. The same article says the habit faded once drip coffee makers became household items in the 1970s.

Norwegian kokekaffe

Norway’s kokekaffe is the same tradition under its Norwegian name: coarse coffee in a kettle, left to settle. It now has its own page, with the Norwegian Coffee Association’s steep-off-the-boil method, the Tias Eckhoff kettle and the Tromsø cholesterol research.

General guidance only. Take care with boiling water and open flames, and let the pot cool before handling it.

Kokkaffe vs other methods

• Cowboy coffee: America’s campfire coffee.
• Scandinavian egg coffee: boiled coffee cleared with an egg.
• French press: coarse coffee steeped, with a filter.
• Stovetop percolator: another classic outdoor pot.

Explore every boiled method in the boiled chapter.