About
What more could you want?

What's it all about then?

Keans Beans is a little coffee roastery in the beautiful Lofoten Islands, way up north in arctic Norway. The air is fresh, the water is incredibly clear, and the light is magical at all times of the year, from the northern lights in winter to the midnight sun in summer. We have just set up the roastery in a wonderful location  at the harbour in Laukvik. From the window you can watch the boats, the incredible mountains and see eagles flying past.


View from the roastery, morning mist.

The view from the roastery with morning mist

What about the coffee?

All the coffees are sourced from small producers and as many as possible are organic - the aim is to produce the best quality coffee without wrecking the rest of the planet in the process. Roasting to order in small batches means that you can get the best possible flavours out of the beans and all the subtle aromas and flavours are still there by the time it gets to your favourite cup. We are currently roasting coffee from Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, India and El Salvador and hope to add lots more, including special blends, as soon as we can.

First trial batch of Mexico roast

First batch of organic coffee from Mexico

All our lovely coffees are currently sourced from Mercanta, a company who deal directly with the producers and hence give the growers a fair price for the beans. "Fairtrade" branded coffee only guarantees a minimum price and often this can be less than what should be paid, though it's definitely much better than doing nothing at all. Dealing directly with small producers is usually much better for everyone. We try to offer organic coffee as much as possible. It's not a difficult decision to make. And the flavours are fantastic. Have a look at the detailed descriptions for more information about each coffee.

The roastery seen from Laukvik pier.

Where can I get some?

At the moment you can find it in the webshop, or contact us. If you happen to live in or around Laukvik and you can smell coffee in the air then get in touch because I can probably even deliver it on the way back from the roastery!


Who is responsible for all this coffee foolishness?

The "Kean" in "Keans Beans" is Chris Kean, who made the mistake of coming to Lofoten for a few weeks once and fell under the spell of the place without even putting up a decent fight. I studied (astrophysics) and lived (on a farm) and worked in Scotland (in a coffee bar called "Taste", in St Andrews. You should visit. Great people and great coffee) before coming here. When not playing with coffee I can mostly be found staring awe-struck at the mountains, sea, northern lights and all the other Lofoten magic. But the whole thing wouldn't have stood a chance without the friendship, support, language assistance (still a work in progress!), rescuing from ditches and general encouragement of all the people who I've met in Norway so far. Even the feather logo comes from a picture I took on the rocks at Laukvik on my first visit. When I was back home in Scotland afterwards playing at home coffee-roasting another feather fell out of the sky right into a small batch of coffee I had put outside to cool. After that everything else fell into place in much the same way, and here I am, along with the coffee!

If you want to get in touch, have any questions, comments or whatever else then the details are here.

Mr Bean?
Chris trying to look as Norwegian as possible.
The original feather at Laukvik