Collaboration: Black Cat

Growing up in Oslo has made me fall in love with the city, and I will always have a special connection to it no matter how many hours I spend in the mountains. There is nothing like the view over Oslo city center as one approaches it with the subway on a summer evening, or the view over Maridalsvannet, which can be seen from so many angles from the different peaks of Nordmarka. So, as an Oslo girl, I think it’s incredibly special to announce that Kristian and I are starting a collaboration with Black Cat, an Oslo based coffee and tea store.

Black cat coffee and tea store started up in Oslo in 1905, and has over 110 years of experience providing high-quality products to the people of Oslo. It’s an honor to collaborate with such an iconic and traditional company that has been a part of the city’s soul for so long. Something that really attracts me to Black Cat is their focus on the various roles a cup of coffee or tea plays in everyday life. For example, in my family home, the person who wakes up first always makes a large pot of black tea and fills a thermos for the rest of the family to enjoy when they wake up. When Kristian and I stay together, I try to show the same affection by making a cup of AeroPress with a light-roasted coffee before he wakes up. What I believe is special for us is our ability to enjoy these small moments of the day. We often bring our cup to a morning bath or walk, in the car on our way to an adventure, or just a study trip to the library. When we first started spending time together, we were mostly studying in cafes on our rest days. We could stay there from the moment it opened until closing time, sipping coffee, studying, and chatting in between. Later, we started drinking chai together at training camps and competitions to relax. As athletes, a cup of coffee can also have a different aspect, like the last cup of coffee 90 minutes before a competition starts, or an espresso before a tempo session. I believe that in addition to the caffeine, the ritual is just as important.

Therefore, you will find a wide selection of coffee and tea that can be enjoyed during all these small moments of the day. They have a selection of teas with and without caffeine, in both bagged and loose-leaf form, so they can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere. For coffee, they also sell the best selection (in our opinion) of equipment for brewing on the go. We most often use the Comandante hand grinder and AeroPress or V60 when we're out on our adventures or training camps.

This week, I was lucky enough to visit their newest store at CC Vest in Oslo and bring home a selection of various coffees and teas. Our kitchen shelves are now filled with black-, green-, white-, and rooibos tea, even matcha, which I cannot wait to test out in the coming days. For our next camp, we are bringing a white tea with the taste of strawberry, and a Colombian washed coffee suited for all brewing methods to taste. We cannot wait to explore this further.

Ragne

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