Emil didn’t set out with a roadmap for a career in coffee. In early 2024, he joined Nordic Approach in Oslo as a production assistant, looking to build hands-on experience before starting a coffee management traineeship with Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG).
At just 25 years old, Emil is now several months into the traineeship program. Currently, he’s based in Dar-es-Salaam and Mbeya in Tanzania, and spends most of his time working around the countries south-west.
“There’s no formal education that prepares you for a role like this,” he says. “In coffee, it’s a lot about being the right person for the job. It’s okay to start as a blank page.”
How it started
His time in the Nordic Approach production department gave him that first foundation. Coming in with a curiosity for specialty coffee, the experience here added depth and theory to his interest. Regular cuppings introduced him to how processing and regional differences affect flavour. He learned not just to taste, but to understand what he was tasting. Questions about the presence of quakers in samples got him looking into the underlying issues and wanting to understand them better by seeing things on the ground.
That curiosity took him to origin, and it’s there, in Uganda, Kenya, and now Tanzania, that things really clicked. “Being on the ground made it all real,” he says. “You gain knowledge that theory alone just can’t give you.”
Coffee Management Traineeship in East Africa
The NKG Coffee Management Trainee Program that he then joined is an 18-month pilot designed to build deep, practical expertise in sourcing, operations, and quality. Emil started the program in March 2024 and has already worked in multiple origin placements. In Uganda, he was quite literally thrown in at the deep end: helping to run a washing station with just one other colleague and no prior experience. It was a sharp learning curve, managing workflows, volumes, and unexpected challenges, but also a chance to understand coffee production from the inside out.
Uganda offered flexibility. Regulations are looser than in neighbouring countries, which made daily operations more straightforward. “In Uganda, there are fewer government restrictions or documentation requirements,” he explains. “Tanzania, on the other hand, similar to Kenya, is much more regulated and controlled. Though here, farmers often don’t yet have the knowledge to fully unlock the potential of their coffee, production is evolving strongly every year. The climate is still stable, despite climate change, offering great potential and plenty of open fields for expansion.”
NKG specifically sent Emil to Tanzania to learn about milling and to explore another Eastern African coffee origin. While initially focused on milling at the main offices in Mbeya and Mbinga, he quickly became involved in multiple steps of the supply chain and in reflecting on how the country’s cooperatives, called AMCOS, operate. Some stations are more developed and equipped than others, offering a varied perspective on coffee production in Tanzania.
Now in Tanzania and Kenya, Emil has worked with both specialty and commercial coffee, and the gap between them is clear to him. “Everyone wants good coffee, but in specialty, it’s about the details. That’s where things really stand out,” he says. “For example, the drying process in specialty involves so many more people to maintain quality at every step.”
If this inspires you, maybe you should check NKGs careers page every now and then? They are always keen to meet people who care about coffee, want to learn, and are ready to jump in.
Challenges and Adventures away from home
Outside of work, the cultural shift from Oslo to Kenya has also been significant. From day one, NKG helped with housing and logistics so Emil could settle in. He’s found life here both vibrant and surprising, particularly when you leave the city. “Every time you drive outside the cities like Nairobi and Mbeya, you might spot a giraffe or find yourself in a completely different landscape. You meet people who’ve grown up in ways totally different from Norway. That perspective is something I really value.”
His time in Tanzania hasn’t been without challenges. When political protests erupted following contested elections, Emil and a colleague stayed at a resort outside the city for safety, hearing demonstrations and even gunfire nearby for several days. During this period, Emil was briefly attacked by intruders, a first experience of this kind for him in East Africa. He says the situation reinforced his confidence in NKG’s support and the systems in place to keep him and the team safe in any situation.
What’s coming next
As for what’s next, Emil is keeping an open mind. He’s curious about South America, particularly Brazil, and interested in the more industrialised approach to coffee production there, as well as the quality coming out of the region. Longer term, he sees himself potentially educating farmers and working closely with them, while also growing into a trader role. For now, though, he’s fully focused on his traineeship, with 1.5 years still to go, and says he can’t think of anything he’d rather be doing. In Tanzania, he’s already involved in almost every stage of the process, from planting and crop care to harvesting, milling, and processing.
From theory on production tables in Oslo to practice on processing stations across East Africa, Emil’s story is proof that you don’t need a formal degree or a perfect plan, just a willingness to learn and get involved.
If you're keen to deepen your understanding of specialty coffee, there's no better way than experiencing origin firsthand as Emil. Our 2025 Origin Trips to Ethiopia and Kenya are a chance to do exactly that: meet producers, see how the work gets done on the ground, and gain the kind of perspective you can’t get solely behind a cupping table.
And if you cant make it to origin this year but still want to learn about the coffee in your cup make sure to read about our new Coffees from Tanzania here or see all facts about coffee production in Kenya.
