Following this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) an opposition with the Commission within 3 months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Kaffeost’

EU No: PDO-SE-03014 – 18.10.2023

PDO (X) PGI ( )

1.   Name(s) (of PDO)

‘Kaffeost’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Sweden

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheese

Combined nomenclature code

—	04 – DAIRY PRODUCE; BIRDS’ EGGS; NATURAL HONEY; EDIBLE PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN, NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED OR INCLUDED 0406 – Cheese and curd

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Kaffeost’ is a fresh cheese with a dry crust produced from whole reindeer, goat’s or cow’s milk. The fairly dry crust, produced by drying, smoking or baking, is necessary to make ‘Kaffeost’ easy to handle, long-lasting and able to be broken into pieces. An individual ‘Kaffeost’ normally weighs between 150 g and 500 g, but variations outside this range may occur as the cheeses are also sold in pieces. The cheese is usually flat, but this may vary. The shape is of secondary importance as it is consumed cut into pieces (see below). The thickness is between 1 and 5cm, but the width is not as well defined, certainly not when it is not baked, because it tends to spread. The crust can range from milky-white (the mountain variety) to yellowish and sooty (smoked north-eastern variant) or golden with dark brown spots (oven-baked north-eastern variant). ‘Kaffeost’ has a fat content in the range of 25-50 %, with goat’s milk giving the lowest fat content, cow’s milk an intermediate content and reindeer milk the highest fat content. The cheese is unsalted, with a maximum of 1 % salt added. The percentage of dry matter is in the range of 40 % to 70 %. These ranges are typical when the recipe is followed, but minor variations could occur given variations in the milk.

‘Kaffeost’ often has a rubbery texture. The taste is mild and round, clearly reminiscent of boiled milk. ‘Kaffeost’ is a fresh cheese, and the flavour also reflects the species of animal from which the raw milk is obtained (cow, goat or reindeer). Sometimes the basic flavour is supplemented by other flavours (aromatic smoky and/or caramelised) as a result of smoking or Maillard products resulting from the baking process. The name of the cheese refers to the fact that it is intended to be served cut into small pieces that are added to coffee and enjoyed together with the coffee when they have become warm and soft in consistency. More specific visual and organoleptic characteristics of the different variants currently produced are presented below:

Kaffeost made from reindeer milk:

Crust: Smoked. Light yellow brown base colour with darker surface with hints of smoke and smoke-grilling.

Aroma: smoky.

Flavour: mild, unsalted, pure milk flavour with smoky notes.

Texture: when cold: rubbery, squeaky. when warm: melting and smoother in consistency.

Kaffeost made from goat’s milk:

Crust: dried/untreated: white colour with small cavities in the cheese.

Aroma: mild, slightly acidic.

Flavour: mild, slightly salty and slightly acidic, with a hint of goat and a creamy base. When warm, the fine acidity and slight saltiness of the cheese are highlighted.

Texture: when cold: melty. when warm: viscous

Kaffeost made from goat’s milk, oven-baked variant:

Crust: oven-baked. White base colour with browny yellow spots from oven-baking, dry, crisp crust.

Aroma: mild, milky, slightly acidic with hints of butter and caramel.

Flavour: slightly salty and slightly acidic with hints of whey and caramel and a creamy base note. When warm, the slight acidity and the slightly salty flavour are highlighted together with the caramel undertones.

Texture: when cold: rather hard. when warm: melting with a rubbery texture.

Kaffeost made from goat’s milk, smoked-crust variant:

Crust: white base colour with a somewhat darker outer crust, hints of smoke and smoke-grilling.

Aroma: mild, slightly acidic, smoky

Flavour: smoky, slightly acidic and slightly salty. When the cheese is warm, its mild acidity, slight saltiness and smokiness are highlighted.

Texture: when cold: sticky, slightly rubbery. when warm: melty.

Kaffeost made from cow’s milk:

Crust: baked. Light yellow base colour with dark patches from the oven-baking.

Aroma: the aroma is mild and reminiscent of pure milk.

Flavour: dominated by pure milk with some sweetness. when warm, the sweetness of the cheese is slightly enhanced.

Texture: when cold: the texture is elastic, and the crust is crisp with visible cheese grains. The texture is grainy and rubbery. when warm: even more rubbery.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

The feed given to the dairy cows consists of fodder and concentrates. By law, domestic animals in the geographical area must be grazed outside for at least 2 months a year. They graze on grasses, small plants, bark, lichens, etc., depending on the species concerned. While cows are normally kept indoors during the cold part of the year, goats are often kept outside. Reindeer live outside all year round. On an annual basis, at least half the feed must consist of fodder (pasture, hay, haylage or silage) and grain from the geographical area. Grain and other concentrates may be purchased from elsewhere if the natural conditions for their feasible production are lacking in the geographical area. This concentrated feed is purchased mainly from southern Sweden.

‘Kaffeost’ is made from non-homogenised whole goat’s, cow’s or reindeer milk from a geographical area covering the provinces of Lapland, Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland, Härjedalen and Ångermanland.

3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The production of the milk used as the raw material for ‘Kaffeost’ and the cheese itself (both the curdling and any smoking or baking) must take place within the geographical area. ‘Kaffeost’ must not be frozen outside the geographical area if it is sold with the designation ‘Kaffeost’, as the cheese is, by its very nature, supposed to be consumed fresh. Freezing should therefore occur shortly after production in order to guarantee the quality of the cheese when it is sold.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

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3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

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4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area comprises the northernmost parts of the country: Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Lapland, Jämtland, Härjedalen and Ångermanland.

5.   Link with the geographical area

The link between the geographical area and the characteristics of ‘Kaffeost’ is based on both the area’s natural conditions and human factors.

The natural conditions include the plentiful supply of pasture during the summer months and the harvesting of fodder for use during the winters, but also the availability of large areas for grazing reindeer and the availability of lichen etc. They also include the harsh climate which, for large parts of the year, has meant that food has easily frozen, at least that eaten by people working outdoors or nomadic Sami people. For these reasons, since time immemorial people have used boiling broth as a basis for their diet, adding to it whatever ingredients come to hand and consuming it all together, including ‘Kaffeost’. When coffee arrived in the region several centuries ago, boiled coffee became a kind of alternative to broth, and pieces of cheese could be placed in either broth or coffee. The gradual transition from a broth-based to a coffee-based tradition also means that the coffee tradition in the area is mainly based on boiled coffee, which is still the case today, while the rest of Sweden has now embraced a more continental brewed coffee culture. Over time, the practice of placing pieces of cheese in coffee became more popular than placing it in broth, and thus what we know today as ‘Kaffeost’ was developed. As the coffee melts and warms the, in itself, very neutral-tasting ‘Kaffeost’, the latter develops a smooth and pleasant characteristic texture and, at the same time, is infused with a delicate taste of the coffee. The harsh climate has also required people to fully exploit all the resources available for survival.

The production of cheese in general and the easily transportable ‘Kaffeost’ in particular is a clear response to the need to eke out summer’s abundance over the long and harsh winters. The fact that ‘Kaffeost’ does not have to have any particular shape is also an expression of this traditional attitude to survival. Cheese in moderately sized portions which could easily be broken off is an expression of thrift and the use of the cheese in everyday life.

Historically, ‘Kaffeost’ was produced only during the snow-free part of the year, i.e. from around May to September/October, as the animals would bear young in spring and lactate thereafter. ‘Kaffeost’ made of reindeer milk or goat’s milk remains a seasonal product, while the cow’s milk version is now available all year round. It is precisely at the Arctic Circle, which passes right through the geographical area, that the number of annual sunshine hours is the highest in the world, with those hours of sunshine occurring mainly during the summer. The vigour of the growing season is therefore extraordinary, giving the grass and other grazing a particularly high nutrient content, for example measured in water soluble carbohydrates. As a result, the animals’ milk is also extra nutritious, which helps to give ‘Kaffeost’ its specific character and round, delicate taste. Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) is particularly common in the area. It is a strongly growing perennial herb with well-known benefits. Its leaves are appreciated in dried form to make aromatic tea, and its Swedish common name of Mjölkört (‘milk herb’) refers to its ability to increase lactation in farmed animals. Rosebay willowherb is available to the grazing animals as soon as it begins to sprout and until the first frost. It is a nitrate-bearing plant that absorbs freely soluble nitrogen compounds from the soil. Vigorous by nature, it grows particularly strongly during the intense summer months in the north of Sweden. Where available, rosebay willowherb grazing is offered to the animals in order to promote particularly good milk.

Human factors include the dairies’ expertise in determining, for example, when the curd is to be broken, how and how finely to break it in order to give ‘Kaffeost’ the intended characteristics, and the length of time it should be post-stirred. Such human factors also include determining exactly when the surface of the ‘Kaffeost’ is properly dried and when it has been smoked or baked sufficiently to produce the best result.

Farms in the geographical area have tended to be small, and people have had to live on scarce economic resources. For that reason, goats are reared in the region more than in the south of the country. Moreover, each farm’s milk supply was limited, while the distance between individual farms was great, historically too far for farmers to club together for the purposes of collective cheesemaking in practice, as was done in southern Sweden. As a result, the focus of cheesemaking had to be on small cheeses rather than large pressed cheeses. If the quantity of cheese made is small, the individual cheeses cannot be large. The shape is not important because, before consumption, the cheese will in any case be cut into smaller pieces before it is placed in the coffee.

Reindeer husbandry, which provides the conditions for milking domesticated reindeer, and thus by extension the possibility of producing reindeer milk-based ‘Kaffeost’, is a Sami tradition and, as such, is linked to large parts of the geographical area.

‘Kaffeost’, which was expected to be consumed quickly, was not surface-treated but, rather, dried / left untreated in the traditional way. In the event that the cheese was to be aged slightly longer before consumption, it would be smoked or baked, depending on the cultural context. The ‘Kaffeost’ traditionally produced by nomadic people (mainly Sami) was hung in the smoke hole in the roof of the lavvu. Smoke from the centrally placed fire would rise and both dry and smoke the cheese. This ‘Kaffeost’ was made from either reindeer milk or goat’s milk because these species were adapted to the nomadic lifestyle. The ‘Kaffeost’ produced by sedentary farmers used cow’s milk or goat’s milk as the raw material, as these species are adapted specifically to sedentary agriculture. This ‘Kaffeost’ was baked in the oven unless intended to be consumed directly. In that cultural context, there was and still is, of course, greater access to ovens, while smoking is a less obvious choice. These different ways of treating the surface of the cheese, originally based on different living conditions, survive as a cultural expression, even if some of the conditions underlying them have changed. For example, deep-freezing has been introduced as an alternative to storing ‘Kaffeost’ which is not intended to be consumed directly, while smoking and oven-baking are today mainly an expression of flavour preferences given the impact of surface treatment on the product. Today, any variety of ‘Kaffeost’ can also be deep-frozen.

The characteristic features of that area, apart from its low population density, are extensive forests and marshy areas. The climate is bitterly cold in the winter, with prolonged snow cover and temperatures that fall well below -20 °C for several weeks.

The northern location also affects the length of daylight hours, with the difference between summer and winter being considerable. In the northernmost part, beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for several days around midsummer; nor does it rise during the darkest days of winter. This great fluctuation in the length of daylight over the year shapes both nature and human culture in the region. In summertime, the bright nights bring a proliferation of plant growth. The conditions for keeping cows are generally good in the eastern parts of the geographical area, but also in large parts of Härjedalen and Jämtland. The conditions for keeping goats are generally good. In large parts of the geographical area, reindeer husbandry is also practised. The extent of reindeer grazing varies but generally increases the further west one goes, as well as in the northernmost parts of the area.

The proportion of arable land suitable for cereal cultivation in the geographical area is limited and therefore concentrated fodder is not produced there. Reindeer, but to some extent also goats, can feed by grazing even in the most barren environments, meaning that all references to pastureland above refer to pasture for cows. It is clear that the best conditions in the area for keeping cows are thus in its southernmost and easternmost parts. Reindeer eat grass, small plants and leaves in summer and a lot of lichen, but also heather in winter and need access to large areas.

The important thing about ‘Kaffeost’ is its use in coffee, which gives the cheese its name. It is cut into pieces, placed in hot coffee and consumed together with the coffee, which also flavours it.

With rising prosperity, ‘Kaffeost’ has become a more everyday feature of people’s diet in large parts of the area. The use of reindeer milk as a raw material for the production of ‘Kaffeost’ has been limited since regular milking of reindeer was phased out in Sweden around 1930, which, however, does not prevent such production from still taking place today. In many respects, goats took over the role of reindeer as providers of milk in Sami culture for much of the 20th century, whilst cows and goats have provided milk to the resident population of the geographical area for a long time. ‘Kaffeost’ is particularly associated with boiled coffee (rather than brewed coffee).

Reference to publication of the specification

https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/globalassets/foretag-regler-kontroll/livsmedelsinformation-markning-halsopastaenden/skyddade-beteckningar/ansokan-om-skyddad-ursprungsbeteckning-kaffeost_reviderad-24-10-11.pdf

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).