Sort Kaffe og Vinyl, Copenhagen

Not one, but two kinds of black gold are on offer at the Sort Kaffe og Vinyl in Copenhagen.

Much in the same way thrill-seeking tourists stream to the Schinkenstraße on Mallorca’s Ballermann, caffeine-obsessed travellers gravitate towards Istegade in the Vesterbro district in Copenhagen: an endless parade of hip coffee shops pouring second-wave coffee specialties at prices that turn even drip coffee into a statement. But halfway down the strip, if you turn your gaze south and slip into a small side street, you step into a completely different world. Welcome to Sort Kaffe og Vinyl – a place that’s more than a café or a record store. It’s a small parallel universe of caffeine, sound, and Copenhagen culture.

A shop that’s alive

Monday afternoon, 2 p.m. – an hour at which record stores typically doze away in a half-asleep state. But at Sort Kaffe & Vinyl it’s buzzing, humming like a Saturday morning. Through the open window, the smell of freshly ground coffee drifts out onto the street, mingling with the soft crackle of a record that’s just finished its A-side. Inside, Christian Rygaard stands behind the counter, balancing espresso cups, explaining the grinder to a new staff member – and at the same time glancing at the turntable so he can flip the needle at just the right moment. Multitasking at full speed. It takes 45 minutes before he finds a pause to talk. Until then, he’s been pulling shots and serving customers – without ever losing the thread.

The Berlin idea

The shop’s story begins in Berlin in 2005. Rygaard is digging through record crates while his girlfriend waits impatiently in the café next door. “Why not just combine the two?” he figures. The idea sticks. Back in Copenhagen, he opens a small shop, later moves – and ends up at the current location with its generous courtyard, where in the summer months, tables and chairs become an extended living room for regulars and tourists alike.

Half living room, half time machine

Step into Sort Kaffe & Vinyl and you’ll immediately find yourself wrapped in the aura of a cozy café: handwritten chalkboards, homemade snacks, the smell of cinnamon and freshly ground beans in the air. A few steps further in, however, the picture shifts. Two large speakers tower above the vinyl shelves, and the space suddenly feels like a stage. And even farther back: a second room that might pass for a time machine to the 1970s. Danish vintage design, creaky leather armchairs, shelves full of records – secondhand finds, small-run releases from Danish labels, especially April Records, the home of Danish jazz. You want to sit down, listen, flip through records – and forget about time.

Sound, not playlists

There’s no playlist here, no algorithmically curated background music. One record side follows the next: sometimes jazz from Copenhagen, sometimes electronic releases from Gondwana Records, sometimes rare pressings from the secondhand bins. The selection isn’t huge, but it’s carefully curated. Rygaard had the room measured by Copenhagen’s Arda Audio, with speakers and mounts tuned down to the millimeter. The result is a sound that’s warm and full – so good you can’t help but perk up. It’s this balance of coffee and music that even casual visitors notice, prompting the inevitable question: “What’s playing right now?” – and often sending them out the door with a record under their arm.

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Café, record store – and secretly an institute for music history

But Sort Kaffe & Vinyl is more than a place to listen and buy. The cozy vintage back room has seen record contracts being signed. Musicians and label people meet here, sip cappuccinos, slide album covers across the table, and debate track lists. Sometimes, Rygaard says with a sly grin, the seeds for new projects are planted in this room – projects that later spin on vinyl in his café and end up for sale on the shelves.

Three kinds of guests – and one favorite

Rygaard says there are three types of guests: some come only for the coffee, others are hunting for a specific record, and the third group wants both. His favorites are the surprise guests – those who only meant to grab a cappuccino, get pulled in by the sound, and leave with jazz or electronic vinyl tucked under their arm. To him, that’s the magic of the place: music isn’t just background in here – it’s a catalyst for connection.

Vinyl in Copenhagen – a small but refined scene

In Denmark, a country renowned worldwide for high-end audio, vinyl surprisingly has a hard time. Only recently have teenagers started wishing for turntables again as confirmation gifts again, Rygaard says, but as of now, there’s no single pilgrimage site for collectors. Instead, there are about a dozen small, mostly specialized and tucked-away shops. In this niche, Sort Kaffe & Vinyl has become a centerpiece – as the oldest and most independent spot to combine café culture and sound so consistently that it’s long since become more of a scene hub than a store.

Why you should go

Anyone visiting Copenhagen should stop by. Not just for a cappuccino, but to immerse themselves in an atmosphere where coffee, conversation, and music are equally important. To discover rare Scandinavian jazz labels, maybe meet Christian Rygaard himself – or simply sit outside in the sun while a record plays inside over those formidable speakers. Sort Kaffe og Vinyl isn’t a place you “pop into for quick minute.” It’s a place where you stay, listen, talk – and, of course, enjoy excellent coffee and quality vinyl.