Scandinavian Egg Coffee: The Church-Basement Classic (Recipe)

Walk into the Salem Lutheran Church dining hall at the Minnesota State Fair and you will be handed a cup of coffee that looks unusually clear, almost amber, and tastes remarkably smooth. The secret is an egg. This Scandinavian egg coffee recipe mixes ground coffee with a raw egg, boils it briefly, then uses cold water to sink the grounds. The egg proteins grab the fine particles and some of the harsh-tasting compounds, giving a clean, mellow brew without a paper filter.

It is not the frothy Vietnamese egg coffee from Hanoi. It is a pot-brewed coffee of the American Midwest, carried there by Scandinavian immigrants and kept alive in church basements. Here is the story, and a home-size method that works on any stove.

In this article

1. From kokkaffe to church basements
2. Why the egg works
3. Scandinavian egg coffee recipe
4. Tips and variations
5. FAQ

From kokkaffe to church basements

Boiled coffee, called kokkaffe in Swedish, has deep roots in Scandinavia. Before paper filters were common, the challenge was always the same: how do you get the grounds out of a boiled pot? Scandinavians had a long habit of clarifying coffee with proteins. In Norway, dried fish skin was traditionally used for the job.

When Swedish and Norwegian immigrants settled the farm country of the Upper Midwest in the 1800s, eggs were easier to come by than fish skin, and egg coffee took hold. The method was mainstream enough to appear in Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book in 1896, and it became the standard way to make coffee by the gallon for Lutheran church suppers, funerals and fellowship hours. That is why many Minnesotans still call it church-basement coffee.

Percolators and drip machines slowly pushed it aside, and today it is mostly a nostalgic, Scandinavian-American drink rather than an everyday one in Sweden itself. A few places keep it going. Salem Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis has run its Minnesota State Fair dining hall since 1946 and has served egg coffee there throughout, brewing it in large pots for fairgoers each summer.

Egg coffee timeline

Why the egg works

When you mix an egg into ground coffee and drop it into boiling water, the egg proteins cook and bind together, trapping fine coffee particles as they set. The result floats as a loose raft. A splash of cold water then helps the raft and the grounds sink, leaving clear coffee above. It is the same principle cooks use to clarify a consommé with egg whites.

Fans also say the egg makes the coffee taste less bitter. That fits with how protein clarification works in other drinks: proteins can bind some astringent, bitter compounds and carry them down with the grounds. The flavor is mellow, round and low in bitterness, closer to a light, clean filter coffee than to a bold French press. Some cooks add the crushed eggshell too; many sources credit the shell with softening bitterness further, though that is tradition rather than tested fact.

Scandinavian egg coffee recipe

This makes about 4 mugs. Church recipes scale up to 40-cup pots, but this size fits a regular saucepan or a percolator with the basket removed.

Ingredients

Steps

1. Boil the water. Bring 4 cups (950 ml) of water to a full boil in a saucepan or open percolator.
2. Make the slurry. In a bowl, beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir in the ground coffee until it looks like damp, crumbly soil. If you like, crush the washed shell and stir it in too.
3. Brew. Add the coffee and egg mixture to the boiling water. It will foam, so lower the heat to a gentle boil and stir once. Boil for about 3 minutes; the grounds will clump into a floating raft.
4. Settle. Take the pan off the heat and pour in 1/2 cup (120 ml) of cold water. Wait 5 to 10 minutes while the raft and grounds sink.
5. Pour. Ladle or pour the clear coffee carefully through a fine sieve into cups or a warmed carafe, leaving the sludge behind.

Serve it black or with cream, Midwest style, alongside a slice of something sweet. It is naturally dairy-free if you drink it black or with oat milk.

Tips and variations

• Stronger cup: church coffee is traditionally on the light side. For a bolder pot, increase the coffee to about 3/4 cup (60 g).
• Egg white only: some families use just the white. It clarifies well and tastes slightly cleaner.
• Cardamom: add a few crushed cardamom pods to the slurry for a Nordic, bakery-style aroma.
• Food safety: the egg is boiled with the coffee, but handle it like any raw egg: wash your hands and tools, wash the shell if adding it, and discard the grounds raft. If you prefer, use a pasteurized egg.
• Allergies: egg proteins are in contact with the coffee, so this brew is not suitable for anyone with an egg allergy.

Which coffee to use

Choose a smooth, medium-roast coffee: egg coffee is about mellowness, not intensity. Our Breakfast Blend, a smooth medium roast of South American beans, is close to the classic Midwest church cup. House Blend, a medium roast of Central and South American coffees with nutty, sweet chocolate notes, works beautifully too. For a heartier pot, Cowboy Blend mixes dark and medium roasted beans with cocoa, caramel and vanilla tones, and it is made for boiled coffee. Order whole bean and grind medium-coarse, or choose our Coarse grind. Explore more in our blends.

Egg coffee vs other boiled coffees

If you enjoy this, compare it with cowboy coffee, which skips the egg and relies on cold water alone to settle the grounds, and with Finnish coffee with kaffeost, another Nordic tradition. For the sweet, whipped Hanoi drink with a similar name, see our guide to Vietnamese egg coffee.

Egg coffee FAQ

Does Scandinavian egg coffee taste like egg?

No. The egg stays with the grounds and is discarded. The coffee tastes clean, mild and less bitter than a typical boiled coffee.

Is egg coffee Swedish or Norwegian?

Both communities brewed it, which is why it is often called Scandinavian or Swedish egg coffee. It became best known among Scandinavian-American Lutherans in the Upper Midwest, especially Minnesota.

Why put eggshell in coffee?

Traditional cooks add the crushed shell to help clarify the coffee and, by tradition, to reduce bitterness. It is optional; wash the egg first if you use it.

Is egg coffee the same as Vietnamese egg coffee?

No. Vietnamese egg coffee is a sweet foam of whipped yolk, sugar and condensed milk on top of strong coffee. Scandinavian egg coffee uses the egg only to clarify the brew.

Can I make egg coffee in a percolator?

Yes. Many church cooks use a large percolator with the basket removed as a simple boiling pot, then let the grounds settle before pouring.

Sources

1. Kathy Adams, The Midwest’s Swedish Egg Coffee, Atlas Obscura, 2023
2. Claire Hyman, What Is Swedish Egg Coffee?, WBEZ Chicago Curious City, 2023

Facts checked in October 2026.

Keep reading: Cowboy coffee recipe · Swedish fika · Shop blends