Coffee was first introduced to Norway in the 1600's, but the real break through did not come till 1840 - 1850's. Before then coffee was a rare and very expensive commodity.
The growth in consumption in the middle of the 1800 was due to falling prices. The worlds coffee production had grown dramatically, especially as new coffee producers such as Brazil and Java had started producing large amounts of coffee. In 1839 the import restrictions were reduced significantly, something which in turn caused lower prices.
The consumption of coffee spread across the entire country and went from being a drink for the well to do, to becoming a drink for everyone. The increase in the consumption of coffee was also connected to the campaigns against distilled spirits. Coffee was welcomed as a substitute for spirits, even though this encompassed coffee drinking in the form of "karsk" (coffee with liquor) or coffee avec.
Coffee was known as the social oil in Europe, where it was often consumed in the large coffee houses. In Norway however, the coffee was prepared and drunk in people's homes. This difference could be explained by the spread and sparsely populated areas in this country.
