Coffee and Danish

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Browsing Copenhagen's hundreds of cafés in search of the perfect cup of joe? Save yourself some time and make straight for Ricco's. Located in the former red-light (but now rapidly gentrifying) district of Vesterbro, Ricco's is the undisputed choice of the city's coffee cognoscenti. The shop seats just 10 and is almost always full, but the coffee is well worth the wait. Owner Ricco Sørensen describes himself as a "coffee nerd" and can usually be found working the counter himself. "Coffee has been my hobby since I was 17, when I got my first espresso maker," he says. "It was just a matter of time before I would open a coffee place, or some place related to coffee."

The time came 2 1/2 years ago, and his eponymous coffeehouse has been a steaming success ever since. The secret is the product itself: the beans are imported fresh, home-roasted, and either donated to charity or thrown out once they're more than 10 days old. Such quality control keeps customers coming back. "I believe in precision and in doing things wholeheartedly," says Sørensen. Long may his crema reign. tel: (45) 3331 0440