A new coffee shop opening in Brighton is not big news. But when Edda Margrét Halldórsdóttir opened the Nordic Coffee Collective in York Place, the story made Iceland’s biggest newspaper, the left-leaning daily Frettabladid.

A few days earlier, Edda’s mother and grandmother had visited Brighton from the volcanic island to check she was making the kleina pastries to the correct recipe.

Edda admits she has her grandma to thank for the publicity.

“I got the recipe for the kleina from her and the headline of the article was: ‘Offers Brits pastries from granny’.”

The University of Brighton graduate, who first moved to the city to study architecture in 2002, says her fellow Icelanders have been eating kleina – a twisted donut filled with vanilla, lemon and cardamom – since the 1500s.

She explains the treats (50p each, pictured below) are perfect for dipping in coffee and are popular at Christmas in Scandinavian culture (many Icelanders are descended from Scandinavians).

“They are not too sweet. Back in Iceland little children are given them because they are not sticky and don’t make a mess everywhere.”

Yet it is kanelbullar, homemade to a Swedish recipe, which is proving more popular than the kleina.

At first Edda made only one batch a day. Now she is having to do four batches of the fluffy cinnamon rolls (50p each) a day.

“People are going mad for it. Some people come in and buy a whole bag. I think it’s the smell which gets people in because we make it fresh on site.”

Lovers of all things Scandinavian will be happy to hear Edda heads up to the Scandinavian Kitchen in London to pick up famous Danish and Swedish brands of confectionery to sell at Nordic Coffee Collective.

Also, there is rundstykke (from £2), a bread roll served with ham and/or cheese, plus toast with jam and cheese (£2), which tastes better than it sounds.

Gravlax, cured salmon with a dill and mustard sauce (£4.50), and herring on rye bread (£3.45) are typical Scandinavian lunches.

The herring comes pickled in brine with black pepper or, for first-timers, Edda advises eating them with a mustard sauce.

As for the coffee, the beans come from London roastery, Ozone, with flavoured teas from Teapigs. The same Italian-style drinks – espresso, latte, cappuccino, macchiato – are on the menu, but the Scandi-navians prefer lighter-roasted beans rather than dark-roasted, as is the Italian way.

“I would say we get more of a fruitier taste, with chocolate tones. Although I would never want to use the word bitter, because it is never bitter, ours is less bitter – if you know what I mean.”

The hot chocolate is made from real melted chocolate rather than powder.

Naturally, with Edda being a trained architect and lover of all things Scandinavian, Nordic Coffee Collective is minimalist, sleek and all clean lines.

A wood-panelled counter faces bench seating, with plates of Nordic scenes (one pictured centre) on the wall and bare bulbs dangling like lemons above a row of single design-classic Eames seats.

Edda and her partner, Chris Wright, turned the site around in three weeks after taking the keys. It had been empty for seven years.

“It’s a good time for the area. London Road is coming to life.”

As for why she’s making coffee here and not designing buildings? She fell in love with coffee during her years working for Iceland’s biggest roastery, Kafftar, in between her studies. “I’ve been a coffee fanatic ever since,” she says.

“Basically, there are no jobs in architecture. I thought this was a little niche in Brighton, so I went for it.”

Nordic Coffee Collective can be found at York Place, Brighton. Open Monday to Friday 8am to 5.30pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm

Visit: nordiccoffeecollective.co.uk