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What Is Fika Coffee - Exploring a Swedish Coffee Tradition
A deep dive into the Swedish fika coffee.
Published February 2, 2022
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Johan Hedlund
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Coffee is extremely popular worldwide, even in Sweden, which is usually associated with meatballs and IKEA furniture. According to research, Sweden is third on the list when it comes to coffee consumers per capita - they are beaten only by the Netherlands and Finland. Their incredible rankings are intrinsically linked to their rich traditions; one of these is called fika. The exact definition of fika is debated by people, but it refers to a coffee break, state of mind, or social ritual. Either way, fika is a social affair with a side of good coffee. Throughout this article, we will take a deep look into the Swedish fika coffee and decide whether the rest of the world should take on the tradition.
What is Fika?
Fika is essentially a Swedish break taken over coffee alongside a good chat with friends. During this Swedish coffee break, natives will enjoy fika bread (fikabröd), which is a sweet pastry. Typically, fika will take place in a cafe. However, the tradition can be carried out anywhere - even from the comfort of your own home. There are no strict time constraints for a fika - it can happen whenever you like, and it can take as long as you need. In Sweden, the fika is ritualistic to the point that the locals will do it every single day without fail.
What's So Special?
So far, we’ve found out that the Swedish fika is a meeting over coffee and pastries. When you write it like that, you can argue that we all take part in fika - the difference being that we would call it a catch-up. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what makes fika different from your typical coffee break.
We’ve already established that fika is a coffee break. However, fika is also described as a concept by some. The concept of fika is that you are taking time to slow down in the day and really enjoy the coffee and company. This brings us to the “state of mind” part of the definition. When you’re in the fika mind frame, you are dropping all of your stresses for the day and focusing purely on the moment. This state of mind can happen at work before a business meeting or literally anywhere else.
The key difference between grabbing a coffee with friends in town and a fika is that no one is rushing to drink their coffee and get on with the day. No one has their eyes on phone screens and there are no TV screens to distract people. During fika, Swedish people have quality conversations with friends and enjoy delicious coffee. For fika to exist, there needs to be socialization and coffee. Without these two components, all you’re doing is having a coffee break.
A History of Swedish Coffee Culture
Before you rush off to enjoy coffee and cakes with your friends, let’s take a moment to look back at the history of coffee in Sweden.
Back in the 17th century, towards the end, the first coffee bean arrived in Sweden. Before long, this energetic bean had swept across the country like a wild craze. Unfortunately, the huge popularity didn’t sit well with some of the locals, who thought that coffee might damage their sales of local beers. As a response to the uproar, a royal tax levy was introduced in 1746 on tea and coffee. If these taxes weren’t paid, people had their mugs and other dishes taken off them. A decade later, the consumption of coffee was simply made illegal. Of course, nothing could stop the Swedes from enjoying a lovely cup of joe.
Sometime later, during the reign of King Gustav III, a research study was commissioned to determine whether coffee was a risk to human health. The test subjects in the study were two murderers. Each murderer was asked to drink three pots daily - one person’s pot was filled with tea and the other coffee. They were ordered to do this until the end of their lives. Unfortunately, the study was never completed because both of the murderers outlived the doctors and King Gustav III. Perhaps this was proof that coffee and tea weren’t detrimental to health.
Sweden’s relationship with coffee was turbulent right up until the 1820s, with several attempts to outlaw coffee by the Government. Luckily, throughout the 19th century, the Swedish higher-ups had kissed and made up with coffee; business was booming.
The origin of the fika known in Sweden today isn’t 100% concrete. However, the story goes that during the coffee bans in Sweden, people still met to drink coffee in secrecy. If you think about the prohibition in America, this would have been a similar scenario. With the act of drinking coffee being banned, people didn’t announce they were meeting for “Kaffe”. Instead, they would tell people that they were meeting for “kaffi.” Although it seems a little bit of a reach, the myth tells that fika was derived from kaffi - if you remove an f, you’ve got yourself an anagram.
Specialty Coffee and Fika
Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, are large players in the specialty coffee market, yet Swedish people still view coffee as a basic food. However, specialty coffee is still teething in the community but is expected to grow exponentially. Fifteen years ago, there weren’t many specialty coffee roasteries, and the Swedish people weren’t familiar with the term. The time between then and now has changed in this regard, with specialty roasteries popping up all over Sweden. As well as roasting the coffee, they aid in communicating the message to the people about the quality of specialty coffee.
Specialty coffee is the perfect addition to fika, especially with the people who brew their own coffee. This type of coffee gives coffee crafters the platform they need to experiment with the flavors they are using. With fika happening every day, some locals keep journals that document the types of coffee they drink each day. Each tiny step like this is increasing the Swedish awareness of specialty tea.
Typical Cakes Found at Fika
We’ve spoken a lot about fika and the history of coffee in Sweden, but we’ve not mentioned the delicious pastries that are eaten with the coffee. If you’re more of a food lover, this section is for you. Below are our top picks.
Chokladbollar (chocolate balls). Chokladbollar doesn’t have to be baked, which makes them extremely difficult to make for any fika. The ingredients are sugar, cocoa, butter, and oats. You simply rub the ingredients together and roll them in coconut. Traditionally, chokladbollar is finished with coffee to flavor. However, you can feel free to mix things up.
Småkakor (small cookies). In Sweden, no matter what type of cookie you find, they are all grouped together under the småkakor header. As you can imagine, these “small cookies” involve heavy quantities of sugar and butter. The possibilities are endless when it comes to småkakor, but our favorite is chokladsnittar (chocolate slices).
Smörgås (open-faced sandwich). If you thought that Swedish fika would eventually give you a heart attack, you can rest assured that you don’t always have to enjoy sweets with your coffee. A smörgås is often enjoyed with coffee and pairs extremely well. All you need is thick bread, butter, and whatever topping you’d like to spread on.
Kladdkaka (sticky chocolate cake). When you’re having a coffee, it’s impossible to say no to a slice of sticky chocolate cake, which is why it has made it onto your list of fika bread. If you make a kladdkaka, you need to make sure that you use plenty of butter. If you’re a gluten-free coffee lover, you can substitute the flour in the chocolate cake for crushed almonds.
The Future of Fika Coffee
Despite the rocky past Sweden has with coffee, there’s no way the fika is going anywhere. In countries like America, coffee breaks aren’t taken regularly because people are scared that they will come off as unproductive. Although a change of attitude needs to take place, the concept of the fika could be a great addition to other countries. If businesses got on board and attempted to encourage these social breaks, they would likely find that productivity would rise because their workers would have that time to switch off over coffee.
As well as hopefully being taken on in other areas of the world, it is thought that the introduction of specialty coffee will continue to rise. Swedish people will begin to learn about coffee and appreciate everything that it has to offer.
To Summarize
Swedish coffee culture is enormous, even after the country’s colorful past with the energy-filled beans. The Swedish fika is a coffee break that focuses on socialization, completely switching off, and enjoying coffee with delicious fika bread. This Swedish tradition was born out of the persecution of coffee consumption and has now become ingrained into the daily life of Swedes. Who knows what the future holds? Perhaps we’ll see this fantastic Swedish tradition spread around the world.
About the author
Johan Hedlund
I´m living in Karlstad, Sweden with my family. Been working the last 25 years with several start ups in the tech industry. Coffee has been an integral part, both professionally and privately. Eager to learn new things and happy to be a member of the era of we community.
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