Sweden’s coffee tradition – Do you fika?

I am a coffee fan. Not just any coffee, mind you. Good coffee–dark, robust, served in a nifty cup or mug, and with something flavorful alongside. My  earliest coffee memory is from sleepovers at my grandparents’ house–my grandmother would wake me on a winter morning with a steaming mug of coffee-flavored milk, which I got to enjoy with Grandpa while we read the newspaper together. Perhaps I get my coffee affections from the Swedish branch of the family, immigrants to the US almost 150 years ago?

Learning to fika

The Swedish have a wonderful tradition of coffee and cakes to break up the workday: fika. The practice is so ingrained, it happens twice a day, at appointed times. Fika is even a verb!

Coffee time is the place for catching up with friends and hatching business deals, with hot drinks and cakes to smooth the way. In Sweden, everywhere I went, fika was on offer–with hot chocolate or tea for the non-coffee drinkers. And always with a slice of cake or a sandwich alongside.

Yes, I fika!

If you go

Swedish love of fika translates into plenty of cafes to kick back and enjoy a cuppa and cake or other sides. My explorations led me to:  Da Matteo Caffe é Gelato, Café Husaren, and the servants’ quarters-turned-cafe at Gunnebo House and Gardens in Mölndal, just south of Gothenburg.

Do you fika?

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Thanks to Gothenburg & Co and the West Sweden Tourist Board, I had several opportunities to enjoy Sweden’s fika tradition while in town for the 2013 World Food Travel Summit!