Indulging In The Swedish Custom Of Fika
Throughout August 2023 - New Experience Number 30.
Well, this was a delightfully delicious discovery! During our 2023 Baltic sea road trip, we spent a month in Sweden where we saw many cosy cafes and inviting coffee shops all advertising Fika. Intrigued as to what it was I did a little bit of research.
The Swedish custom of Fika is coffee and cake with friends and colleagues, but that description doesn’t really do it justice. It’s a bit like a British afternoon tea, but not as formal and with much less ceremony. It’s all about slowing down and finding time for friends or work mates, whilst you sip a drink and enjoy something small to eat, and we fully embraced it!
So What Is Fika?
It’s the deep and rich aroma of a fresh hot coffee combined with freshly baked scrumptious sweet treats, mixed with making time to stop for a friendly chat.
Fika is like a coffee break, and it’s taken very seriously. It is a time to deliberately stop, take a break and partake in a sweet treat, coffee and chat. The actual event itself can be light hearted.
There are a vast number of different descriptions about the tradition.
Some focus on what it is, which is usually a break for coffee, chat and a small sweet nibble.
Other explanations focus on what it delivers for people which is the opportunity for slowing down, socialising, companionship and connections.
Alternative depictions consider the feeling of fika, and how the social gathering can feel cosy, restful, and comforting. There are definite similarities to the Danish feeling of Hygge.
Key Ingredients For The Swedish Custom Of Fika
It seems that coffee, cake, chat and time are typically the main ingredients to fika. If any one of those is missing, then there could be a question as to whether it’s really fika.
- You can’t have fika alone – it’s a social activity.
- You can’t have fika without coffee (or tea), – that would just be a chat over cake.
- You can’t have fika without the cake (or savoury snacks) – that’s just drinks with friends or colleagues.
- You can’t have fika without the chat – whatever it’s about, conversation is an important aspect.
- You can’t have fika without dedicating time to it – fika is about having the time and space to connect with people.
Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
Taking a fika break can happen at any time and is often very spontaneous. It’s not unusual for people to take multiple throughout the day!
There isn’t a set amount of time for a fika. A short 10 minutes is perfectly acceptable as long as everyone is fully engaged. Longer fika sessions are also encouraged.
Whilst coffee shops and cafes offer lots of fika opportunities, it can also take place in homes and in workplaces. In fact, the location doesn’t really matter.
There seems to be no end to the natural remote beauty of Sweden and thanks to the ‘Right To Roam’ in the country, people frequently take their fika in the great outdoors.
Fika In The Workplace
It’s such an integral part of the Swedish way of life that many workplaces across Sweden include Fika breaks in employee contracts. Some companies have even introduced mandatory fika breaks which all workers are expected to attend – slinking back to your desk with your coffee and cake is definitely not in the spirit of it.
Considered beneficial to wellbeing and productivity, the deliberate time out from the daily to do-lists and tasks can be a fantastic re-set and recalibration.
Indulging In The Swedish Custom Of Fika
Once I had told the Other Half about this traditional custom, he was very eager to try it, and it became one of his daily suggestions!
The different cafes we stopped at for fika all took pride in the sweet ritual. Some overflowing displays had an assortment of delicacies a dentist would wince at, and others served up the delectable delights like a work of art!
The interiors always felt snug and homely, the cake selection was always impressive, the coffee was free flowing and it was a genuinely lovely way to take a restful break.
Stopping For Fika
Settling in for a bit of time out with our treats, we took a break from planning the next leg of our roadtrip to just sit and chat, (and if I’m honest, borrow the wi-fi in the cafe to download some podcasts!).
Of course we talk all throughout our travels, but to meaningfully and purposefully invest time without distractions to just talk about anything and everything was a really lovely connection.
An Incredible Cake Selection
The cakes were incredible. Cinnamon buns are perhaps THE cake associated with fika, but the Other Half is not the biggest fan. The coconut buns we tried were deliciously textured and sweet. The chocolate coconut ball, (chokladbollar), looked as though it had the potential to be overly rich and heavy. However the deep chocolate flavour combined with a crumb-like consistency was surprisingly light and very moreish!
On some occasions we picked up cakes to take back to the van. We’d pause with a hot drink after meandering around the sights, and enjoy tucking into more of Sweden’s celebrated confections.
The Fantastic Swedish Custom Of Fika
I love it when you travel somewhere and unearth things you have never heard of before. Fika was new to me, and I love how ingrained it is in Swedish life. The fact an informal chat and taking time to connect with others is seen as so important to wellbeing is refreshing. The coffee and cake are an added bonus!
Want To Try It Yourself?
Indulging in fika is a piece of cake! – Sorry! I couldn’t resist!
It would be remiss to visit Sweden and not sample the delights of fika. Make a note to give it a try if you have any future plans to take a trip there.
Whilst Sweden is without a doubt the ultimate home of fika, it’s a tradition that has been taking off around the world. You could have a look to see if there are any cafes specialising in fika near you.
In the end, the place fika takes place is not all that important, so if you want to give it a go you could simply organise it yourself. To make it less like a coffee morning and more like an authentic fika you could bake some Swedish cakes. True North Kitchen has a great selection of Nordic and Scandinavian fika recipes.
Cost Of Experience
It depends whether you decide to go for a full fika in a coffee shop, pick up take away cake, or bake your own.
A take away cake in Sweden in August 2023 cost us around 4 Euros per cake (£3.50).
To sit in and have cake and coffee (which usually comes with free refills), cost us between 10 Euros each (around £8.70).
Recommendations
- Cinnamon Buns and Princess Cake are two of the most common fika treats, so you might want to include those.
- Don’t overthink it. Make the suggestion and then make it happen! If you’re out and about find a cafe. If you’re at home pop the kettle on!
- If you’re stopping for a break for fika, make sure you fully stop whatever you are doing. If you’ve been in the middle of a task, leave it behind for the fika break. Give your thinking mind a rest whilst you treat your tastebuds and connect to others.
- Perhaps you could give it a go in your place of work? Remind people that taking the coffee and cake back to their desk is not what it’s about.
- Don’t forget to take some pictures! Especially if you’ve made some cakes yourself!