I’m a Swede, busy parent and business owner so of course I run on coffee. But coffee is also a reason to take a break, slow down, have a conversation or enjoy the quiet company of just yourself. Popular Scandinavian worlds like Swedish “fika” or Danish ”hygge” would not be what they are without coffee. We have captured all these different aspects of modern coffee culture in our coffee themed safety reflectors. There are some for when you need your coffee to-go and others to remind you to take a deep breath, sit down and just enjoy life as it unfolds. September 29 is National Coffee day in the US. The rest of the the world celebrates International Coffee Day on October 1st. A packet of Fair Trade coffee with a pretty ribbon and a coffee reflector tied on make a unique and thoughtful surprise gift for your coffee loving friends.
Do You Have the Coffee Gene?
If you are like us and can drink massive amounts of coffee and then have a good night’s sleep, you probably have the Scandinavian coffee gene. Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor in the department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has studied metabolism of caffeine and identified genetic variants associated with coffee consumption behavior. The gene variant that is linked to the speed of caffeine metabolism, has previously been linked to higher coffee consumption. The article does not reveal in which geographical areas this gene variant is mostly found. However, considering that they looked at populations of European ancestry in the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, we got suspicious looking at the difference in coffee consumption in those countries…
Who Drinks More Coffee?
Northern Scandinavia is in a class by itself when it comes to coffee consumption. Thirty years ago it was even more true when Sweden was up there at the top with Finland and Norway. Think about dark winters with minimal daylight and long summers with nights too short to get adequate sleep. It is only logical that people run on coffee year around… The chart below shows how many kilograms the average person drinks per year in the top 18 countries. For comparison, we put in number 25 too, the US.
Coffee Always!
From a coffee drinking perspective, I grew up in a very typical Swedish family. Although I didn’t start to drink coffee until after I had left for college, I often made coffee for my parents through middle and high school. I loved the smell of freshly brewed coffee long before I loved the taste of coffee.
This is what a typical Swedish weekend coffee schedule would look like:
– 7 am: morning coffee as part of breakfast for the early birds
– 10am: late morning fika (förmiddagsfika) or with breakfast for the night owls
– 1pm: after-lunch coffee (“Kaffe på maten”, means “coffee on the food”)
– 3 or 4pm: afternoon fika, often with my mom’s home baked German cakes
– 6pm: after-dinner coffee (“Kaffe på maten” again)
– 9pm: Evening news on television with fika
– Late: Night coffee for the night owls
The first pot (thermos) of coffee would sometimes last through after-lunch coffee, sometimes not. When it was less than a cup left, we poured it out and made a new pot. And if you are one of those without the Scandinavian coffee gene, like my husband, I’m sure you can imagine how he was bouncing off the walls by lunch time at his first visit.
Check out our other coffee related blog post here!
And now, some fika! ☕️😀
Elisabeth