Being born and raised in Finland, it’s a no-brainer that I grew up addicted to coffee. I love my coffee with milk while having some chocolate or a pastry on the side. Finland is known to be one of the biggest consumers of coffee in Europe, nearing almost 8 cups a day. That is almost 12kg of coffee per person yearly! Finnish people are enthralled by coffee and it shows in many ways in its culture.
Did you know that coffee was once banned in Finland in the late 18th Century? The love for coffee goes way back, further than we think. In between 1756 and 1792, coffee was banned in Finland because it was seen as a frivolous luxury—It was also deemed negative for people’s health and wellbeing. In response to this, Finnish people simply smuggled coffee, grinders and other tools from Sweden to Finnish soil. Because of course they would, what would a country full of coffee addicts be without its coffee? The smuggling continued so far that the popularity could no longer be ignored. So in the end, The Witch was killed and the curse was lifted. Hurray! Who said happy endings don’t happen?
And even now, foreigners can see the coffee culture around Finland. Especially in brands like Moomin, Marimekko and Iittala. All kinds of Finnish brands have their own line of mugs, usually meant for coffee (and tea). Almost every household in Finland owns a coffee machine, even if a household does not consume coffee, it is polite to own a coffee machine in case guests come along visiting. Having a coffee machine in your household means good hospitality. Whilst not having a coffee machine is not considered sinful, it certainly raises eyebrows. When a friend of mine has no coffee available in their household—I forever nag them about it.
Being a coffee enthusiast (not an addict, I swear) I’ve discovered that filtered coffee is quite hard to come by in other European countries. While visiting London, I noticed that coffee shops didn’t offer “normal coffee” like they do everywhere in Finland. After a slight language barrier, I realized that in England they simply called “kahvi” filtered coffee. “White filter” being coffee with milk, and “black filter” is coffee without milk. In more Southern European countries like Italy and France, they call filtered coffee “American coffee”. Because in these countries, people tend to drink espresso shots rather than freshly filtered coffee. They also have a dismissive agenda against filtered coffee, because of their history and prejudice against Americans and their tastes in coffee. To them, filtered coffee is not real coffee. But to me, of course it is. And yes, I am biased about this.
Coffee culture is something I deeply root in my Finnishness. It’s something that I am tremendously passionate about. There is just something about sipping from a cute Moomin mug with freshly brewed coffee while watching TV. There’s just something so magical about the cozyness of the taste and the vibe, that I will always look for, wherever I am in the world.
That’s how I recognize my Finnishness—Always looking for that freshly filtered coffee…
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