For a range of delicious Fika-time recipes, take a look right here. Thanks to this immensely popular pastime, the Swedes are among the world’s leading coffee and sweets consumers. With ‘Fika’, the sweets are even more important than the coffee itself - with cakes, cookies and cinnamon buns all acceptable goodies any time of day. This social phenomenon can happen any time throughout the day, whether at home, during work or in the café, and is typically observed several times each day. ‘Fika’ is likely to be one of the first words you learn when visiting Sweden, as it’s such an integral part of Swedish culture. ‘Fika’ is more than your standard coffee break, offering Swedish workers an opportunity to socialise, with coffee as a welcome bonus in the proceedings. The Swedes take their coffee breaks very seriously - so seriously in fact that Swedish coffee break culture has its own name. The country’s locals even rallied together in the name of the Fairtrade movement, participating in the world’s biggest coffee break, in which 40,000 coffee lovers took one collective coffee break across over 1200 homes, workplaces and schools in the name of ethical coffee trade. To this day, tea and coffee are essential components of ‘smoko’ (New Zealand’s manual labourers’ smoking breaks), preserving a hard-won right for these workers. Since then, the latte scene has dominated New Zealand in cafeterias and office environments alike. In NZ, coffee consumption increased during the 1940s as a result of American servicemen being stationed there (bringing their caffeine love with them) and the arrival of European refugees and settlers used to drinking coffee rather than tea. New Zealanders are avid coffee drinkers, fully committed to the caffeine institution. So it’s clear that coffee is serious business for the Finns. Today, though, working coffee breaks have reached the point of being statutory in Finland, defending every man and woman’s right to a cup of coffee - and a nice hot cup of the good stuff is still considered the ultimate means of expressing hospitality to visitors. Considering the Finnish coffee prohibition of 1756, on top of Finland’s inability to grow its own coffee, this commodity has become something of a forbidden fruit over time. The people of Finland consume an average of 12kg of coffee per capita each year - over twice the amount of other European countries. The Finns are among the greatest coffee drinkers in the world - and with coffee break traditions like theirs, it’s no surprise. Let’s take a quick trip around the globe. Tradition is a powerful thing - and coffee breaks around the world are subject to some very unique traditions. The classic British coffee break is pretty self-explanatory, with cuppas and chit-chat galore - but across the globe, cultural gaps mean that other societies have their own way of doing things. The all-important coffee break is an essential part of every employee’s working day, with these little slices of free time offering a chance to hydrate, caffeinate and socialise at your leisure.
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