Once again, I have been doing so much other things, that I have forgotten to post to this blog. But here is a new post. This time about coffee and its meaning to us Finns.
Did you know that first coffee roasting factory was established in Finland in 1904? It was the first industrial roastery in Nordic countries. The industrial roasting of coffee had been developed in the USA at the end of 19thcentury.
Did you then know, that in 1926 the sale of industrially roasted coffee finally exceeded the sale of unroasted coffee in Finland? The Finns were so used to roast their coffee at home. Or did you know, that the coffee first came to the kingdom of Sweden-Finland in the end of the 17thcentury?
Nowadays the Finns drink more coffee than any other nation in the world. We drink about 10 kg coffee per capita per year. Other Nordic countries’ inhabitants consume 7,5 - 9 kg and f. ex. Italians only about 6 kg. Globally around 1,25 kg coffee is consumed per person. 94 % of the coffee consumed in Finland is light roasted.
When do we then drink so much coffee? At breakfast, at work, when having a break, with friends, in parties or just to sit down and relax. In most of the Finnish collective labor agreements also a right to a coffee break is determined. This means that most of the Finnish full-time workers have two coffee breaks during their work day. The length of the break varies between 10-12 minutes. In quite many work places company even offers the coffee free of charge.
Having a cup of coffee is a big part of our national identity, I would say. It has also been a way to show the success and prosperity of the house. In the 19thcentury it came to be a habit that beside of coffee “7 different sorts” were served. This meant buns, pies, cookies, biscuits and coffee cakes. In many Finnish parties (wedding, birthday party, christening, confirmation party, graduation, funeral) at least coffee with some salty and sweets is served. In most parties also they first serve food and then coffee with cake and biscuits.
In Eastern parts of Finland, the custom has been to serve the coffee to the guest as long as the guest said yes and there was coffee in the pot. In western parts of Finland, it was custom to serve the coffee to the guest 2-3 times. A cup for something salty or sweet and a cup for the cake, plus an additional cup. It is not good for the housewife’s reputation, if the guest had to sit with an empty coffee cup.
The coffee does not grow in Finland. About 80 % of the coffee beans used in Finland come from Brasilia, Columbia and Honduras. Because it is always imported to Finland there has also been times, when the Finns have had to manage without coffee. F. ex. during WWII and shortly after it. The coffee was then replaced with different kinds of substitutes. It has to be remarked that the Continuation War ended in September 1944. And the Lapland War, which affected mostly the people in Northern parts of Finland in April 1945. The first ship bringing coffee to Finland was S/s Herakles, which arrived on 24thof February 1946. It was assisted to the harbour of Turku by ice-breaker Sisu. It brought 2 500 tons raw coffee from Rio de Janeiro. Buying coffee for personal use from grocery stores was regulated until 1954.
If in Finland, you may want to visit a museum dedicated to coffee.
Pictures in this post are taken by me in the coffee museum.
Interesting information of coffee in Finland you also find from Gustav Paulig
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