Coffee is the national drink in Finland. In addition to being the country with the highest coffee consumption in the world, there is also a legal coffee break in Finland, during which you can enjoy your favorite hot beverage. You can find out what the coffee culture in Finland is all about in the blog post.
Finland is the leader in coffee consumption
According to Statista, Finland is the country with the highest coffee consumption in the world. This is a per capita consumption of 12 kg of green coffee. This means that the Finns drink twice as much as the Germans, who drink around 5.5 kilograms of coffee per person per year. This means that the Finn drinks at least 4 cups of coffee a day on average.
But why do Finns drink so much coffee anyway?
Light roast coffee and coffee roasters in Finland
Coffee first came to Finland via Russia and Sweden in the 17th century. First as a luxury drink for the wealthy upper class, but thanks to light roasting (light roasts), the coffee beans could be produced quite cheaply in large quantities – a short time later the masses were also able to enjoy the coffee.
Many Finns buy light roast coffee beans to roast and grind at home, creating a kind of coffee addiction. Even today, Finns have a fondness for light roast coffee beans and local home roasters. The largest Finnish coffee roasting company is Rosterei Paulig, founded in 1876, which owns most Finnish coffee brands and serves around 90% of the domestic coffee market. Robert Paulig also owns the well-known chain Roberts Coffee. Other chains, such as Starbucks, can only be found sporadically in Finland’s capital, Helsinki.
Khavi – the filter coffee in Finland
In Finland, mainly light roasted filter coffee, also known as khavi, is drunk. You won’t find cappuccino, latte macchiato and Co. in Finland, hence the lack of chains. The poured filter coffee is usually drunk black. Some Finns add a little sugar or milk or let their coffee melt in their mouth with a sugar cube. Khavi is often accompanied by something sweet, such as pulla (yeast-based pastries), Finnish cakes or delicious korvapuusti (cinnamon rolls).
Legally celebrated coffee breaks in Finland
The high coffee consumption of the Finns is also related to the daily coffee breaks. While coffee ceremonies take place in Ethiopia, coffee breaks are a tradition and sacred in Finland. Coffee breaks are celebrated alone or together several times a day and for every occasion. The big difference to other countries is that in Finland the coffee break is an employee right.
During working hours, employees are entitled to a 15-minute coffee break twice a day. Traditionally, light roasts are brewed in the classic filter coffee machine in the office and drunk together with colleagues. But coffee breaks are also a tradition in Finland in private life. Whether in the morning before work, after work, before going out as a caffeine kick and, interestingly enough, before going to bed. The Finns even have fixed names for coffee breaks depending on the time of day. So the morning coffee is called “aamupäiväkahvi” or the evening coffee “ltakahvi”.
Conclusion: Due to the legal coffee breaks at work and enjoyable coffee times in private life, coffee consumption in Finland increases automatically. No wonder the country is number 1 in world coffee consumption. The love for filter coffee and light roasts can be traced back to home roasting and cheap purchases at the time.
