One of my favorite Swedish things

It's hard to believe that we are beyond our one year anniversary in Sweden, and I have not yet talked about the wonderful Swedish custom known as "fika".  Perhaps it's because if you Google 'Swedish fika', you get nearly 900,000 results...clearly many people are aware of this phenomenon.  However, I'm guessing that some of you who follow my blog are not already experts in all Swedish customs...so I will give you my take on things.

So what is this fika thing anyway?  First of all, it is pronounced "fee' ka"...I wouldn't want you to read this and then start bragging to your friends about your knowledge of Swedish "FIE ka"...you could lose some credibility.  As a verb, fika (loosely translated) means "to have coffee".   It is also used as a noun, for example, "It's time for fika" or "Would you like to come to our house for fika?".   You can have work fika or what I would call social, or non-work, fika.

At many workplaces (maybe not many...but at least some), there is morning AND afternoon fika.  It's an opportunity to sit and chat with your colleagues while enjoying a cup of coffee.  It is not mandatory to attend workplace fika (you may find yourself too busy from time to time).  However, if you rarely take part in it, people may think you're a little weird or a bit antisocial.

Now on to the good part....the food and drinks.  Yes, coffee is a BIG part of fika.  The Swedes appear to be very proud of their coffee drinking (both in quantity and in strength) and you can get a few strange looks if you show up to fika and ask for a Diet Coke.  I have noticed a few people that drink tea...which is also acceptable (but not always available).  Personally, I rarely drank coffee before moving to Sweden....now I drink it pretty regularly (chalk up a few points for peer pressure!)

ok...so most fika does NOT have coffee like this...but it's pretty!

Beyond the coffee, there are typically snacks involved (which is AWAYS a good thing in my book).  Pastries, including cinnamon rolls (or kanelbullar in Swedish), are common fika fare.  On a side note, the cinnamon rolls that I have enjoyed here are not of the "Cinnabon" or Pillsbury variety and are not slathered in gooey icing.

Pillsbury cinnamon rolls- oh how I loved these as a kid! 

I suppose I can manage with the Swedish variety instead....

I enjoy baking and have contributed to fika at both my and my husband's job a few times....with cupcakes, brownies and other "American" treats!  Sometimes I think of Fika as a "second breakfast" or early lunch when it includes bread, cheese, fruit, etc.

Now a bit about the non-work fika.  Having a few folks over for fika is a good "getting to know you" exercise.  It's not the huge commitment of a dinner party and it's great when you don't have a lot of time for guests.  I'm not sure if there is an official time limit on a fika, but it's probably a couple of hours at the most.  I hear that fika is also used in the dating world...similarly as a "getting to know you...don't want to invest in taking you to dinner just yet" activity.  My dating here in Sweden has been a bit limited, so I don't have much to contribute to this part of the discussion.

I can look back over the past year or so and think of some really good times enjoyed over fika (and I'm not just talking about the food!).   I think this might be a nice custom to adopt in the U.S. as well.   There are a few Swedish restaurants and bakeries near Chicago, so maybe some of you can stock up on the right pastries and get this new tradition started!