#41 Fika

"Fika" is a word you will hear every day in Sweden. I had never heard of it before coming here, but after a few days I realised its importance in daily life. I recently met someone who had been here for a month and didn't know what fika was, which inspired me to write this and inform the world!

Fika basically means coffee/tea and a dessert. It's most common form is coffee and the famous Kanelbulle (cinnamon bun), but you can also have many different types of desserts, or if you're pushing it, even a sandwich.

Kanelbulle

There are hundreds of café's around Stockholm that serve fika, but don't expect any special discounts! As it is a popular tradition, I assumed that there would be a fika (coffee + dessert) discount in café's, but this is actually quite rare, and when it occurs the savings aren't too big.

Muffin and medium coffee from Wayne's Coffee (about 55kr)

Cinnamon bun, vanilla bun and pistachio bun.

The best place to get Kanelbulle and fikabröd (fika bread: aka collective term for all the desserts) are probably in the supermarket chains, where you can usually find offers such as 3 for 20kr or something like that. Some people argue they don't taste as good, but I find cafés can also be hit and miss. In cafés, expect to pay around 25kr for coffee and about the same for fikabröd!

On a side note, if you really love Kanelbulle, visit the Haga district in Gothenburg city Here you can find giant Kanelbulle. For about 40kr they can feed about 4 people!

Real life cinnamon challenge