Specialty coffee in Sweden

Specialty coffee in Sweden builds on fika and bryggkaffe, the filter-coffee habit, with Stockholm's Drop Coffee (2009) among its light-roast pioneers. Fika, the pause for coffee and a pastry, is built into Swedish working and family life, and filter coffee has long been the home default. Specialty roasters took that habit in a lighter direction. Johan & Nyström has roasted in Stockholm since 2004, da Matteo built Gothenburg's specialty scene from 2006, and Drop Coffee, founded by Joanna Alm and Stephen Leighton, became one of the most respected Nordic light-roast operations.

Stockholm and Gothenburg hold similar numbers of cafés, and Malmö is a strong third with several roasters. The distinctive feature of the Swedish map is how widely roasting is spread: Helsingborg, Lund, Uppsala and Östersund each have a roaster, and small towns such as Borgholm and Killeberg appear too.

Roasters that shape Swedish taste include Drop Coffee Roasters, Johan & Nyström, Koppi, Love Coffee, Gringo Nordic Coffee Roasters, Lilla Kafferosteriet and Höga Kusten Kaffe Rosteri. Expect light roasts, filter as a normal order and a pastry alongside, as fika demands.