Coffee's Renegade History in Sweden

Coffee has been in Sweden for several centuries, since 1674 in fact. And it grew very quickly in popularity. But over much of that time it has had an interesting and tumultuous history...

Scene from a 17th century coffee house in North Carolina during the revolutionary period.

Swedish people have always loved coffee but their rulers have not. Coffee was banned in Sweden on at least five different occasions between 1756 and 1823. Some decrees against coffee claimed that it was terrible for health. The government also wanted to reduce the importation of foreign luxury goods. It is also very possible that it wasn't coffee itself that was so dangerous, but the fact that philosophers and thinkers tended to gather over coffee to discuss big ideas. Regardless, the people loved their coffee. During those dark periods when coffee was banned people often held funerals for their coffee pots in protest. Coffee "bootlegging" became a profitable black market, and their were regular coffee raids. Even coffee paraphernalia was considered illegal, and the police could seize your cups and saucers.

The most famous instance of coffee being forbidden came under the rule of King Gustav III (1746 - 1792). Gustav was a man of strong opinions. His personal stance was that coffee was poison. In order to prove his point to the Swedish people he undertook a rather eccentric experiment.

King Gustav III

At the time there were a pair of twins in prison for murder, waiting for execution. King Gustav decided to give them a different punishment — instead of death, the twins would be subjected to drinking extreme amounts of coffee and tea each day, in hopes of proving that coffee was evil. One twin was required to drink three pots of coffee each day, and the other three pots of tea. The king expected that they would both suffer and die very quickly, hopefully the coffee drinker first. But there was no remarkable change in either prisoner. Then in 1792 King Gustav was shot at a masquerade ball, and died soon after. The twins continued to drink their coffee and tea. Eventually the doctor in charge of the experiment also died. The first twin, the tea drinker, lived until the age of 83. And no one knows when the coffee drinker died... but he certainly lived the longest!

So the experiment proved nothing, except that perhaps coffee extends ones life... although as far as we know this is the only instance this exact type of trial has been carried out. Since that time, the Swedish peoples' passion for coffee has only grown stronger, and the country remains one of the most prolific consumers of coffee in the world!

In celebration of Sweden's stalwart coffee drinking tradition and Ballard's Scandinavian heritage, please join us at the Bakke Coffee Museum on April 19th for a community Fika! Bring a friend and meet a neighbor while enjoying Swedish style coffee and treats, and learning more about the history of coffee.