Café-Guide: Stockholm, Sweden
I believe it makes a lot of sense to first consider Nordic coffee culture in general, before we start to talk about all the cafés I visited during my recent trip to Stockholm, the same way we did in the first bar review. Once again I recommend visiting a museum, like the aptly named Nordic Museum, or a traditional restaurant and it will become clear that countries like Sweden lead the coffee consumption charts, but might have a very different relationship to how coffee is supposed to taste like than people in Athens or Barcelona.
The 'Espresso', and by extension the Espresso based drinks we are so used to in many places are simply not as common here. Coffee is almost a 'condiment', available in large batches, with and without the enhancement of alcohol, to be enjoyed with food or on a hike. There's a bigger emphasis on availability and perceived strength of a brew rather than how many flavors the roast offers. I was actually surprised how small the number of cafés was that consider themselves part of the 'Third Wave', nonetheless I found that coffee culture in Sweden might be among my personal favorites.
CONVENDUM Coffee
The very first place that I went to on the way to the hotel and thus the first to be mentioned. I haven't even planned to, but the fancy wooden interiors made me curious. What this is, is essentially a franchise of rentable meetings rooms and open workspaces, like a more premium version of WeWork, with a café that's also open to the public. So what you get is below average espresso and croissants and a nice warm place to sit. Nothing more, nothing less. It is in this list to show that despite the lack of truly great places in Stockholm, at least most of the other ones on this list do better than this one.
Johan & Nyström
One of Stockholms roasting chains, akin to The Barn in Berlin, although with less name recognition of course. I've been to the location on Södermalm, which is a corner building on a pedestrian street with shops and customers that would feel at home in Berlin too. They sell wholesale and to coffeeshops all over Europe, as expected, with the roastery being outside of Stockholm and one more cafe in Helsinki.
I had a Cortado and also tried the Cappuccino which both came out as dry and nutty. A decent mainstream blend that goes well with a cinnamon bun, but also wouldn't satisfy the Third Wave fanatics. I still enjoyed sitting here more than at the Berlin chains.
Cafe Pascal
Surprisingly the coffee that I enjoyed the most in terms of its flavor profile, but let's see if maybe that isn't such an objective opinion. The Café Pascal I visited is right next to Birger Jarlsgatan and the premiere shopping streets so in the morning you'll see a lot of staff get their coffee there. Already 'redirected' towards filtered coffee by the Nordic mindset, I opted for a Chinese Batch Brew that turned out funky and complex, with pineapple notes, a powerful body for a filter and just a bit of peppery spice.
Now why am I saying it might be unfair to call this the best? Because I'm somewhat certain most other places would have made a decent filter out of such a characteristic bean as well and that did the heavy lifting more than the café itself. What I do credit them with however is putting it in the daily rotation and giving the typical filter coffee drinker some exciting flavors in a city that plays it too safe. They have multiple cafes and roast themselves, even if their online presence seems to be more geared towards the bakery side of the business.
Gast Coffee
The cute little neon logo could give you a clue that this is 'Ghost Café', a cool space that I saw the most tourists in (other than the obvious Vete Katten). The varied breakfast offer might have something to do with it. Online they present themselves as a modern variation of 'Fika' (a cornerstone of Swedish culture, socializing with coffee and pastries), with lots of other drink options aside from coffee.
The coffee, another Batch Brew (you see the pattern), was again very focused on walnuts and hazelnuts, with great intensity if a little one-sided. This is a spot that I would love to visit on a quiet day, try the food, and enjoy the design in. The beans presumably come from Morgon Roasters in Gothenburg.
Vete-Katten
A tradition to visit the 'outdated', 'old world' coffeehouses continues with a place 'only the cats know'. That is what the name can mean in Swedish. Mostly easy-going, comforting buns and weak (for Scandinavian standards) coffee. I couldn't find where the beans are from, but it also doesn't matter much.
This is like many of those Viennese cafés that kept the same machines from the 90s, but since the original Vete-Katten Patisserie is right off central station and has something for everyone, it can still be worth the visit for a few charming pictures, a good cake and bringing something home to enjoy later.
Cafe Blom
Another charming surprise I was not expecting, where the location plays a big part in why I enjoyed it. Blom is on Steppsholmen, thus giving us a nice picture (together with the other articles in the Food and Bar categories) of many of the little islands that make up Stockholm. Located inside the building for the architectural and modern art collections with a beautiful summer terrace it offers the perfect pre- or post-exhibition coffee and also a very respectable choice of food.
The interior is very 70s Sweden, but natural light and trees make it feel more timeless. There is a lot of space and a lot less tourists. I had what they call an 'Iskafe'. I assume it is a Cold Brew. It lacked some of the usual strength of filter coffee, but made up for it with subtle acidity. Most, if not all roasts, come from Morgon Roasters. I wouldn't recommend going here for the coffee alone, but definitely for the collections and the space, and then it delivers a better coffee experience than your usual museum café (since I had also tried the one the Nordic Museum and the National Art Gallery).
Wilmer Kaffeebar
More towards the western side, where the old townhall and famous Nobel ceremony hall is, sits another corner café that does coziness best. Lovely service, a huge selection of pastries and sandwiches and decent coffee to go with it.
Not exactly 'Third Wave', but then again, why would it have to be? The strong filters and average roasts for espresso do the job and it is much more about the atmosphere and how you drink the coffee here than how complex it tastes. The pastries might have been my favorites from the trip.
I am sure that there are top-notch roasters in Sweden and that they are simply more spread out and not concentrated in the urban centre of the capital. Maybe Swedes like to order great roasts for home rather than go and pay for expensive espressos in a café? Maybe a café that only does extremely good coffee but does not offer some buns or snacks is simply not viable? Why I still love the coffee culture: It is the simplistic mastery of filter coffee in the Nordic countries. The funniest moment was after our meal at Gyldene Fryden, a rather upscale restaurant. When after dessert a digestif menu was handed out and I expected to see espressos or maybe affogatos as options there was simply 'a cup of filter coffee' (by Johan & Nyström by the way). That is how highly regarded and essential that is, same as a the quick over the counter coffee in Mediterranean countries. Nordic filter is strong, intense, and usually gets straight to the point, yet the entire service culture and atmosphere in most cafes is supremely welcoming and nice.
Sometimes I prefer that over hyped places in Berlin and Paris, where they will put a thousand aromas on the packaging of some rare roast, handed to you in a lifeless espresso by a tired underpaid Barista. Stockholm's strength is also in how you can get a great filter in most places if they would have a need for more exciting beans (e.g. Café Pascal), but since they don't feel the need, they will be unapologetically happy with what they have.
/jf
