The USA with numerous established coffee shop chains and other culinary outlets is always associated with coffee drinking but in terms of world consumption it is only middle ranking in the statistics. You may not know that Finland has one of the highest rates of coffee consumption in the world at around 10 – 12 kg per person, and if that includes non-coffee drinking kids and folks, then coffee drinking Finns are very high consumers of the dark stuff.
A weekend in Spring sees the Helsinki Coffee Festival taking place at the Cable Factory Cultural Centre. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how eco-friendly the coffee industry has become in Finland. Recent publicity about the environmental problems of plastics ending contaminating the sea, non-degradable disposable cups, and sustainable production has got people questioning more about the products they consume every day.
The Finnish coffee industry appears to be well ahead in regard to sourcing coffee beans in a sustainable way. One of the largest coffee producers in Finland, the Paulig Group’s coffee buyers, now source 100% of the company’s beans from independently verified sustainable sources. By 2030 they also have ambitions to cut greenhouse gas emissions from their operations by 80% and from the value chain by 50%. The oldest small scale roastery in Finland is based in Porvoo, The Robert Paulig Roastery has invested in solar panels and since 2022 has achieved Carbon Neutral status. In fact, most of the coffee producers that I spoke to at the show said that they were using bio-gas or bio-produced electricity.
Meira another Finnish producer of coffee with brands such as Kulta Katriina and Saludo has a large building in the Vallila area of Helsinki. Your nose lets you know of the vicinity because of the strong aroma of coffee beans roasting. Meira too have made great strides to source beans from sustainable producers. They also market spices and Segefredo Italian coffee because the company is part of the Italian Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group.
Arvid Nordquist, the Swedish coffee producer, also highlight their eco-credentials. 100% of their coffee is certified sustainable by Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and KRAV so that working conditions are fair, and that consideration is shown to the environment throughout the entirety of the production chain. The production of coffee causes carbon emissions during cultivation, transport and roasting. So Arvid Nordquist Coffee are also actively working to reduce these emissions and the environmental impact. Planting trees in coffee growing countries so they can carbon offset for the carbon emissions that can not be reduced at the moment. Do you know the difference between Finnish and Swedish coffee? Apparently, Swedish coffee tends to be drunk darker and stronger and so the beans are ground finer to slow the percolating hot water and add more flavour.
Not only coffee at the Coffee Festival, tea drinkers will be relieved to hear that there were a few tea supply businesses representing the slow increase in Finnish drinking of the brew. They had a selection of wonderful smelling tea leaf mixtures and a refreshing Matcha iced tea for the coming summer afternoons.
If you are a coffee lover this festival is definitely for you. In 2014 it will be over the weekend of 19 – 21 April and its popularity has made the Helsinki Coffee Festival an annual feature for the spring. However, I’ve gone back to being a typical British tea drinker due to doctor’s orders. Finns normally assume that Brits prefer tea but I can drink either, and to be quite honest, it is delightful to sit on a cold snowy morning in a comfortable coffee shop drinking coffee accompanied by a bun. It’s an excellent antidote for the short dark winter days and probably why Finns consume so much coffee.
Note for living in Finland: If you are visiting someone at their home it is very acceptable to take a pack of coffee as a gift. At the coffee shop common buns are Munkki (doughnuts) and Korvapuusti (cinnamon bun) and some places offer a bargain deal (tarjous), coffee and a bun for a few Euros.
Helsinki Coffee Festival, at the Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas), Ruoholahti, Helsinki.
19 – 21 April 2024
Happy in Finland 
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