Sweden is known for its open-minded cooperative culture as well as for its own national expression for the act of having coffee: fika. Both might be good reasons for Sweden’s speciality coffee scene seeing constant growth and being a hotspot for innovations.
In case you are about to go on a trip to experience the 3rd waves of Scandinavia yourself, you might want to check out the following coffee shops in Sweden’s most southern metropolis Malmö, located directly at the coast.
Cafe Number 6
Our tour started in the south of Malmö’s city centre at a really tiny but modern coffee bar. The counter built out of untreated wood is the absolute eye-catcher of this place. The owner, Mia Lu, has her roots in Vietnam, the 3rd largest coffee exporting country of the world. She knows very well how to prepare classic espresso based beverages with her La Marzocco machine.
You could also choose some pour over, brewed with the V60 or with the Chemex – but if you ask Mia to serve you her most favored personal highlight, you will get a cold drip served on the rocks. The one we tried was cold brewed with a blend called “Mästers” from Solde, a local roastery from Malmö we visited later that day as well.
The “Mästers” coffee blend is truly versatile, as we were about to discover at the next station of the trip.
Café Number 6, Mäster Henriksgatan 6, 211 58 Malmö, Sweden
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Uggla
The name of this cosy corner café means “owl” and relates to the statue that guards the entrance. While you enjoy your stay you may take a look around and try to find all the other owls that have found shelter here. The coffees served at the bar come from speciality roasters like the Coffee Collective in Denmark or from the roaster mentioned above, Solde. We placed our order with Johanna Jarl. She is a jazz singer at night and a barista by day – the “perfect lifestyle” as she puts it. Her recommendation was a cortado with oat milk. Johanna prepared the espresso with “Mästers” of Solde – the same blend we had tried as a cold brew at Café Number 6.
In case you want to give a traditional “skånska bryggkaffe” (a batch brew filter coffee) a try – which you may do at your own risk only – just order a “snut”. Since strong filter coffee is the preferred drink of police officers, the UGGLA team took over the name for their beverage and called it “snut” (= cop).
UGGLA KAFFEBAR, Sankt Knuts Torg 16, 211 57 Malmö, Sweden
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Te & Kaffehuset
As you enter the city centre of Malmö with its mixture of old buildings and modern shopping malls you would not guess that you are less than 1 km away from the Öresund – where the Baltic and the North Sea meet. Not far away from one of the many channels traversing the city you could stop by at the go-to-place for home baristas, TE & KAFFEHUSET. Their range of speciality coffee brands on sale includes well-known Scandinavian roasters, such as Johan & Nyström. But you can also find beans roasted by micro roasteries in Southern Sweden, like Kaffeerostare Per Nordby from Gothenburg. A barista from Italy working at the store enhanced the portfolio with a few Italian speciality coffees, like Caffè Piansa from Florence. The shop also offers small sieve holder machines, grinders and pour over sets to make it a one-stop-shop for any coffee enthusiast.
We had a pleasant stay seated on a cozy brown vintage sofa, looking at the big black and white photographs on the wall. The overall style of the place is a mixture of a traditional tea & coffee shop, an equipment showroom and a café. The barista recommended trying the “FAT Espresso” from Dellerhagen, a micro roastery run by a co-worker of Johan & Nyström. We enjoyed it as a perfect classic cappuccino, prepared with the Synesso machine in the centre of the spacious shop.
Te & Kaffehuset, Storgatan 24, 211 42 Malmö, Sweden
Solde Kaffebar & Kafferosteri
Dan, Jonas and Johan opened their coffee shop in the city centre 10 years ago and started roasting their own coffees 4 years later at their roastery which is located in the harbour of Malmö. You can find Solde’s carefully roasted beans at many spots throughout the city. As dedicated roasters they do have a deep appreciation for speciality coffee and they enjoy sharing their experiences and passion with every guest.
The bar welcomes you with a fresh mix of retro details in a clean modern space. During rush hours you can see a La Marzocco grinder and the espresso machine as well as Mahlkönig’s EK43 and a Hario V60 in full action. While we watched the scenery we tasted a Kabingara AA from Kenya as a pour over, which had lovely fruity notes of citrus and plums. We brought a bag of those tasty beans with us as a souvenir.
Solde Kaffebar & Kafferosteri, Regementsgatan 2, 211 42 Malmö, Sweden
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Djäkne Kaffebar & Workspace
Having crossed the bridge over to “gamla staden” (the old city) you can take a nice walk along some of the oldest parts of Malmö. Cafés are everywhere around whereas DJÄKNE lies a bit hidden in the east, close to the St. Petri church. This bright and spacious café invites you to stay even longer than for a short coffee break: some areas are particularly designated as workspace. If you run a small startup company or work as a solo entrepreneur you could become a member and bring your mobile office in with you every day.
The coffee shop is owned by a tech company named Menmo, who followed their belief that good coffee is an essential part of good work and opened a cafe for their employees. Not only the employees, but anyone coming in can enjoy great specialty coffees from Sweden as well as a few popular ones from European roasters, for example The Barn or Tim Wendelboe. We tried the coffee of the week from Nicaragua, roasted by Sundlaug Coffee Co. in the UK and enjoyed a chat with the baristas Luis & Victoria.
Djäkne Kaffebar, Djäknegatan 9, 211 35 Malmö, Sweden
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Noir Kaffekultur
The cosy modern café close to Malmö’s “lilla torg” (little town square) might be small in space but has a lot to offer. The owners of the shop take great care in creating their recipes for their delicious tasting handmade sandwiches and pastries. You could try the dark sourdough bread with avocado cream, feta and pomegranate as a tasty example from the menu.
And as carefully as they select their ingredients for the food, so do they take care of the coffee they serve alongside. Noir’s espresso blend has been specifically created for the café by LOVE Coffee Roasters in Lund, the neighbouring city. We tried the well balanced blend as a plain espresso, prepared with La Marzocco equipment on the bar.
The overall premium concept of Noir had gained the café a spot on several lists of restaurant guides such as the White Guide that features top spots in the Nordic countries.
Noir Kaffekultur, Engelbrektsgatan 6, 211 33 Malmö, Sweden
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