But first, coffee…
It would be no great surprise to hear that there’s been a coffee boom in recent years, particularly in western countries, with consumption per capita now more than three times 1990 levels. But how much coffee do we really drink, and who drinks the most?
In the UK coffee consumption has increased by 35% in the last decade alone, and we now get through an average of 1.9 kilos per person every year. However that pales in comparison to coffee loving Americans, who drink their way through 4.2 kilos each. But for truly heroic consumption, we have to look at Finland, where the average person drinks 12 kilos of coffee per year – more than any other nation on Earth.
Coffee is woven into the fabric of everyday life in Finland. Popping out to the shops? Have a coffee. Friends visiting? Have a coffee. Chatting to your neighbour? Have a coffee. It’s primarily a social thing, although many Finns have coffee breaks written into their work contracts, too.
There seems to be a link between chilly northern climes and hot coffee. Second on the world’s highest coffee consumption is Norway (9.9K), third is Iceland (9.1K) and fourth is Denmark (8.7K). The only non-European country to make the world top ten is Canada, in 10th place with 6.5K.
This brings us nicely round to our Suomi t-shirt – a typographical tribute to Finland’s coffee drinking prowess (Suomi means Finland in Finnish). Our Suomi design features bold ‘contemporary but retro’ typography offering a big hit of warmth against an icy blue or warming brown background. Or coffee in a cold climate – see it here.
Thanks to Danielle Macinnes @ Unsplash.com for lead image.