Fika in Ukraine
Sweden's fika doesn't have a direct equivalent in Ukraine. However, Ukrainians cherish moments of connection over food and drinks. One similar tradition is spending time at a cozy kav'yarnya (coffee shop, кав’ярня) enjoying a cup of tea, strong coffee, or a sweet treat like medovyk (honey cake).
Another is attending pryvitannia (greetings), a social gathering often involving tea, coffee, and snacks, which can be held at work, home, or a cafe. Both these customs prioritize connecting with friends, family, or colleagues in a relaxed setting, mirroring the spirit of fika.
Ukrainians are very fond of coffee and we have a developed coffee culture. Today it is very popular to open coffee shops-bookstores ( kav'yarnya-knugarnya, кав’ярня-книгарня). This is a coffee shop where you can read books, buy them, and where various events related to literature are held. Even in 2024, several coffee shops opened in Kyiv during the war. Anastasiia says “We have a very widespread tradition of coffee to go. We drink coffee on the go while walking in the park, while our children play on playgrounds, while we go to work.”
The real coffee capital of Ukraine is Lviv. There are a lot of places to have and to buy it in the city centre. The most popular is probably “Kopalnia Kavy” (Lviv Coffee Mine). You can even watch the process of coffee roasting, turning drinking and buying coffee into a whole performance. The name of the coffee shop in Ukrainian means ‘coffee mine’ and aims at making tourists believe that coffee is actually mined at the dungeons beneath the coffee shop.
Anastasiia continues “There are a lot of interesting coffee drinks in Ukraine, which are not so popular in other countries as I can see. These are: latte with salted caramel, orange cappuccino (where freshly squeezed orange juice is being whipped instead of milk), Raf coffee (with milk and cream whipped together), etc. An interesting thing is coffee with salt. It is sold in the city of Drohobych, where the old saltworks used to be. It's a brand of the city. It tastes incredible. Adding salt to coffee softens the drink, removing bitterness and bringing out the wonderful flavor more vividly.”
“We have very cool and high-quality coffee sold at gas stations, so when we are going on a short trip, we always take coffee to go at the gas station. it's like a travel trademark, you can't go to another city without drinking coffee. The cups used to have cute motivational inscriptions. Today they have been replaced with patriotic ones that encourage Ukrainians to continue to defend themselves, with our national emblem, the Tryzub, and a reminder that Ukraine has been independent for 30 years”
“Coffee is always a good idea”
“Boldness is always a good idea”
Thank you kindly to Anastasiia Sosyniuk for this write-up and the pictures 🙏