As I discovered on a recent visit to Stockholm, despite the country being a nation of coffee drinkers, many cafés stock a good tea selection. In recognition of the numerous options for stopping for tea in Stockholm, here is a quick run down (but by no means an exhaustive list!) of a few places that you can be assured of a quality cup of tea:

il caffé

This trendy little café is located on Drottninggatan in the district of Södermalm, and is a great spot to stop at if you are in the area. Södermalm is the district south of Gamla Stan (the old city) that hosts numerous boutiques, and which is generally considered as the more bohemian, younger and trendier part of Stockholm. This café fits right in, and has some delicious “bullar” (Swedish buns) to boot. A good coffee selection is a given, but their tea options are also nothing to sneer at. They offer a couple of black teas, a chai, green tea, a rooibos infusion, and the Swedish signature tea, Söder tea. Also known as Söderblandning, this is a black tea blended with tropical fruits that originated not just in Stockholm, but in Södermalm—the very district in which il caffé is located! I have actually come across this tea before—in Minneapolis, MN, no less—but, being in Södermalm, this was the obvious choice for a nice hot cuppa at il caffé, and I whiled away a pleasant hour or so sipping this flavourful, fruity blend.

Vette Katten

Vette Katten is a traditional Swedish Konditori (a cross between a bakery, pastry shop, and coffee house) and one of the places to go in Stockholm for ‘fika’—the Swedish institution that could be compared to the Brits afternoon tea. Fika traditionally consists of drinking coffee accompanied by something sweet, usually a pastry. But if tea is more your thing, there are plenty of options here, too. They offer two types of Earl Grey, Söderblandning, a green Söderblandning, Gunpowder tea, Ceylon, a rooibos infusion, and a chai blend. And the pastries, I can assure you, are superb.

Chaikhana Teahouse

Located in Gamla Stan (the old city), this is a place to wander towards if you fancy more than just the standard loose leaf options found in other cafés, especially if your tastes lean towards traditional East Asian teas. They serve teas from Japan, China, Taiwan, Kenya, South Africa and India, which span various green, black, rooibos, and oolong varieties. In addition, they offer a traditional English Afternoon Tea spread, and also a variation on this called “French Afternoon Tea.” There is brioche involved…worth a try, I should think!

Kafe Kladdkakan

This café is also located in Gamla Stan, along Stora Nygatan. A welcoming, cosy café with comfy seats and lots of cushions, it was perfect for spending an hour reading over a cup of tea whilst I waited for a friend. I spent a good few minutes scanning the names of the various teas lined up in tins behind the counter, but eventually settled on a sencha.. To top it off, as this tea drinker was extremely gratified to discover, they serve their tea in very large cups. Perfect!

See more of Elise Nuding’s articles here.

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