Believe it or not, Swedish tea is available although they do not grow it themselves. To learn more about the interesting development of tea from Sweden read our guide for facts and information…
In most of the cafes in Stockholm, you more than likely will come across Soder Te or Soderblandning. Loosely translated in English it means Blend of South Stockholm. This “blend” is more palatable amongst the locals and will be drunk almost anytime of the day. However if you do want plain English tea, you will find it in most restaurants around town. How they serve it, is another story altogether.
How was this particular blend created?
A Swedish tea shop owner called Vernon Mauris mistakenly created this tea in 1979. He loved to make up his own blends and would be found pottering about his imported teas. One day, while mixing a particular tea he accidentally dropped an ingredient into the tea. Not wanting to throw the wasted blend away, he decided to make some tea with it and concluded that the blend was rather interesting. It took some improvements here and there, after which he marketed it as “mistake blend”. It later on was changed to Soderblandning which is the area were the store was originally located.
What are the ingredients?
The variants of this blend are many, but the base is a blend of Ceylon black teas and Chinese green teas with an added twist of fruits and flower flavours. The Swedish tea it seems must be flavoured otherwise it is just too bland for their liking. You can find all kinds of flavoured tea such as blue petals, marigold, orange rind, berries, even cornflower flavour. The flavoured tea fad has also spread to Japan where you can find many of Mauris’s Swedish teas on the shelves.
What about other blends?
Because the average Swede does not consciously shop for tea, there are special teashops dotted around the city, where tea lovers will usually buy some loose leaves to mix their own blends. There are also the classic teas available like Lipton or Twinings in supermarkets. However, these brands tend to have a long shelf life. It is those flavoured teas that the Swedish people love more, and the number to Swedish tea drinkers is growing by the day.
