Why was coffee banned in Sweden? An 18th-Century Tale of Political & Health Panic

December 18, 2025 •

4 min read

Between 1756 and 1823, coffee was prohibited on no less than five separate occasions in Sweden. The seemingly bizarre decision to outlaw the beloved beverage stemmed from a complex mixture of economic policy, questionable health beliefs, and royal paranoia, which all contributed to the various times coffee was banned in Sweden.

Quick Summary

Sweden's repeated 18th-century bans on coffee were driven by economic concerns over foreign imports, fears about public health, and royal distrust of coffeehouse gatherings. King Gustav III even conducted a notorious twin experiment to 'prove' the drink was harmful, though the bans ultimately proved ineffective.

Key Points

Economic Motives: Coffee was a foreign import and the Swedish government of the 18th century, guided by mercantilism, sought to prevent wealth from leaving the country.
Royal Health Scare: King Gustav III was convinced coffee was dangerous and ordered a famous, if bizarre, experiment on condemned twins to prove his theory.
Failed Experiment: In the royal experiment, the coffee-drinking twin outlived the tea-drinking twin, the two supervising doctors, and the king himself, completely undermining the premise for the ban.
Political Fears: Swedish authorities viewed coffeehouses as potential hubs of political dissent and revolutionary ideas, making them a perceived threat to the monarchy.
Rise of Bootlegging: The bans were largely ineffective, leading to a thriving black market for coffee and secret coffee-drinking circles.
Enduring Popularity: Despite repeated state crackdowns between 1756 and 1823, Swedes remained loyal to coffee, and the bans only strengthened its cultural importance, leading to today's high consumption rates.
Fika's Origins: Some historians trace the origins of the Swedish fika tradition to the era of prohibition, when people had to meet in secret for their 'kaffi' (coffee).

Sweden's War on the Brew: A History of Bans and Bootlegging

Coffee's journey to becoming Sweden's national beverage was anything but smooth. Imported in the late 17th century, it quickly became a status symbol for the wealthy before its popularity spread across society. This rapid rise, however, attracted the attention of a suspicious and mercantilist-minded government. The ensuing struggle between state and consumer led to decades of on-and-off prohibitions, fines, and royal schemes that failed to diminish the Swedes' growing appetite for the dark liquid.

The Economic Panic: Mercantilism and Foreign Imports

In the 18th century, European economic policy was dominated by mercantilism, the belief that a country's wealth was determined by its store of gold and silver. For this reason, a negative balance of trade—when a country imports more than it exports—was seen as a national threat. Coffee and tea, being imported luxury goods, represented a significant drain on Sweden's currency. To protect the national treasury and promote domestic industries like beer and locally-produced brännvin (vodka), the government repeatedly turned to bans.

The Health Scare: Royal Paranoia and the Notorious Twin Experiment

One of the most eccentric elements of Sweden's anti-coffee crusade was the royal obsession with proving the drink's toxicity. King Gustav III, a fervent opponent, was heavily influenced by a 1715 treatise on coffee's supposed dangers and was determined to demonstrate its harmful effects. This led to a peculiar and ethically questionable experiment using human subjects.

The Clinical Trial on Death Row: King Gustav III selected two identical twins who had been condemned to death for their crimes. In exchange for their execution being commuted to life imprisonment, the twins were forced to participate in the king's test.
The Conditions: One twin was instructed to drink three pots of coffee every day for the rest of his life, while the other was to drink the same amount of tea.
The Irony: To monitor their health, two doctors were appointed. In a twist of dark irony, both physicians died of natural causes before the experiment concluded. The king himself was assassinated in 1792. The tea-drinking twin passed away at the impressive age of 83, but the coffee-drinking twin outlived him. The experiment, therefore, failed spectacularly to prove coffee's deadliness and became a memorable anecdote in the history of science.

The Political Threat: Coffeehouses as Hubs of Rebellion

Beyond health and economic concerns, coffeehouses were viewed with suspicion by the authorities. Much like in other parts of Europe, these establishments were centers for intellectual and political debate, where citizens could gather, discuss news, and potentially conspire. This free flow of information and revolutionary ideas was a perceived threat to a king's authority, adding a political dimension to the bans on coffee and tea.

The Persistence of a Culture: Bootlegging and the Rise of Fika

Despite the repeated prohibitions and fines, Swedes consistently found ways to get their caffeine fix. A flourishing black market for coffee beans emerged, and law enforcement was largely ineffective at stopping it. The prohibition also gave rise to secret coffee-drinking circles and the popular bootlegging trade. This resilience in the face of state opposition only cemented coffee's place in the culture, leading to the eventual rise of fika, the cherished Swedish coffee break tradition.

Conclusion: Coffee's Enduring Victory

From the mid-18th century to 1823, the Swedish government repeatedly failed in its attempts to prohibit coffee. Ultimately, public demand, ineffective enforcement, and the ironic failure of King Gustav III's experiment led to the lifting of the final ban. The Swedes' unwavering loyalty to their favorite brew proved more powerful than royal decree and economic anxieties. Today, the ironic outcome is that Sweden is one of the world's highest coffee consumers per capita, a testament to the drink's complete integration into Swedish society.


Reason for Ban	Political Motivation	Result of Ban
Economic Concerns	Mercantilism; preventing wealth drain from foreign imports; protecting domestic beer and brännvin production.	Flourishing black market and bootlegging trade; bans ineffective due to public demand.
Health Paranoia	King Gustav III's obsession with proving coffee's toxicity; influenced by questionable medical theories of the time.	Infamous, failed twin experiment; experiment did not prove coffee was deadly, undermining the basis for the health ban.
Political Fear	Suspicion of coffeehouses as gathering spots for liberal-minded intellectuals and potential dissenters; controlling the flow of information.	Led to secret coffee societies and increased smuggling, fostering a rebellious undercurrent rather than suppressing it.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

The main reasons for Sweden's coffee bans in the 18th century were economic, health-related, and political. The government, influenced by mercantilism, wanted to prevent capital from leaving the country for foreign goods like coffee, fearing it undermined domestic industries. Additionally, Swedish monarchs, particularly King Gustav III, believed coffee was a health threat and viewed coffeehouses as potential hubs for political dissent.

Yes, King Gustav III famously, and unethically, conducted an experiment on a pair of identical twins who were condemned to death. He commuted their sentences to life imprisonment on the condition that one drank a daily amount of coffee and the other drank tea. The goal was to prove coffee's toxicity.

The results were not what the king had hoped for. The coffee-drinking twin outlived the tea-drinking twin, both supervising doctors, and the king himself, effectively failing to prove that coffee was a dangerous substance.

Coffee was banned in Sweden multiple times between 1756 and 1823. The first ban lasted for about 10 years, and while other bans followed, they were generally ineffective due to strong public demand and bootlegging.

Punishments varied over the years. Initially, penalties included heavy taxes and confiscation of coffee paraphernalia like cups and dishes. When stricter bans were enacted, Swedes faced fines or imprisonment, though enforcement was often difficult.

No, the bans were largely unsuccessful. Swedes loved coffee too much to abandon it. During the prohibition periods, a strong underground black market and secret coffee societies emerged to satisfy the national craving.

The bans paradoxically solidified coffee's cultural importance. The underground resistance to the bans made coffee drinking a shared experience, and some trace the origin of fika, the Swedish coffee break, to the secret 'kaffi' sessions of the prohibition era.