Lykke

Own farms, own roastery, two house blends

Lykke grows, buys and roasts its own coffee, which ties this Helsinki bar back to farms and a roastery rather than to a supplier list. The Happiness filter blend is the clearest statement of it: sweet, full-bodied, fresh and fruity, built from Espirito Santo in Brazil and Agua de Nieves in Peru. The Brazilian side comes from Bateia in Castelo, grown between 800 and 1,200 metres and pulped natural. The Peruvian side comes from Monobamba, between 1,600 and 2,100 metres, peeled, rested in sugar mucilage for 24 to 36 hours, washed and then dried slowly. The Darkness blend is the one built for milk, cow or plant, with cocoa, pecan and cookie-dough weight. Espresso, batch brew and pour over all run here, so the same coffee can be met three ways.

A colourful cafe-bar with breakfast all day

The Helsinki branch of Lykke Kahvitilat opened in summer 2024 as a cafe-bar rather than a dining room, and the colour is the first thing anyone notices; it is meant to read as a bright spot in a dark and wintery city. Breakfast runs all day, every day, beside cafe food, hot drinks and artisan beers, which stretches the room well past the morning espresso window. Dogs are welcome, in keeping with a brand that talks about people, dogs and drinks in the same breath. The address sits between Etu-Töölö and Kamppi, within an easy walk of the Central Railway Station, HAM and Temppeliaukio Church, so it catches people between things rather than only serving its own street.

Coffee first, beer later

By day this is a work-friendly cafe: WiFi, specialty coffee, hot drinks, cafe food and that all-day breakfast, with outdoor seating when the weather allows. Start with Happiness through filter or batch brew if the point is the coffee project itself, then move to Darkness if the order involves milk. Beans, tea and Lykke clothing can be taken away, which makes the counter a small shop as well as a bar. Later in the day the other identity takes over and the artisan beers do the work. The room also hosts private events: staff gatherings, family celebrations, birthdays, pre-Christmas parties and, at least once, a dog’s naming party. That range is the point. One address, several uses, and coffee it grew and roasted itself running underneath all of them.