What does Fika Fika mean?
Avis: I was inspired by fika, which is the Swedish concept of slowing down from (our) daily, busy lives. It’s taking 15 minutes off, spending that time with your family and friends, and taking a coffee break. Our logo is also inspired by this idea with it being the shape of 15 minutes on a clock.
Jason: Fika Fika started off as a coffee shop. It was pretty hot one day, and Avis and I were joking and saying, “What if we had boba-flavored ice cream?” (My sister) Jean tested it and tried to make some tea and floral flavors like lavender Earl Grey. We had our employees and friends try it, and they thought it was super cool.
What goes into making your ice cream?
Jason: We have a huge central kitchen where we handcraft all our ice cream. We mix all the flavors. For our rose raspberry flavor, we get rose petals to brew overnight and make our own rose water. For the boba flavor, we have to cook the boba for a very, very long time to make sure it stays chewy and soft in the ice cream.
Were you excited to open at Rodeo 39?
Avis: Yes! We really love the O.C. community and lifestyle. The culture of chilling and hanging out with friends really fits with our concept.
Tell us about the design of the shop.
Avis: Since we’re selling ice cream, I wanted to convey a cool, summer feeling. We use soft pastel shades so all the colors of our ice cream pop against the background. All of our products are from organic flavors like tea and flowers, so I wanted to bring that kind of (earthiness) to the space as well.
What is your favorite flavor on the menu?
Avis: I like ube young coconut and hochija, which has a really strong tea flavor and isn’t too sweet.
Jason: Jasmine milk tea and boba milk tea
What has the response been so far?
Jason: We’re doing pretty well. I hear my staff saying, “Are you getting the same flavor today?” So we have a lot of return customers.
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