Review: London Coffee Festival

For those following me on Twitter you will know that last weekend I took a trip to our capital to visit the London Coffee Festival. Last year this was the first festival I went to in the name of Ginger Sky and was the first I looked for this year.

The festival itself is held over the last few days of UK Coffee Week and is the venue for the UK Barista Championships. With stalls from many of the big chains as well as up and coming independents there is something on offer for everyone in the great surroundings of The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

I have to admit that this trip is as much for personal pleasure as it is for business. I love trying all the weird and wonderful coffees on offer. However, watching the experts do their thing with the latest in coffee gadgetry does give a great insight into what the consumers will be using in a few years’ time. There are also some great smaller designers and distributors to network with. And that’s not to mention the great artisan café section with loads of fantastic food on offer, couldn’t resist treating myself to a nice home baked loaf.

What always pleases me about these kinds of events is the wonderful people there, and it’s not all about selling. This year was no exception, like the people at FruitBroo (@FruitBroo) who, despite knowing we aren’t going to be stocking drinks, still entertained us. In all fairness they did have some great funky flasks that I just had to know about, the free samples were a bonus too J.

If you’re interested in learning more about the festival their website is http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/