It’s been six years since the first London Coffee Festival and the event has now grown to become Europe’s largest celebration of coffee. Last year’s festival attracted more than 23,000 visitors across the four days of the event, with numbers this year (7-10 April) expected to increase to 35,000.
With the first two days of the festival devoted to the trade, the Festival offers industry visitors the opportunity to engage with more than 250 exhibitors from the coffee, café and food-to-go industries.
Union Hand-Roasted are once again firing up their San Franciscan roaster and demonstrating live roasting in the Soho area of the festival, which also plays host to La Marzocco’s True Artisan Café showcasing talented baristas from some of Europe’s best coffee shops and cafés.
After the successful launch of Coffee Masters in 2015, the fast-paced global barista competition is back for its second year, with 16 contenders going head-to-head across six disciplines, including Latte Art, Cupping and Brewing.
One new feature for the 2016 festival is Hotel Chocolat’s School of Chocolate, where visitors can learn how the taste of chocolate can be influenced by the type of cocoa and conching time.
There’s also Scandinavian Embassy’s Coffee and Food Pairing Experience which will be hosted in The House of Coffee & Co. VIP suite. Here, visitors can try an exclusive three-course menu that pairs coffee with a variety of unusual ingredients.
The Festival’s Lab programme will also be back, offering a variety of talks, workshops and demonstrations throughout the four days, with sessions on Thursday and Friday providing industry insights and information tailored to trade visitors.
