London Coffee Festival 2017

It would appear even my beloved coffee can’t avoid becoming politicised in this volatile age of ours as ‘Filter Coffee Not People’ is daubed on walls and emblazoned on T-shirts at the London Coffee Festival, seemingly becoming an unofficial theme of the event. To be fair, the coffee industry has always had this pseudo-radical vibe to it with direct trade and fair trade both being prominent features of many roaster's and retailer's marketing pitches but it seems somewhat more poignant given global events of the past few months.

The Old Truman brewery has sort of become an integral part of the East London exhibition scene ever since it was repurposed as such a space despite some of the older pubs around the area still proclaiming they proudly sell the brew once created there (its legacy lives on in the ghost signs and swing boards of the taverns that line the train routes through Hackney and Bethnal Green into Liverpool Street station) and on the second weekend of every April, it hosts one of Europe’s premier coffee festivals within its many-chambered walls as industry experts, roasters, baristas, shop owners and just the caffeine curious descend upon its location to discover what’s new in trends, technology, and trade. I, a former barista, have more than a passing interest in it that I can no longer really call professional interest but it certainly stems from that.
A four-day event with one set aside solely for those in the trade, you can choose either a timed morning or afternoon slot to get a few hours in of wandering the exhibition floors or an all-day VIP ticket which allows you to come and go as you please, access to an exclusive seating lounge and bar area and includes a complimentary Espresso Martini and a goody bag filled with freebies such as money off vouchers and a guide to London’s best coffee shops. I opt for the latter, predominantly so I needn’t worry about how long I’m taking browsing and talking to people and so that I can also make a day of it but the timed tickets are considerably cheaper.

On two levels, independent roasters, machinery, and technology can mostly be found downstairs and this is where the Coffee Masters event is also held. A competition in which master baristas battle it out for the title of Coffee Master, they face off in head to head competition where they are tested on their latter art abilities, cupping prowess and their skill and quality to produce an array of complex and varied drink orders in a set amount of time. Crowds gather around a centralised competition area and watch two baristas compete in these matchups as they are judged by three independent adjudicators on their skill, speed, and professionalism where one is knocked out and the winner progresses to the next round until none are left.
The latter art portion of the competition proved so popular last year that this time around there is a completely separate booth (aptly titled ‘Latte Art Live) with demonstrations on the shapes and pictures that can be created with the milk used in a latte pour. Demonstrators include the champion in such a discipline as he intricately weaves swans, hearts, wheat sheaves and rosettes out of nothing but dairy.

Head upstairs and you will find this is where most of the interactive demonstrations, workshops and tasting sessions taking place with food and coffee pairing, cupping and learning to identify the notes and flavours of different coffees as well as their origins, and extraction processes and how to get the most out of your coffee at home.  Most of these can be pre-booked or you can wing it and see if there is a space on the day but all offer a glimpse into the expertise and qualifications that go into choosing and making your morning java.
In amongst all of this noise and activity, many stallholders will go to great lengths to try and mark themselves out such as sugar company Tate & Lyle.
This year, trying to market their range of coffee syrups, they have set up a sensory experience within their booth in which you are talked through a process where you put on noise cancelling headphones that are playing a trippy but not unpleasant sound of  twinkling high notes and atmospheric background noise, whilst you are offered a star and told to huff an evaporated form of their syrup flavours which they then pair with a piece of fudge.
Designed to get you to focus entirely on the taste ad not be distracted by other happenings, it creates something of a sensory overload in which you become acutely aware of what is on your tongue. It was not entirely unpleasant but it still wasn’t enough to convince me to buy anything. Pretty cool, though.
Should you need a break from all the hustle and bustle of the stalls and sellers, you can head into the bowels of the old brewery and find an area covered with astroturf and wooden picnic benches where, at one end, a bar is serving espresso martini’s and VIP’s can pick up their complimentary ones. At the other end is a stage where up and coming bands take to the stage to entertain those milling about. Should it get too hot here, those with VIP tickets can also head out onto the rooftop to soak up some rays.
Wandering back in you can admire the coffee art project that helps raise funds for Water Aid and draws inspiration from coffee for the art as well as some pieces actually using coffee grounds in their creation.
Of course, I haven’t even covered a fraction of what can, does and did go on so maybe I’ll have to pop back net year…and the year after that.