The Best Coffee Festivals Around the World

Festivals are a great way to promote production and tourism.

Coffee is worth celebrating for. It fills our days with energy, and it never fails to make us feel better on those gloomy, rainy afternoons. But much more than just a feeling, coffee is art and craft. It has shaped many cultures, and it has become one of the most important industries for many countries’ economy. From the growing to the processing, roasting, and brewing: every step hides a world of intricacies and nuances that only years of experience can master.

Thank God you don’t need any of that to enjoy it. Whether you’re a professional expert or someone who simply appreciates the value of each cup of coffee, there are hundreds of events especially thought to indulge our love for caffeine and teach us more about this ever-evolving industry. Support new businesses, try new flavors, make new friends: here are the best coffee festivals in the world you can attend next year!

Vienna Coffee Festival

January 12-14, 2018

Home to some of the most famous coffee houses in the world and a buzzing coffee culture, Vienna knows very well how to enjoy its caffeine. Every year, this festival features the best coffee specialties, gourmet food, tastings, demonstrations from world-class baristas, interactive coffee workshops, the Austrian barista championship, coffee-based cocktails, live music, DJs, and much more. Just like we said, Viennese truly know how to have fun with a dose of coffee! If you happen to be there, don’t forget to visit Vienna’s coffee houses to hang out at some of Europe's oldest and most iconic places in coffee's history.

London Coffee Festival

April 12-15, 2018

Did you think London was all about tea? Think twice, because Londoners are about to surprise you. London Coffee Festival is one of the most awaited coffee-related events in the world. Last year, 30,832 coffee lovers and industry professionals attended this event to enjoy workshops, summits, coffee lab demonstrations, roastery expositions, tasting rooms, music, art projects, and much, much more! This 2018, the London Coffee Festival will feature over 250 artisan coffee and gourmet food stalls, tastings and demonstrations from world-class baristas, interactive workshops, street food, live music, and more. It’ll be the official launch event of the UK Coffee Week. If you happen to be around London in April, it would be an absolute crime to miss it!

World of Coffee, Amsterdam

June 21-23, 2018

With a different European city hosting this event each year (this year was Budapest), World of Coffee has become a signature festival for coffee lovers all across Europe. It’s actually Europe’s biggest coffee show, so it’s no wonder it gathers thousands of coffee industry's buyers and influencers. It offers a mix of a trade show, education programmes, social events, and, most importantly, the 2018 World Barista Championship. This year’s looking up to be very promising, so start planning your trip to enjoy the best of the European coffee scene.

CoffeeCon: The Consumer Coffee Festival, United States

February to October, 2018

We’ve put this one on the list because of its uniqueness. CoffeeCon is the world’s first 100% coffee festival made for educational purposes. It features tastings of the best coffees, a showcase of the best brewing gear, and onsite classes to improve your abilities as an at-home barista. Everything that happens in this festival is thought for consumers and their simple love for a cup of coffee. It’s perfect for coffee lovers who are not that much of an expert on the field. This year, CoffeeCon will travel to Los Angeles (Feb 3-4), New York (Apr 7-8), Seattle (Jul, 28-29) and Chicago (Oct, 27-28).

Cafés de Colombia Expo, Bogotá

We wouldn’t be That Coffee Roasters if we forgot about our roots. Cafés de Colombia Expo is the perfect scenario to discover the best of Colombian and Latin American coffee. Some of the most adored brands and products can be found in this traditional festival celebrated in the Colombian capital, Bogotá. Last year, more than 16,000 visitors and 100 exhibitors claimed the spaces of Cafés de Colombia Expo and lived an experience like no other. If there is anyone who takes coffee culture seriously, it’s Latinos. But as with everything else, we also know very well how to have fun! And that should always be the core of our coffee experience: it should always be fun, thrilling, and fascinating!

Enjoy the best of coffee culture!

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

Facebook: That Coffee Roasters

Instagram: thatcoffeeroasters

Before You Die: The Bucket List for Coffee Addicts

Pack your bags and go on an adventure!

If you only had one wish before leaving this world, what would you ask for? Would it be more time to share with your loved ones? Would it be one final good meal? Would it be one last glorious, sublime, perfect cup of your favorite coffee?... No. That’s too much, right? Yeah, we wouldn’t do that. Of course not. We enjoy coffee, but even we have boundaries. We’re not addicts. And anyway, there are more important things... isn't it?

Who are we kidding? We would totally do that. But, hey, don’t judge us! Napoleon Bonaparte was known for asking a spoonful of coffee on his deathbed, so we wouldn’t be the first ones to do it. We’re not totalitarian conquerors, we know, but we can love caffeine just the same. Actually, why not start our coffee bucket list today and tell the world just how much we love coffee? All we need is to define where to go first. What are those once-in-a-lifetime moments that every coffee lover must live? Well, we’ve gathered here the ones we believe you shouldn’t miss so buckle up and let’s go on an adventure!

6. Go back to where it all started and witness Ethiopia’s coffee ceremony

Considered to be our favorite drink’s birthplace, Ethiopia has enchanted the whole world with its beautiful and exotic coffee culture. History and spirituality fuse in this wonderful ceremony, that’s usually performed as a social activity for friends and visitors. It takes from 2 to 3 hours to finish, and it’s usually done by the women of the house. It involves a whole process of preparing raw coffee beans and brewing them into finished cups of coffee.

Ethiopian coffee ceremony has a strong connection with Islam. Each cup that results from this ritual is said to transform the spirit and be a blessing for those who drink it. With incense burning to ward off evil spirits and roasted coffee's aromas invading the atmosphere, this Ethiopian tradition is truly a sight to witness. Connect with the most powerful part of your spirit and take a trip through the amazing coffee culture from the place where it originated first.

5. Live the energy of Vienna’s famous coffee houses

UNESCO named them "World’s Intangible Heritage" in 2011, and it’s not hard to see why. Austrians are truly proud of their coffee culture. Ancient coffeehouses thrive on Vienna's streets, standing as little relics inside of which you can enjoy the best of the Austrian capital’s coffee. What makes them so special though? Their history, of course. You won’t find a stronger coffeehouse culture as you will in Vienna. They helped to shape Viennese’s social practices and rituals. They were also the scenario where many poets and artists found inspiration and wrote the best of their work.

Austrian writer, Stefan Zweig, described them like this: " ...actually a sort of democratic club, open to everyone for the price of a cheap cup of coffee, where every guest can sit for hours with this little offering, to talk, write, play cards, receive post, and above all consume an unlimited number of newspapers and journals." If your bohemian soul cries for a place where you can sit for hours, watching people pass by and thinking about life, what are you waiting for? Vienna’s coffeehouses are all you need and more!

4. Go to a World Latte Art Championship

If you believe nothing can compare to the sweet flavors of a cup of latte in the middle of the afternoon, then probably you’re also a fan of latte art. Attending to a World Latte Art Championship will be a heaven-like experience that you won’t forget anytime soon. Watch the best baristas and coffee lovers create beautiful works of art made of milk, cream, and espresso. This year’s competition was held in Budapest. Are you ready to pack your bags and follow these artists wherever they go next year?

3. Take a coffee bath on a Japanese spa

If you thought our previous coffee wishes were a little bit too extreme, how do you feel about actually bathing in coffee? It’s possible to do it in a Japanese spa called Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, located about an hour and a half from Tokyo. You can find among its services a possibility to bath in wine, tea, and other types of liquids. Their coffee bath is made of low heat Nel Drip style brewed coffee, and they assure it has “recharging, relaxing, skin beautifying effects.” But, oh well, now that we think about it, Japanese have a very curious coffee culture, with cat cafés in which you can pet felines while enjoying your cup of coffee. There’s something for every taste in the land of the rising sun.

2. Fall in love with true espresso shots on the streets of Rome

There are very few people as passionate about their coffee culture as Italians are about theirs. You can't blame them. They’re the creators of a beverage that has conquered the entire world: the espresso. That robust and contrasting shot that’s bound wake you up and improve your day right from the first sip. If you want to live an authentic Italian experience, don’t ask for anything that isn’t pure espresso outside of breakfast time, and don’t forget to take an Italian coffee tour. Antico Caffè Greco is a must, for example. Writers and composers like Goethe, Wagner, and Byron were regulars there. It has existed since 1760!

1. Feel the passion of coffee production in Colombia’s Coffee Triangle

We owe Colombia some of the best coffee in the whole world. Want to learn how it’s produced and processed? Then you definitely shouldn’t miss the chance of visiting the famous Colombia’s Coffee Triangle. Named a "World’s Heritage Site" by UNESCO, this territory is home to a huge part of Colombian coffee production. It covers a large mountainous region in the departments of Caldas, Quindio, and Risaralda. Because of its climate conditions, altitude, and soils, it’s a perfect landscape to harvest some of the most delicious coffee beans. It’s full of passionate people whose entire lives revolve around coffee. There are great hosts for tourists and many hostels and inns where you can enjoy a personal experience with coffee.

We bet that knowing Colombia’s Coffee Triangle could signify a fantastic experience for anyone who wants to live coffee as something more than just a beverage you drink to stop you from dozing off. Besides, this place is also the home of That Coffee Roasters’ founders and workers! We’ll always be proud of our origins!

Visit some of the coffee world's most iconic places! 

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

Facebook: That Coffee Roasters

Instagram: thatcoffeeroasters

Planning a Trip to Colombia? Here Are 5 Coffee Destinations You Can’t Miss

We all know about Juan Valdez. But what else is there to explore around Colombian coffee?

Guarded by Andean beautiful mountains, hills, and valleys, Colombians receive every day with rich and intense coffee's aromas impregnating their streets and houses. Tradition, passion, and a great weather have turned this Latin American country into an absolute reference in the study of coffee's growing and culture. While it’s true that coffee does not originally come from Colombia, ever since its arrival, more than 300 hundred years ago, it has become an essential part of Colombia's identity and a piece of its history that's worth exploring and discovering, especially if you consider yourself a true coffee lover.

If there’s a word to describe Colombia’s cups of joe, that word is variety. It is thanks to different soils and climates all around its national landscape that we can enjoy the unique flavors and contrasts of their different beans and production's methods. That’s the main reason why UNESCO decided to name the famous “coffee triangle,” a set of extensive regions specialized in coffee production, a World Heritage Site. So if you’re planning a trip to Colombia to immerse yourself in Latin America’s worldview and traditions through coffee culture, you can’t miss these 5 locations:

Flavors of Bogotá Specialty Coffee Experiences

In a country like Colombia, you can expect to find some of the most charming and experienced cafés in the continent. It’d be hard to know which one to explore first. Which is why the people from Flavors of Bogota have created a special tour so you can discover Colombia's capital coffee's scene, try a great variety of coffee drinks, and learn from world-class baristas brewing it.

If you’d like to visit Bogota’s coffee houses on your own, then we recommend you to go to cafés like Amor Perfecto, Devotion, Café Chan Chan, Azahar, Bourbon Coffee Roasters, and many others!

La Victoria Coffee Plantation

Prepare to turn back in time in one of Colombia’s oldest coffee plantations, located in the little town of Minca, near Santa Marta. The Victoria Coffee Company has been working across the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains since its foundation in 1892. Nowadays, its owners provide a bean-to-brew educational tour, showing the whole process of growing and roasting Arabica coffee. Visitors and participants will see which was the old machinery used during the XIX century and will have a chance to taste different blends, accompanied by pies. La Victoria Coffee Plantation offers a glimpse into the amazing coffee's history of Colombia, with self-sustained production and fascinating methods.

Parque Nacional del Café

The National Coffee Park is located just outside the city of Armenia, in Quindio, one of coffee's triangle’s most impressive regions. If museum exhibitions and history are your thing, then this themed park offers you that and more. Discover coffee's history and have fun while riding roller coasters and bumper cars. An ideal experience if you’re traveling with children!

La Palma y El Tucán

If your love for coffee goes beyond drinking it and you actually desire to learn everything about it, programs for baristas residents, at La Palma y El Tucan hotel, offer a unique opportunity to spend two months learning about coffee’s production and brewing. Located only 90 minutes away from Bogotá, this place is surrounded by breathtaking nature and perfect for those looking for a chance to escape city's hustle. Book one of their cabins and get straight to the heart of coffee's experience!

Café San Alberto

As we said before, Colombian coffee triangle has been gifted with an incredible geography perfect for coffee’s cultivation. This beautiful landscape can be seen in the Hacienda San Alberto, located in Buenavista, Quindio, at 5,920 ft above sea level. Surrounded by the Andean mountains, you can enjoy Colombia’s most decorated coffee with an unforgettable view and beautiful sunsets. It's a perfect spot to enjoy top quality coffee and learn about alternative brewing's methods from true coffee experts and cultivators.

Wherever you go in Colombia, you will always find amazing places to visit and experience the coffee culture first hand. Colombia’s dedicated and passionate people will show you a world you’ve never seen before, which will help you appreciate every little detail and secret behind coffee's growing and brewing.

Colombia will always be part of That Coffee Roasters’ heritage. Our deep roots in the Colombia's coffee region can be seen in each of our products and services. So trust us, once you’ve been to Colombia, you’ll never see coffee the same way!

Colombia's rich culture and art await you!

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

Facebook: That Coffee Roasters

Instagram: thatcoffeeroasters