London Coffee Festival: An insight into the highlights

Based in the Old Truman Brewery you would be forgiven for attributing the London Coffee Festival as merely a destination for the crazed caffeined, sleep deprived and narcoleptic amongst us - despite the blue skied laid back picture on the leaflets.


Walking up the entrance steps to the event and finding myself in Hyde Park I was certainly not expecting a room flooded with light, decked out with a mock lawn, sun loungers, picnic tables, bean bags and parasols. It instantly said quality time with others shared over a cup of coffee rather than extra shot Monday morning espresso territory. Even more attractive was the assortment of drinks on display; everything from coffee to hot chocolate, tea to pressed juice, coconut water to Espresso Martinis. To satiate stomachs as well as taste-buds, invitations to samplings of fudge, yogurt, brownies and other such sweet treats were on offer to fully compliment the flavours and textures of the beverages in store.


The atmosphere was casual, warm, friendly and vibrant with cheerful chatterings between those exhibiting and amongst event attendees alike. With a noticeable lack of 'he who shouts loudest' tactic deployed, each stall and offering was able to personally speak for itself and market its product to the enquirer when prompted. Leaving before the event opened to the public at 5, the stage and bandstand already set up in the main room led me to believe the fun and festivities looked set to amplify in the hours to come.


Highlights during my three hours mooching around the festival on Friday afternoon were as follows:

Launching that day, Kokoa Collection - the tasty initiative of Paul Eagles - was born out of a noticeable gap in the drinks market. As consumers we are so very keen to know all about where our tea and coffee is sourced from but never question our hot chocolate. The Kokoa Collection is therefore a 'hot chocolate by origin' label prepared by baristas with tablets of real chocolate. No coffee expert would declare powdered instant coffee to be as fine a quality as the freshly ground bean variety. Why ought chocolate be any different? In the name of 'market research' I indulged in a 70% cocoa hot chocolate sourced from Ecuador. Choosing to add nothing to the drink, other than the milk with which it is made, I am amazed at the transparency of quality. The buttery/oily after taste and texture that can follow with powered chocolate is replaced with a rich velvety and smooth sensation in the back of ones throat. With the option to experiment with flavours of chili, cinnamon, rose, orange, lavender and seasonal specials, not to mention the various origins of cocoa bean on offer, the combinations are endless!



I must state that the picnic themed area mentioned earlier was courtesy of Innocent and provided the perfect summer backdrop for sipping on an apple, lime and kiwi smoothie - apparently a favourite with many due to lack of banana in the mix. Those manning the Innocent Carafette were keen to intro - juice you to their drinks whilst leaving you guessing the number of mangoes in a jar - (if the answer is 42 you can contact me here).

Never previously having sung high praises for Starbucks as a chain, I therefore find myself rather surprised to be so taken with Starbucks Reserve. With my Aged Sulawesi Kalosi coffee filtering, Aneta (the Barista) had just enough time to inform me of the beans history. Indigenous to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the coffee is grown alongside the fruits and vegetables in the garden of only 12 families. Handing me my expertly produced cup of coffee she asks whether I know 'how to properly drink coffee,' I admit I don't. Rule number 1: Coffee ought to be tasted much like a good wine. Admittedly I consume my coffee like most of you out there, gulping and glugging it down my neck, allowing little time to appreciate its taste. Smelling and swirling before finally swallowing, I am reminded of outdoor camp fires as I sense the toasted marshmallow flavour come to life. An experience in itself! 

Taking on an ancient Chinese proverb of 'better to be deprived of food for three days than tea for one,' Mangajo provided the perfect hydration requirement after one too many cups of coffee. With an emphasis on health, sustainability and great taste, I felt instantaneously healthier and fully nourished upon trying the 'most popular' Lemon & Green Tea drink.  With 5 great tasting drinks currently on the shelves and with more set to appear in the pipeline, I anticipate exciting things for this self confessed super juice label. Watch this space.


Given the array of drinks and variety of coffee beans alone, we clearly like choice, so why not house your perfectly blended beverage in an equally personally container? With the option to pick the size and colouring of every element going into its construction, KeepCup allows you to sip away in style. Excellent!

Last but not least, I paid a visit to the supplier of my most welcomed weekend cup of coffee. Olivier and his team at the Bean About Town had clearly bean preparing for this event for quite some time. Setting up on the back of one of his carts, it was clear that this stall was going to be quite the attraction with badges and build your own coffee fleet cut outs to amuse oneself with whilst sitting down to one of their finest hand-pulled espressos on a bench. The option to switch from regular espressos to an Espresso Martini was greeted with a fervent 'yes please' and was consequently served up with a yellow cocktail umbrella, pink straw and garnished with 3 beans. The perfect last drink of the day!

Other lines of note for the upcoming few months include Bespoke Tea, MOMA! and VITA COCO!


Not being a member of the coffee trade I opted not to attend the talks being held in the Lab, although from its entrance I could hear high levels of conversations and dialogue. So all in all a very enjoyable experience for those involved.


Personally I found the more challenging aspects of the event involved entering and exiting the Old Truman Brewery. Where can't you pay entry on card these days and can we have a few simple signs indicating the way out next time please? That said, it was the first time the event had been held so I will allow its organisers this slight leeway; Those exhibiting more than made up for it!


For more information from the event itself please click here.