The London Coffee Festival

As the weather picks up and we dare allow ourselves to think Summer is in sight, the Great British public suddenly become full of beans and the joys of spring.

Now it looks like starting tomorrow Londoners may be quite literally full of beans as the very first London Coffee Festival comes to the capital this weekend. Seeing off UK Coffee week, this festival

which is being held 8-10th April at F Block of the Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, will begin as a Trade Day until opening to Joe bloggs from 5:00pm-10:00pm. 

Joe and fellow general public will have the opportunity to indulge in an Espresso Martini or two at the official Launch Party from 7:30pm. Not being adverse to an Espresso Martini myself - I do seem to find myself repeatedly ordering them whether at Fifty Five Bar in Camden, The Arc in Angel or Aqua Spirit in Soho - you can sign me up! Saturday and Sunday holds 3 sessions per day for visitors to drop in and join the best baristas around for Brunch, Lunch or Teatime! Time slots can be found on the website.

The festival also has a series of themed zones for its visitors including:

Hyde Park
Wander through the parkland village. Grab a flat white and a delicious artisan toasted focaccia. Watch coffee being roasted before your eyes and soak up the delicious aroma at The Roastery. Sit on the grass with your friends, sipping an iced mocha and enjoy live acoustic music from the bandstand.

Soho
Explore edgy ‘Out of the Box’ coffee shop experiences. Talk coffee with the experts and be dazzled by live barista demos. Visit the Ten-Bean Bowling Alley, sample deli produce and indulge yourself with a hand-made cup cake.  Listen to a fine selection of world beats and jazz from local artists and DJs.

Shoreditch
From artisan food stalls to the finest boutique roasters, Shoreditch is the place to be seen admiring and sampling a range of gourmet food products and tasting the most unique coffee blends. Visit the coffee art gallery before relaxing in the retro lounge with a boozy smoothie and some vintage tunes.

The Hub
Where coffee and food meet the Arts.  The Espresso Martini Launch Party will be held here on opening night!

The Growing Community
Learn more about the journey of the coffee bean from crop to your cup with interactive elements throughout the zone. Bring yourself good luck with a visit to the wishing well!

The Lab
Be the first to witness the ‘Fourth Wave’ science of coffee! From the latest pod technologies to the vacuum pot, revolutionary brewing methods will be demonstrated and showcased in The Lab, where you will discover new taste sensations.

 

With an official Coffee Guide accompanying the event, this is also one for the more serious coffee connoisseurs. The London Coffee Guide 2011 was born out of a desire to find the best coffee out there; chains, independents, kiosks, carts - if it serves good coffee it's in it! As a Camden resident I am favourable to the Bean About Town, the niche coffee cart that can be found at Camden Lock/ Kensington Olympia / St Katharine Dock / Dalston Kingsland / Clapham North.  Much like the infamous Avis ad by Doyle Dane Bernbach - 'When you're only Number 2, you try harder. Or else.' - you get the feeling that the size of the company means your custom is truly appreciated.  Served with this, is a relatively inexpensive cup of super smooth, rich organic coffee with a wholly personal experience; They will certainly be receiving top scores from me.

As with any fun festival, there is often a more serious note underpinning the event - in this instance, Project Waterfall, the charitable component of UK Coffee Week™.  It aims to raise more than £1million to deliver safe drinking water and sanitation projects for up to 100,000 people, specifically in coffee producing countries in Africa. In an attempt to achieve this The London Coffee Festival will be donating 100% of all proceedings made from ticket sales to Project Waterfall. You can do your bit too by voluntarily adding 5p to coffee and food purchases at any of the wide range of participating branded and independent coffee venues across the country during UK Coffee Week™. For those who don't drink coffee but wish to support the cause, there is also the option to text/email a donation (see online for details).

So let's pray for good weather, good company and seeing that caffeine is meant to significantly reduce the risk of developing skin cancer, a good old cup of coffee too.