Attending my first London Coffee Festival on Saturday. Flying solo.
I’m struggling to work out - even having looked at the materials provided - what exactly a non-industry coffee nerd should spend their time doing.
Just wandering around taking it all in? Are there roasters there brewing coffees to try? New gadgets on display?
Any tips as to how to maximise my four hours in there would be very welcome.
hey! first time visitor to the london coffee festival and i’ll be going for one of the industry days.
what should i be expecting, things i should be exploring more, how do i cheekily get my hands on freebies and just overall how do i ensure i get the most out of my visit! while coffee doesn’t buzz me up all that much since ive pretty much fried up my caffeine receptors,too much of it does make my stomach upset. any tips on how i can avoid all that yet get to try out as much as i can?
ive also pretty much spent most of my budget on the train ticket to london, and going to be saving some to buy indie,anything else you guys would recommend spending cash on? i don’t have the budget for fancy equipment but id def want to take something away atleast for memories.
also do i need to pay for samples or are they free?
(sorry if i come off as a cheapskate, broke uni student that has pretty much spent everything on the ticket and the train itself )
TIA!!
I got tired of checking five different roaster websites to compare what's available. I wanted one place to see what's out there, so myself and another developer built the Indie Coffee Club.
If you're based in the UK and buy from indie roasters, I'd love your honest take — what's missing, what works, what doesn't. Particularly interested in whether this is actually useful or if I'm solving a problem that doesn't exist.
We will be adding accounts soon so you can keep track of your favourites, but would also like to know what other features you would find useful
Module in Edinburgh have just dropped three new releases! I have ordered the washed Typica Mejorado. To be honest I could have happily ordered all three.🤘🤘🤘
Got my first Gustatory order through today! 2:am Ahora. Can’t wait to give it a go. Sounds like some nice classic espresso profiles. Has anyone tried it before? Apparently I have a freebie on the way too. Exciting! Also picked up this Rwandan from Nkora this morning grabbing my morning brew! The last Rwandan I tried was delicious.
Can’t wait to try these! I’ve had a very similar decaf before from Decaf Before Death (it’s got the same name and producer etc) so was very keen to try Skylark’s roast. The other 2 sounded really interesting. Now for the resting of the caff ones especially.
Back when I was limiting my caffeine intake intake, this was one of my favourites. But it’s still one of the best coffees I’ve had. The Laurina (at least) and Aramosa are naturally low in caffeine so there’s no decaf process involved. Notes didn’t stock it for a long time but I found this on their brew bar at the King’s Cross shop today. I didn’t do pourovers when I first got this so I’ll be curious what that’s like. Highly recommended either way!
Really great to see skylark have now started offering their greens to customers! What do we think of this? Is there anywhere else in the UK that offer this?
As someone who roasts as a hobby at home, I think it’s great to be able to compare yourself to an established roaster with the same raw product. I understand it’s maybe not viable for all roasters to do this but I would love it if this became more common.
Hi! I'm looking for recommendations for a good independent coffee company that sells coffee for use in a french press. I'm in the UK. What would you recommend for someone who loves coffee but has never brewed their own before 😅. TIA
I'm looking for a cheaper go-to inbetween trying fancier stuff. I prefer light-roasts with lots of acidity. I've seen this roaster recommended a few times as a cheaper roaster. Has anyone here tried any of their beans and have anything to say about them?
After a couple of disappointing bags back to back, I’m looking for a guaranteed banger.
Is there anything particularly good out there right now? I’m looking for something lightly roasted to brew filter with.
Generally prefer fruitier stuff but open to all suggestion.
EDIT: looking bean recommendations rather than particular roasters
So, travelled to Glasgow for a concert and picked this washed bourbon from Oaxaca and my goodness does it smell lovely.
I told myself I wouldn’t buy anymore since I have maybe 2kg in the freezer but I had such an amazing time I kind wanted a little something to savor the trip for the next few weeks.
I had such a busy trip, so I actually only found this as I was racing to the station to leave with only about 30 mins to make it.
I went for it only off the label; washed bourbon.. apricot.. gooseberry, syrupy and sweet since I was in a rush. Then as I’m leaving just the most amazing waft of gooseberry and something even marshmallow came over me! Honestly it blew my mind. Totally made the right call.
Anyway, if you haven’t been to Glasgow I highly recommend it! I had the most splendid time and while this cofffee is from Edinburgh there are a number of Glasgow based roasters I saw who I hope to try.
I will report back with how this performs and also find out the name of the specialty coffee shop + the Glaswegian roaster I found.
You’re all terrible influences because I didn’t even realise this was a thing and once I discovered it, I immediately subscribed. Three bags of medium/dark roast first time around but switched to Plus 87 from next month. Free bag, as well (though it’s unclear which one is the free one!). Can’t wait to try these after some resting.
My order from KillBean came in this morning; I'm looking forward to trying these Chinese beans but the 8/12 week wait is going to be hard 😫 Might have to place another order with someone else 🤔
Pourover focussed. I’m sick of the funk. I want clean, light body, floral would be nice. Coffee that tastes like ‘good coffee’. UK, obviously!
Hi all. I am adding a column to our spreadsheet of UK roasters ( pinned top of feed ) for the type of roasting equipment used. I thought this would be great for helping choose profile and intention of the roaster plus will be loads of fun. If you roast or know could you post what type of roaster ( Loring, Giesen etc ) your local or favourite team are using please. 🙏
Spaceboys hand built custom roaster pic for attention. TIA.
I only want a small bag eg 150-200g. Ground to my choice of coffee maker eg aeropress or stovetop. Where besides Monmouth (old fave!) can I go? I used to go to Algerian on Old Compton but I really like more floral, light and natural process beans too. (not going to buy a home grinder anytime soon…and I prefer visiting stores than ordering in post)
Has anyone tried this coffee from The Source? This was my first order after hearing good things and I probably should’ve looked at the tasting notes a bit closer. But I’ve rested the beans for 5+ weeks now and the tasting note of ‘thyme’ is just overpowering even when I go coarse and 84 deg water. To me it has an artificial pine taste and I can’t get it out of my head that some kind of flavouring has been added during fermentation process (after reading a lot of allegations online about Edinson Argote and his practices).
I will probably just count this one as a miss and move onto the other 2 coffees I bought from them, a Wilton Benitez Ombligon C-19 and a Gilder Tantalean Natural Peru.
Work has brought me to Leicester, and my inability to say no to a co-ferment has led me to this little number. Lovely. Cafe is nice too.