The Glasgow Coffee Festival returns to the city this spring.
And the seventh annual event will be back indoors for the first time since the pandemic.
More than 40 exhibitors are expected at the Briggait arts venue on May 7 and 8.
The former fish market hall on Bridgegate will host coffee professionals from across the country who will showcase their products, skills and passion.
Mossgiel Organic Farm, Modern Standard, Steampunk, Bare Bones and Faodail Roastery are amongst more than 20 businesses who have already signed-up.
Registrations are still open for others to be involved.
'Underdogs'
Organiser Lisa Lawson, founder of the Glasgow Coffee Festival and Dear Green Coffee Roasters, says the event is a showcase for the city’s burgeoning coffee scene.
She said: “In Scotland we can often be seen as the underdogs but we should be rightfully proud of the community of coffee professionals who are driving coffee standards forward locally.
“The skill of our ever-increasing community of roasters and baristas should be celebrated as being on par with some of the best in the world.
“It’s dramatic to see the change since I launched Dear Green in 2011. I love seeing more and more new specialty coffee businesses opening and the industry growing.
“Bringing us all together under one roof really does showcase how far we have all come. With the festival selling out each year it also proves how much Scotland loves great coffee.”
This year, Lisa has drafted in support from Hannah Davies, founder of the Manchester Coffee Festival and Cup North, an organisation committed to the development of the speciality coffee industry in the UK.
She said: “Manchester and Glasgow have a lot in common, so it’s been great to watch the coffee scene in Glasgow go from strength to strength, just as Manchester has. I’m excited to work with Lisa to create an amazing celebration of coffee which attracts people from across the UK.
In Scotland we can often be seen as the underdogs but we should be rightfully proud of the community of coffee professionals who are driving coffee standards forward locally.
Lisa Lawson
“The great thing about people in coffee is, for the most part, they are all about celebrating and supporting each other and building each other up.
“That’s why I’m proud to be part of an event like this which makes coffee more accessible and helps to grow a vibrant community.”
The festival’s mission is to encouraging coffee drinkers to think local before visiting the big chains.
Supporting local independents means the coffee is usually roasted by a local roaster and directly supports the local economy.
In 2018, it became the first coffee festival in the world to ban disposable cups.
Tickets
Tickets cost £12 per session and include presentations, film screenings, tastings from Olam Specialty, Falcon Specialty and Kamba as well as much coffee as you can drink from all of your local favourites.
Sponsors of this year’s event include coffee equipment companies La Marzocco and Compak, Dear Green Coffee Roasters and Glasgow-based marketing agency Story Shop.
