In Caffeine Heaven At The New York Coffee Festival
If you follow us on Instagram (which you should!), then you have probably noticed that I have been getting more and more into the coffee scene recently. I have always enjoyed the taste, but as of late it has been more about the experience of getting a cup of coffee. Whether it is in the morning before work, on my afternoon break, or even on the weekends while I am blogging, it allows me to rest my mind and get caught up on my thoughts.
Over this past weekend I had the opportunity to attend The New York Coffee Festival. It was the first year of the event and attracted over 70 coffee, food and equipment suppliers. The best part… free samples! I lost track after my 5th, but I can tell you that I had everything – espresso drinks, cold brew coffees, draft lattes. I had it all!
My favorite part of the event was the Coffee Masters competition where baristas from all over the world came to compete for a $5,000 prize. The entrants had to complete five disciplines:
- Cupping – contestants taste six cups of coffee in order then have to rearrange them correctly after the cups are moved around
- Brewing – baristas try to identify the correct brewing method for a chosen coffee and recreate it
- Latte Art – a dice with different designs is rolled and the barista has to create the pattern in a latte
- Order Challenge – the competitors are given nine minutes to complete 10 espresso-based drinks
- Signature Drink – each competitor creates a drink with at least three different ingredients
It was pretty cool to see my favorite coffee shop, La Colombe, represented at the event! I had the chance to meet the manager of one of the shops based here in NYC. Great people! They were sampling their draft latte at the festival. If you ever make it to one of their shops (a must when you’re in town), I recommend the black & tan. It’s a mix of their draft latte with their cold brew…delicious!
I was also happy to see that the event was raising money for charity. Half of the ticket sales were being donated to Project Waterfall which focuses on clean water and sanitation projects in coffee producing communities.
All in all I had a great time at the event and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the coffee scene. I can’t wait for next year’s festival!
Shaine was born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida. After completing his MBA, he spent over a year in Washington D.C. working in corporate finance. He now calls NYC his home, where you’ll find him eating his way through the city, or running through Central Park (to burn off all those calories!).
