The eyes of the coffee world will be on the Dear Green Place in May when the Glasgow Coffee Festival returns to the Briggait for the first time in two years.
The two-day extravaganza of speciality coffee – produced by renowned Glasgow B Corp Dear Green Coffee Roasters – will be held in the historic Glasgow city centre venue following a two-year spell outdoors during the pandemic.
The former fish market hall on Bridgegate will host coffee professionals from across the country who will showcase their products, skills and passion to thousands of coffee lovers on May 7 and 8.
Mossgiel Organic Farm, Modern Standard, Steampunk, Bare Bones and Faodail Roastery are amongst more than 20 businesses who have already signed-up to be involved – with registrations still open.
Organiser Lisa Lawson, founder of the Glasgow Coffee Festival, believes this year’s event provides a platform for Glasgow’s coffee scene to stand up and be counted among the world’s best.
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!’
Lisa Lawson of Dear Green 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.
‘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 help to celebrate Scotland’s coffee scene while encouraging coffee drinkers to swap their visit to a big chain for a coffee served in a local coffee shop, which serves coffee roasted by a local roaster, and directly supports the local economy.
This will be the seventh year of the Glasgow Coffee Festival. In 2018, it became the first coffee festival in the world to ban disposable cups.
In 2020, it took to the streets for the very first time, in a bid to encourage Glaswegians to visit local, independent businesses during the pandemic. This year the festival combines both concepts with the return to the Briggait over two days and the festival again encouraging consumers to support local businesses over a two-week period for deals and discounts in all of their favourite coffee spots.
Tickets cost £12 per session and will 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 Story Shop, a Glasgow-based marketing agency.
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