My First London Coffee Festival: What I Saw, What Surprised Me, and What It Taught Me About Learning Coffee
I will be honest with you from the start. I walked into the London Coffee Festival through the wrong entrance. Missed my VIP workshops. Did not find my goodie bag until nearly the end of the day. Not the smoothest start for someone who sells coffee for a living.
But by the time I left, I had seen things I am still thinking about. And one of those things changed what we are now stocking at Daily Crema.
The Experts Got It Wrong — And I Found That Oddly Comforting
One of the first things I saw when I got down to the main floor was a barista competition unlike anything I had expected. Two of the world's best baristas professionals at the very top of the specialty coffee industry were competing to identify the origin of five different coffees. No labels. No clues. Just the cup and their palate. They got one right. Maybe two.
I stood there watching and I had to smile.
I have been learning about coffee for less than a year. I am as I tell anyone who will listen a white belt. I do not have years of training behind me. I am building Daily Crema while learning the industry at the same time, asking questions that sometimes feel embarrassingly basic, and figuring things out as I go.
Watching two world-class professionals get humbled by coffee in front of a full room reminded me of something important. Coffee is genuinely difficult. The range of flavours, origins, processing methods, and roast profiles is vast. Even people who have spent their entire careers studying it are still discovering things. Being honest about what you do not know is not a weakness in this industry. It is the only way to actually learn.
That moment gave me more confidence than any product training session I have ever sat through.
The Future Walked In and Poured Itself a Flat White
Something else caught my attention on the floor that I was not expecting. A fully automated robot making coffee. Espresso, milk-based drinks, latte art included. No barista. Just the machine, the cup, and the result.
This technology is already common in China. It is beginning to arrive in the UK. I do not know exactly what that means for the coffee industry here yet. But I think it means something significant. And I think it is coming faster than most people are prepared for.
At Daily Crema, we are going to keep watching this space. It raises real questions about the role of the barista, about what "quality" means when a machine can replicate a human result, and about where the human experience of coffee fits into an increasingly automated world.
More on this in a future post. But if you are in the hospitality industry, it is worth paying attention to.
The Meeting I Am Looking Forward To
On the second floor, I connected with several potential suppliers — including a company called Mulmar, who manufacture coffee machines and grinders. I am meeting them next Friday to explore bringing their equipment into the Daily Crema range.
There was also a supplier of 100% recyclable coffee cups no plastic, better for the environment, better for the person drinking from them. As someone who cares about what we put in front of our customers, this is something I want to explore further.
These conversations are the part of events like this that most people do not see. Beyond the lights and the latte art, the London Coffee Festival is a working floor for people building businesses in coffee. I left with a notebook full of contacts and a head full of questions.
The Product That Felt Personal
Before I left, I made a decision about something we had been planning for a while. Daily Crema will officially stocking Bialetti moka pots.
For those who do not know, the moka pot is a stovetop coffee brewer. You fill the bottom chamber with water, add coffee to the filter basket, screw it together, and place it on the heat. Within a few minutes you have a rich, concentrated coffee that is different from anything a machine produces.
Bialetti invented the modern moka pot in Italy in 1933. It has been a fixture of Italian kitchens ever since. And Cuban kitchens. Including the one I grew up in.
I was born in Cuba. Growing up, the moka pot was not a piece of equipment, it was just how coffee was made. Every morning. Before anything else had happened in the day. The sound of it. The smell of it.
Coming to the UK and discovering that almost nobody knew what it was felt strange to me. It is one of the simplest, most honest ways to make coffee there is.
Bringing Bialetti into the Daily Crema range did not feel like a business decision. It felt like bringing something from home into the brand.
If you have never used a moka pot, I would genuinely encourage you to try one. It is simpler than you think, and the coffee it produces is something worth experiencing.
What I Took Away
I went to the London Coffee Festival as a beginner. I walked in through the wrong door. I missed my workshops and I almost missed my goodie bag.
But I left with three things I did not have before:
First: a reminder that even the best in this industry are still learning. That is not discouraging. It is the whole point.
Second: a clear view of what is coming for the coffee industry, whether we are ready for it or not.
Third: a Bialetti moka pot will soon be on the Daily Crema's website, and the feeling that it belongs there.
There is a lot more to come from what I discovered at the festival. I will be writing about the recyclable cups, the Mulmar machines, and the robot barista in the weeks ahead.
For now if you want to try something different with your coffee, the moka pot is waiting for you.
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