Coffee Fest weekend in Seattle is as significant for what happens outside the tradeshow, as it is for what goes on at the show itself.

Coffee Fest is essentially a regional event, targeted primarily toward a Pacific Northwest audience. This means that some of the equipment manufacturers you would see at larger national shows like the SCAA are there but not all, and these may be represented by local distributors not the manufacturers themselves. The same goes for allied products. The same is true of coffee roasters, though northwest roasters are a breed apart, and an important few reflect the Zeitgeist of the boutique end of the market. There is merit to the idea that a show featuring northwest roasters would be worth attending on that basis alone. However, a significant cross section of these roasters attend the larger national shows, so the average visitor can save a trip. And besides Coffee Fest does not truly give a comprehensive view of northwest roasting, just a sampling.

Read the rest of this entry »

Its finally that time…the International Exhibition of the Hospitality Industry & the International Coffee Show. Held in Milan every two years, this 35th edition runs from October 19 - 23rd and requires more than 1 million square feet to hold 1800 exhibitors & 130,000 visitors from around the world.

Everything & everyone espresso will be there…including Eric & me ;-) And we’ll be blogging on everything thats new or going on in espresso…as all the Italian suppliers launch their latest & greatest at this show, so stay tuned (hopefully we’re able to upload a bunch of pics & vids as well).

Are you going to be at the show this year? If so and you want to hook up for a spro, shoot me an email: jason@slayerespresso.com

Cheers