In its second year, The New York Coffee Festival was a hugely successful event which we were pleased to be a part of. This year 9,782 discerning coffee lovers and industry professionals from the US and abroad attended the event from 16-18 September. The 2017 edition of the guide was launched at the event in both the shop and VIP goodie bags. With so many coffee enthusiasts in the room the guide flew off the shelves. Many of the booths were occupied by the best New York Coffee brands which feature in The New York Coffee Guide; Bluestone Lane, Gregorys, Devocion, Walters Coffee and Variety to name a few. Our fantastic sponsors also had a huge presence with Magnum, Delonghi, Chemex, Detpak and Illy all having impressive stands.

All the coffee you could wish for, more free goodies than you can hold and live events made it the best place to spend your weekend. The festival features lots of coffee brands, great food stalls, a festival shop, Latte Art Live, The Lab and Coffee Masters. Once your inside there is so much to fill your time with you won't know where to start. The food village is a great place to stop, re-fuel and eat some food to balance out all the coffee. Latte Art Live created an interesting line up to keep your creative juices flowing, with some of the best in the business showcasing their talents. The Lab provided informative, inspiring and fun sessions to give you an insight into this fantastic industry. 

The Festival is also a great supporter of our friends Project Waterfall. 50% of ticket sales go directly to supporting their work in coffee growing communities. They fundraise all year around to bring clean water to people that make our coffee. With a stand at the festival to bring awareness to the cause their presence did not go un-noticed, everyone was having great fun! They challenged the public to hold a Jerry Can full of water (20kgs weight) which locals in these communities do every day whilst traveling miles, the record time was over 17mins. Not an easy task, just imagine carrying your holiday luggage (20kgs is the standard allowance) for all that time. The New York Coffee Festival raised over $70,000 for Project Waterfall, which will bring clean drinking water and sanitation to entire communities across Rwanda.

Overall a fantastic launch for The New York Coffee Guide 2017 and a great event. Make sure you keep an eye out for dates for next year.