Coffee Festival Comes to DTLA for the First Time

Espresso martini – Katy Cooper/Big Picture Media

Coffee aficionados, industry stakeholders and one-cup-in-the-morning beginners all will want to be at the Coffee Festival, the first to be held in Los Angeles. From Friday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Nov. 11, the event will celebrate all things coffee in an immersive experience with food, cocktails, live music, art, film, coffee-related equipment and demonstrations.

After successful coffee festivals in London, Amsterdam, Cape Town and New York City, Coffee Festival founder Jeffrey Young is bringing the event to Los Angeles. “With its increasingly vibrant coffee scene, thriving arts community and creative atmosphere, we felt the time was right and the downtown location ideal for L.A.’s first Coffee Festival,” Young tells L.A. Weekly. Taking place at the Magic Box @ the Reef, the Los Angeles Coffee Festival will feature endless complimentary coffee tastings, interactive workshops, coffee cocktails, street food, local and international coffee roasters, and presentations from world-class baristas.

Latte art workshops and demonstrations with a rotating cast of baristas from Europe, New York, Korea and more will give guests a chance to learn the skills of artful coffee topping. Each evening, coffee mixologists will take over Latte Art Live, using a variety of ingredients to create high-octane cocktails for sampling. For foodies, the Kitchen, a casual-dining feature in its Coffee Festival debut, will offer demos, workshops and talks by culinary legends, up-and-coming restaurateurs and celebrity chefs.

Project Waterfall, the official charity partner of the Los Angeles Coffee Festival, works to bring clean water to more than 25,000 people in coffee-growing communities across seven countries. Ten percent of ticket sales are donated to the charity, with more than $1 million raised since 2011.

Cold brew – Katy Cooper/Big Picture Media

Finalists in the Coffee Music Project singer-songwriter competition will perform during the festival, providing funds for Project Waterfall as well as opportunity for aspiring musicians. “It’s a powerful platform for talented unsigned acts to gain exposure while supporting the vital cause of clean water for coffee-growing communities,” according to Young. Finals will be held Nov. 13 at the Mint, and the winner will receive a trip to London, recording session and cash prize.

Another fundraising initiative, the Coffee Art Project, showcases the creativity and talent of emerging and established artists. They are invited to submit original artwork in any media type representing a unique and personal connection to the concept of coffee or a coffee shop experience.

One lucky festivalgoer will win a Linea Mini Espresso machine donated by La Marzocco. Learn to pull your own shot at the La Marzocco booth and enter a random drawing. Coffee-themed goodies like T-shirts and sweatshirts will be available for purchase as souvenirs of the event.

Tickets start at $27; VIP all-day tickets start at $50. Visit la-coffeefestival.com for information and tickets.