On the Grind: Notes From Coffee Fest

Coffee Fest hit town last weekend at the Oregon Convention Center. The specialty coffee trade show for industry types and adjacent entrepreneurs happens quarterly, rotating among cities around the country. After Portland, Coffee Fest will visit Los Angeles in August and Orlando in October this year, then New York City in March 2026. In Portland, the show was opened to mere mortals, aka “coffee enthusiasts,” which was reason enough to join the fun.

Coffee Fest is quite a bit smaller in scale than Specialty Coffee Expo, the biggest national event on your neighborhood roaster’s calendar. Still, Coffee Fest offered a lesson on the coffee world’s ins and outs. Exhibitors included companies eager to sell plant-based milks, syrups and sweeteners, tea in various forms, roasting and brewing equipment, packaging, and snack items to nosh with your joe. There were even booths seeking to sell massage guns, with very persistent workers insistent on providing a demonstration. It was hard to say no, even with a looming deadline. I also enjoyed a nice chat about trends in coffee processing technique—if you have not yet learned about co-ferments, you are behind the curve—with a representative of Roast Magazine, a coffee trade periodical. Sadly, I missed the latte art contest and passed on the educational panels, which I am sure were scintillating.

Instead, after wandering around for 90 minutes or so, I was glad to take a break…and enjoy a little coffee.