Kent Coffee Festival 2021 - Full Steam Ahead
The mind behind Garage Coffee, Luke Underdown is stirring up the county’s caffeine scene with the launch of the Kent Coffee Festival 2021 as part of Canterbury’s boing! International Family Festival on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August
If you’re looking for a fun day out for all the family this August bank holiday with a shot of coffee and culture thrown in then the new Kent coffee festival might just be for you!
The Kent Coffee Festival will take place at the Gulbenkian theatre at the University of Kent, Canterbury as part of the boing! International Family Festival on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August. It will celebrate all things coffee, providing fresh inspiration, tips and ideas for coffee enthusiasts. Visitors will also be able to take in boing!, a free-to-enter festival, featuring the very best in theatre, dance, films and fun for all the family.
The first Kent Coffee Festival, in partnership with headline sponsors La Marzocco, will open exclusively for trade visitors on Friday 27th August from 12pm until 5.30pm at The Gulbenkian theatre at the University of Kent, Canterbury. On Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August the festival will open its doors to the public from 10am until 5pm with the event expected to attract in the region of 1500 coffee lovers.
A dynamic line-up of exhibitors and attractions will showcase new ideas for delivering the ultimate coffee experience. Attractions include:
A show stopping Latte Art Zone
A Coffee Roaster Zone, where you can discover the ultimate single origin or the perfect blend
An Espresso Martini Bar allowing you to slip away from it all, sit back and sip.
A speaker stage hosting a series of lively talks and interviews from scaling up your coffee business to tips on launching a trailblazing career in the coffee world
Some of the exhibitors confirmed to appear at the festival include:
La Marzocco, Glebe Farm Foods, Ecoffee Cup, Curve Roasters, Nightingale Cider, Garage Coffee, John Street Beverage, Henny and Joe’s, Bean Smitten, Simply Ice Cream, Two Birds Cold Blend, Coldblow Coffee, Debonair Tea, Pelicano Coffee Co, Corban Coffee Ltd and BWT UK. Milk will be provided by sponsors Northiam Dairy and milk alternatives by Oatley.
Q&A WITH ORGANISER LUKE UNDERDOWN
Hi Luke, we are so excited to hear about the first ever Kent Coffee Festival but first let’s hear abut you! How did you first get into roasting coffee?
Whilst I was studying at uni, I started to go on the journey of learning about coffee – working in the coffee shop on campus. I was fascinated by the process, but didn’t know a huge amount about it, so started exploring the coffee scene in London. When I came back to Canterbury, I soon realised there was a distinct lack of decent coffee and after a couple of years working in different jobs, I saw there was a gap in the market for coffee roaster that is really passionate about their product. I wrote a business plan, and approached the local council for start-up funding, which was successful and went and bought my first roaster – without a clue how to use it! So I watched lots of videos, visited multiple roasterys and learnt the craft, with a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve. And the rest, as they say, is history!
Can you remember where you were when the coffee bug first hit you?
When I explored the industry further, and attended events like the London Coffee Festival, my eyes were really opened and started to discovered that coffee could actually taste of different things – and that was ok! I remember my mind being blown when I had one of my first Kenyan coffees and it just tasted like strawberries and cream. Remarkable right?! Even now, we always look for new coffees to get into the roastery which will surprise and inspire people.
Your success has seen you move from your garage to the high street in Canterbury, what’s next for the brand?
It’s been such a delight to build a presence in my home town, and get such a positive response. We had a big move in November 2019 when we left our first shop on Jewry Lane and moved to Sun Street, but it’s gone really well. So 2020 is all about getting our new shop firmly established on the speciality coffee map, and with that growing our amazing wholesale customer base. And of course, we are delighted to be the creative team behind the Kent Coffee Festival 2020!
For coffee aficionados, is there a trend that people should watch out for?
Sustainability is huge for 2020 and beyond. Over the next 12 months, we’re committing to making all packaging in store fully compostable and biodegradable, but we still have a long way to go and everyone needs to play their part, not least the local authorities. We’re also encouraging people to make really good coffee at home by running home brew classes in our Whitstable training hub. We demonstrate how affordable it can be to make great coffee, without the need for any expensive equipment or relying on a Nespresso machine! On the coffee side of things, there are some incredible emerging markets and over the last couple of months have tried some delicious beans from Uganda, China and Democratic Republic of Congo – so watch this space!
On to the Kent Coffee Festival itself, how did it all come about?
It goes back to why I started a coffee business in the first place, because I love coffee and want it to be as accessible as possible! The festival is going to be a huge celebration of everything that is great in the coffee industry, so if you’re interested in coming along to learn a bit more without any barriers to entry – then it’s perfect. But also, I think it’s important to have an industry element to the show, to give local businesses the opportunity to come along and learn about how they can make coffee a part of their business. Whether you’re an established coffee shop that is looking to keep things fresh, a restaurant that wants to include great coffee as part of it’s service or want to find out more about starting a coffee business in Kent. It’s so important we have this platform for people to come and learn and share ideas.
We notice there are separate day for trade visitors on the 27th, while the 285th and 29th are for consumers, why is that?
We know from all the customers that come and see us in our shops that there is a real thirst for knowledge around coffee, not just from baristas. There is so much to enjoy and talk about, the appeals to both audiences. Also, we have had so many wholesale customers come on board with us who come from a completely different background, and want to get into coffee, so the public day is an opportunity for anyone to come along and learn a bit more about this fantastic industry.
So, what can people expect from the festival? Do you have to be a coffee enthusiast to enjoy it?
It will probably help if you like coffee! It’s a celebration, we have so many great producers in Kent, so will be wonderful to have them all under one roof and would encourage anyone, no matter how much you know about coffee, to come along a soak up the atmosphere (and caffeine). There will be so many stories to be heard, and the talks and workshops we’ll be putting on are going to be a great forum for people to just get involved.
Is there one particular element you are looking forward to most at the festival?
I’m very excited about the competition element of the festival, because by Saturday afternoon we want to crown a Kent Barista Champion! We haven’t quite pinned down how it’s going to run, but the conversations we have been having are very exciting. I also can’t wait to try all the coffee in the Roaster’s Zone, that will be delicious I’m sure!
A Roaster Zone!? Sounds epic! What other Zones are there?
We have the main exhibition with producers and suppliers from across Kent and beyond, all with something to do with the coffee industry. The exhibition will be host to an artisan food village with some of the best local producers as well as a Coffee Roaster Zone, with a selection of roasters all armed with an espresso machine to give attendees the opportunity to taste their coffee and have a chat. Then in the concourse, we have a Latte Art Zone, where there will be presentations and talks about milk and dairy alternatives also pouring some top notch latte art. Upstairs there will be a VIP Martini Bar, with seating overlooking the main exhibition. In the cinema, we’ll be putting together a range of talks and workshops from some really interesting industry professionals. The theatre will be host to our competition, with details to be revealed very soon and finally the Café Stage will host our exhibitor presentation zone giving exhibitors the chance to showcase their products in between performances from local artists curated by the Gulbenkian.