The London Coffee Festival 2016

Or as I decided to call it, "The Glastonbury of coffee". Seriously, who knew so many people digged coffee enough to visit a festival dedicated to it? Not me, that's for sure. We actually had to queue around the block before we were allowed inside and it became evident pretty quickly that we'd need to have our elbows at the ready.

The festival itself was held inside The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane (which explains why we were surrounded by so many obnoxious hipsters the whole time). 

The choice of venue was great; I really liked that the organisers had clearly thought about the kind of vibe they wanted, using both floors, splitting the stands into themed sections, letting live music play out and really using the space and style the rooms offered. 

The one downside was that the place was absolutely heaving and with limited space, it was difficult at times to actually a) move anywhere and b) get close enough to a stand to try out products or chat with the event staff.

There was a whole variety of stands to be seen; coffee from various parts of the globe (some of it doing good for humanity at the same time), monstrous coffee machines at eye-watering prices, dairy substitutes, coffee syrups, espresso martinis, hot chocolate (Hotel Chocolat officially owns my heart), old school roasteries, frozen yogurt, flavoured waters, baked goods (just look at those cakes!), juices, even a section for tea! As well as a whole load more *phew*.

Although I had a great time at the Monin counter, having a lengthy chat with the guys at the stand about my love of syrups and getting recommendations on which to try out next (and where to get the one-litre bottles at a discount), it was actually the vast array of dairy substitutes on offer that really took my interest. 

I really enjoyed trying out different types of almond milk (the one I tried from The Pressery has to be my favourite), coconut milk (the latte from the Alpro counter was all kinds of amazing) and a bunch of others that I wouldn't have even considered ordinarily. 

At the risk of sounding like a pompous a-hole, using 'milk' from nuts really does add something extra to your coffee. Especially when it's a creamy coconut flavour.

Although the tickets give you a four hour slot, it took about an hour or so for us to see what we wanted and to take it all in. The festival itself was a fun experience, and something a little different, though I now have a humongously burnt tongue from sampling all the steaming hot coffee. Booo.
~ Eleanor xo

The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL