EVENTS: 2017 Izmir Coffee Festival
On October 13-15, 2017, the 2nd annual Izmir Coffee Festival was held at the Izmir Arena. I recently recap our experience from the first ever Izmir Coffee Festival. The same organizers, Next Organization and Ateş Prodüksiyon, of private festivals (also planned the Izmir Chocolate Festival), have continued to produce an even better festival this year. Tickets were 38 TL each for a 1-day pass or 76 TL for a 3-day entry.
Like I mentioned, coffee is no stranger to Turkish culture. Turkish coffee is long steeped in Turkish tradition. Specialty coffee, however, is on the rise! Almost 10 years later, Turkey is home to lots of little startups for coffee roasting and small coffee shops serving not only filtered coffee but also options for pour-overs, Chemex, and AeroPress. In our neighborhood alone I can find 5-6 different coffee shops to enjoy my favorite way to drink coffee! Many of them do their own roasting too.
The first day of the coffee festival was PERFECT. The weather was a breezy, sunny 73 degrees. While last year was crowded and the layout of venues was too close together, this year the layout of shops were much improved giving the guests room to move with ease and vendors more room to work.More vendors were placed outdoors and the whole of the outdoor space better utilized.
Like last year, I anticipated most booths to represent coffee companies, and it proved to be true this year as well. Of course, we made sure to stop by Jason’s favorite afternoon workplace, RAF – Roast and Found, and enjoy our first latte from them. The soon to open LessOrdinary Coffee sold one of my favorites of the festival, a Coffee Sangria for 25 TL. I was surprised at the number of Istanbul representatives such as Arabica Trading House Roasters that service to coffee shops like the new Story Coffee in Istanbul. By far, the most intrigue coffee item at the coffee festival was the Nitro Brew coffee. This carbonated cold brew looks similar to beer in color, but definitely, keeps its taste!
Several small businesses sold miscellaneous items to give the guests some diversity. I met the owner of Basic Jewel again from last years festival. I love her simple yet unique design for pendants and earrings. A couple of new favorites were pastries from Leone Patisserie and Boulangerie and sweet delicious spread from Dulce La Leche in Assos, Turkey. Towards the back of the area, the festival provided an amazing play area for kids! Lounge chairs lined the coast so guest could relax with a gorgeous view of the Izmir’s bay. If you fancy learning more about coffee, the festival offered workshops and held seminars on different topics related to coffee.
When to go
For those who want to visit for the whole day, Saturday and Sunday would give you a full day of wandering the area and watching performers such as DJs, dance instructors, and sports instructors. The program rotates performers on a central stage with a large area to sit and enjoy your purchases and free coffee samples. But if you enjoy lesser crowds, go early the first day as well as first thing Saturday and Sunday morning!
List of activities and services:
– Catering, tasting, cupping
– concerts and music concerts, interviews (pre-registration for some interviews)
– Workshops (Pre-registration is available for some workshops.)
– Children’s play areas, adult play areas, close up shows
– Sports events, dance shows, latte show shows,
– Street art performances, contests, and surprise gifts
– Recreation areas
– Selfie area
We are excited to head back to the 2018 festival and see what they have in store for guest next year!
For more information:
Website: http://coffeefestivalizmir.com
Address: 1649 Sokak No: 107 Turan – Bayraklı / İZMİR
Telephone: 0 232 382 2 382 & 0 232 382 38 28
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