THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
'You know, the last time we came here, we were still drinking cow's milk?'
We are at the annual London Coffee Festival. The yearly pilgrimage made by javaphiles here in London and much, much further abroad.
And it is true. As my wife points out, we are fairly recent converts to the oat milk revolution. Neither of us are vegan and in that, I suppose like most folk, I am a walking bundle of contradictions; insomuch as I just don't consume much dairy anymore.
I feel better and lighter for it and I just like it better. And it's better for the planet, with the production of a liter of oat milk involving just 48 liters of water compared to the 911 liters it takes to produce the same amount of cow's milk, you can enjoy the smoothness of your latte without feeling like you're contributing to planetfall.
'It's going to be interesting to see how much the coffee industry has moved on,' my wife adds.
That it is, especially in light of a recent exchange with a colleague who'd been to New York in autumn and reported that veganism and vegan alternatives are nowhere near as visible back home as they are here in the British capital. I find this odd in the way I find most conversations about America odd. It has been so long since I have lived on my native shores that these conversations describe a place to which I have as distant a connection as someone who has never lived there.
But that is another story.
Like London and its caffeinated inhabitants, the coffee festival has indeed moved on. I'm not saying there wasn't cow's milk available. I'm sure there was. And for sure there were artisanal meat and cheese stands and ice creameries aplenty. But 'dairy alternatives' was one of the buzz phrases of the festival. And sustainability was the overriding theme.
From award-winning Southeast London-based Moma, a company who have been doing instant oats (hot cereal for my compatriots) for years and have only made a foray into milk alternatives in the last few years, to recent Bristol-based startup Wild Oats, this year's event is all about serving high quality coffee complimented by milk that won't cost the earth.
So far, so climate-crisis conscious.
But let's take a step back for a second.
For those who've never been to the coffee festival, there is something magical about it.
It is this: although you pay a cover charge of £30 for a two hour slot, you then enter a roastery wonderland of olfactory bliss in which you can wander around picking up and drinking as much coffee as you want for free. I mean yes, it comes as part of the ticket price, but here's an American concept that stands the test of time: it's the ultimate bottomless cup of coffee! It's all you can drink!
And the various independent cafes, roasteries and startups that offer up their rich and tasty roasted bean beverages are as varied and tasty as they are numerous in this vast multi-story amusement park of java joy.
And we drank. Sure, you run the risk of your brain spinning like an F1 wheel for the rest of the evening, but so worth it!
Moma's flat white was delicious, but I have to say, Wild Oat's was creamy and divine. Although I did find myself wishing we had brought out reusable takeaway coffee cups with us as, for the first time, the festival featured a sanitation machine for reusable cups so that you could… well… reuse them all day. Festival cups were compostable, but less waste, obviously, is preferable.
Along with the various flatties, cappuccinos, lattes and espresso to sample, there are numerous live podcast events, barista competitions, and learning opportunities with topics on everything from Latte art to how to make a killer coffee cocktail. Of note this year in particular was Wildfarmed, a flour supplier that focuses on sustainability in every element of its process, stocks local restaurants, cafes and bakeries here in the UK, and sold us on their product by introducing us to the 'foccappucino', which is apparently a delicacy in Italy and surprisingly satisfying. It is as it sounds: you dip your focaccia in your cappuccino and experience a special kind of ecstasy.
The whole experience was rounded off delightfully with the pleasure of an espresso Martini in the VIP lounge utilising Smirnoff vodka and Pact espresso and shaken with Risky Business expertise.
And for afters, swirls of Oatly vanilla and tea flavored non-dairy ice cream with a dark chocolate Kit-Kat like finger and a wafer were simply scrumptious.
One bone to pick, and this is more with events in general in this day and age than with this festival in particular. It used to be that on the lowest pricing tier, you'd walk away from the coffee festival with a free tote bag and some bits and pieces that made you feel VIP-ish. Some artisanal mini-chocolate bars, a packet or two of uniquely flavored Tea Pigs peppermint and licorice flavored herbal or something. The tote bags this year were being sold for five pounds a pop with nothing in them! I'm not saying that as a creative journalist I didn't walk away with a free VIP bag and all the beneficial free stuff therein; and as a veteran of half-marathons I know the swag you walk away from big events with is generally getting thinner and meaner. And you could argue this means less waste and less stuff in general. All to the good. But I've got a feeling that for festival and event organisers it might have more to do with profit and margins. Is it any skin off their noses to make everyone feel a little special with a tote bag and some bits without charging a fiver for it? I can't imagine it is and I hope this isn't something Allegra is planning as established precedent for future events.
Like many things, the coffee festival is brilliant, but short (four days long) and only happens once a year, but if this whets your appetite, Allegra's next event stateside is the New York Coffee Festival in The Metropolitan Pavilion. If it's anything like London's event, it will be quite spectacular. Cheers until then!
