 | This article needs to be updated.(May 2021) |
CoffeeCon is a festival for coffee enthusiasts. CoffeeCon travels to major coffee cities in the United States. It was created by coffee author and video producer Kevin Sinnott, [1] [2] who wrote the book The Art & Craft of Coffee and produced a how-to video called Coffee Brewing Secrets.
While working on specialized projects, Sinnott noticed several industry business-to-business coffee events such as the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the National Coffee Association. While some local coffee shops were holding brewing seminars, there were simply no large scale festivals exclusively for coffee consumers. He decided to turn his book and his video into a live event. He created CoffeeCon as a place where coffee enthusiasts could taste samples from regional coffee roasters side-by-side, learn about coffee from national and local coffee experts and attend coffee topic classes on almost every brewing method. He hosts the event and calls it a coffee meet-up.
The first CoffeeCon was held on February 25, 2012, and started with a grant for the local tourism commission in Warrenville, IL. [3] [4] [5] It attracted over 1,000 consumers. The second event was held on May 4, 2013, again, in Warrenville, IL [6] [7] [8] In 2014, Sinnott decided it was time to take the show on the road. His first stop was Chicago on April 12, 2014, at the Zhou B Art Center. [9] [10] He wanted to add art elements to enhance the coffeehouse flavor of the event as well as a Writer's Roundtable Panel to discuss the topic of new media writing. The next stop was San Francisco on July 26, 2014, at Terra Galleries. [11] [12] [13]
CoffeeCon LA was held on November 8, 2014, at Mack Sennett Studios in Silver Lake. Mack Sennett was a silent movie director and produced the KeyStone Cops. Kevin Sinnott stated "It was like a coming home." I believe Mack would be proud that another Sinnott was at work in his studio. CoffeeCon cited Mack Sennett Studios historic connection with CoffeeCon's founder.
CoffeeCon NYC was held on March 7, 2015.
CoffeeCon Chicago occurred on July 25, 2015.
On January 27–28, 2017, CoffeeCon held its first ever, multi-day convention. The event was held at the Seattle Center Armory, in Seattle, Washington. [14]
| Event | Date | Location | Approximate attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| "CoffeeCon 2012" | February 25, 2012 [15] | Warrenville, Illinois [15] | 1,000+ [16] |
| "CoffeeCon 2013" | May 4, 2013 [6] | Warrenville, Illinois | Approximately 2,000 [17] |
| "CoffeeCon 2014 - Chicago" | April 12, 2014 [9] | Zhou B Art Center Chicago, Illinois | |
| "CoffeeCon 2014 - San Francisco" | July 26, 2014 [11] | Terra Galleries San Francisco, California | 700+ [18] |
| "CoffeeCon 2014 - Los Angeles" | November 8, 2014 [19] | Mack Sennett Studios Silverlake, California | |
| "CoffeeCon 2015 - New York City" | March 7, 2015 [20] | Broad Street Ballroom New York City, New York | |
| "CoffeeCon 2015 - Chicago" | July 25, 2015 [21] | Morgan Manufacturing Chicago, Illinois | |
| "CoffeeCon 2016 - Los Angeles" | January 30, 2016 [22] | Magic Box LA at The Reef Los Angeles, California | |
| "CoffeeCon 2016 - New York City" | June 4, 2016 [23] | Industry City Brooklyn, New York City | 1,000+ [24] |
| "CoffeeCon 2017 - Seattle" | January 27–28, 2017 [14] | Seattle Center Armory Seattle, Washington | |
| "CoffeeCon 2017 - Los Angeles" | February 25–26, 2017 [25] | Magic Box LA at The Reef Los Angeles, California | |
| "CoffeeCon 2017 - Chicago" | October 7–8, 2017 [26] | Revel Space Chicago, Illinois |
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career.
Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is characterized by its small serving size, typically 25–30 ml, and its distinctive layers: a dark body topped with a lighter-colored foam called crema.
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker at Seattle's Pike Place Market initially as a coffee bean wholesaler. Starbucks was converted into a coffee shop serving espresso-based drinks under the ownership of Howard Schultz, who was chief executive officer from 1986 to 2000 and led the aggressive expansion of the franchise across the West Coast of the United States.
Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet's intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected. Asian palm civets are increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this purpose.
BayCon is the San Francisco Bay Area's longest-running fan-run speculative fiction convention. It was held over Memorial Day weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, California but moved to July 4th, Independence Day. BayCon draws many attendees from throughout California and also as far away as Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. The most recent BayCon was held from Saturday, July 1, through Tuesday, July 4, 2023, in Santa Clara, California. The next BayCon is scheduled for July 4-7, 2025.
Peet's Coffee is a San Francisco Bay Area-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer owned by JAB Holding Company via JDE Peet's. Founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California, Peet's introduced the United States to its darker roasted Arabica coffee in blends including French roast and grades appropriate for espresso drinks. Peet's offers freshly roasted beans, brewed coffee and espresso beverages, as well as bottled cold brew. In 2007, Peet's opened the first LEED Gold Certified roastery in the United States. Peet's coffee is sold in over 14,000 grocery stores across the United States.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster and retailer based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The chain's flagship café and roastery opened in 1999. Three other cafes, a roastery and a tasting annex have since opened in Portland, as well as locations in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles,. Stumptown is owned by Peet's Coffee, which in turn is owned by JAB Holding Company. The company was an early innovator with cold brew coffee in nitro cans and have continued to develop other cold brew product innovations.
The World Barista Championship (WBC) is an annual barista competition operated by World Coffee Events for the title of World Barista Champion. The competition is composed of the winners of the national barista championships, which are operated by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) chapters, or an approved, independent, non-profit national body. First held in 2000, the event is hosted in a different city every year. The most recent edition in 2023 was in Athens, with the 2024 edition scheduled to take place in Busan, South Korea.
The United States Barista Championship (USBC), is an annual American coffee-brewing competition designed to evaluate baristas on their skills in espresso-based drink preparation and service. Competitors prepare and serve three courses of espresso-based beverages consisting of straight espressos, milk beverages, and signature drinks. They are then scored on taste, presentation, and technical proficiency. The winner represents the United States in the World Barista Championship.
Two Brothers Brewing Company is an independently owned Illinois-based microbrewery founded by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel in 1996. The brothers brought their knowledge of different brewing styles to the Chicago craft brew market after living in Europe and experiencing the variety of beers available there. Jim and Jason started the business using bulk milk tanks converted into fermenters that were donated to them by their grandfather who was a retired dairy farmer. Two Brothers Brewing has now been in business for over 20 years and has opened multiple locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as one in Arizona.
Keurig is a beverage brewing system for home and commercial use. The American company Keurig Dr Pepper manufactures the machines. The main Keurig products are K-Cup pods, which are single-serve coffee containers; other beverage pods; and the proprietary machines that use these pods to make beverages.
The AeroPress is a manual coffeemaker invented by Alan Adler, founder of AeroPress, Inc. It consists of a cylindrical chamber, and a plunger with an airtight silicone seal, similar to a syringe. Ground coffee beans and water are steeped inside, then forced through a filter at the bottom of the chamber by pressing the plunger down through the chamber. It is capable of brewing highly concentrated coffee, which the manufacturer describes as "espresso style", but can also be used to brew filter strength coffee, or cold brew coffee.
Third-wave coffee is a movement in coffee marketing emphasizing high quality. Beans are typically sourced from individual farms and are roasted more lightly to bring out their distinctive flavors. Though the term was coined in 1999, the approach originated in the 1970s, with roasters such as the Coffee Connection.
James Alexander Hoffmann is an English barista, YouTuber, entrepreneur, coffee consultant, and author. Hoffmann first came to prominence after winning the World Barista Championship in 2007 and has since been credited as a pioneer of Britain's third-wave coffee movement. Hoffmann has published three books, including The World Atlas of Coffee, amassed a significant following on YouTube, started several businesses, including the specialty coffee roaster Square Mile Coffee Roasters, and consulted for several coffee ventures.
The World Brewers Cup is an annual international coffee brewing competition organized by World Coffee Events, an organization founded by the Specialty Coffee Association. The stated goal of the competition is to showcase the craft and skill of filter coffee brewing by hand, promoting manual coffee brewing and quality of service. Contestants qualify for the international competition by winning their respective national championships. As of 2019, there were approximately 40 participating national organizations. The annual location of the event is determined by the World Coffee Events organizing committee, and is typically held in conjunction with the World Barista Championship, the World Coffee Roasting Championship, and the World Latte Art Championship. The first World Brewers Cup was held in 2011 in Maastricht, Netherlands. The 2022 WBrC was held in Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
La Colombe Coffee Roasters is an American coffee roaster and retailer headquartered in Philadelphia. Founded in 1994, the company has cafés in locations including Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington D.C. In 2023, it was acquired by Chobani for $900 million.
Sprudge is an American blog founded by Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman and based in Portland, Oregon, focusing on "coffee news and gossip".
Sudden Coffee were an specialty instant coffee manufacturer based in San Francisco, California, USA. It was founded by Joshua Zloof and Kalle Freese in 2015. The company closed in 2020.
Public Domain Coffee is a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. Coffee Bean International opened the cafe in 2010.
Ghost Note Coffee is a coffee shop on Capitol Hill, in Seattle, Washington. Christos Andrews and Lee Hampton opened the coffee shop on Bellevue Avenue on March 14, 2017.
