Local Roasters, Coffee, and More — The San Diego Coffee Festival

(Courtesy of DeathtoStock)

Drip drip. The barista pours a bit of coffee into a plastic cup. In an expert motion, she swirls some creamer on top. You grab it and thank the barista before stepping out of the line. You lift the cup to your lips. Layers of sweetness greet you with a tinge of coffee. 

My first tasting at the annual San Diego Coffee Festival was a whiskey latte. 

I didn’t know what I was about to taste. Would it be too bitter? Would it leave an arid taste in my mouth? But the sweetness was just right, and later I went back for a pumpkin spice sampling from the same roaster. 

The San Diego Coffee Festival proudly returned to SD for the second year in a row. The two-day event hosted 25+ roasters on October 11th and 12th at Broadway Pier, a large glass building that juts out into the sea. 

(Back of Broadway Pier)

When I had first entered the building, I gazed over the venue. With a sense of communal celebration, gold foil letter balloons spelling out “COFFEE” proudly rested above a festive crowd. From Cafeina to Leleka Coffee, I perused the vendors, including a one-and-only “waterless” coffee roaster as well as an espresso chocolate bar. 

All offered coffee (and sometimes, tea) tastings: little plastic shot glasses or small paper cups sometimes emblazoned with the roaster’s logo, but always brimming with promise. 

Most were unsweetened and un-creamed. This, I told myself, was to allow connoisseurs to taste the true essence of each coffee. 

Some of the tastings were so strong, I hid myself in the crowd before tossing the sample (call me a weakling). Some coffees were very light, almost like coffee-infused air. Some brought together many flavors—fruity, earthy, nutty—all at once. 

(A tea tasting station)

All were different. 

As the event ticked by, lines grew longer. A couple passed by me, a tower of little stacked cups in their hands about a foot high. 

I meandered outside behind Broadway Pier. Evenly placed umbrellas and patio tables populated the pier as people munched casually on purchases from nearby food trucks. 

The hours had passed, and with a bag of local beans, a small stack of cups, and a couple of tea and espresso chocolate bars in tow, I finally made my exit, surprisingly non-jittery from all of my samplings, but definitely alert.  

Next year, I’ll be back for more.