Edinburgh Coffee Festival - Counting down

We caught up with Martin Dare and Jennifer Coyle to talk about this year's Edinburgh Coffee Festival, taking place at Summerhall on 1 October.

How's this year's festival shaping up?
Things are looking great for our second Edinburgh Coffee Festival. We learned a lot from last year and have built on the things that people liked most. We've got a range of coffee, tea, chocolate and food stall holders involved, bringing different ideas and tastes to the event. We're also holding it at a larger venue, Summerhall, which will give everyone more room and means we can have different activities running in different spaces, including the outdoor courtyard.

You had big attendance numbers last year, what can people expect to see this time?
Peoples' interest and passion about coffee is growing more and more, so we're definitely hoping to attract lots of interest on 1 October. Edinburgh's coffee, chocolate and tea scene is pretty amazing - we're up there with some of the best in the UK - so people can expect high standards. Around 30 coffee stall holders including roasters will line the walls of Summerhall along with tea, chocolate and some artisan food stalls as well.

So can you name some names?

• We're not ready to name everyone just yet but... from Edinburgh and nearby you'll see coffee roasters Mr Eion, Williams & Johnson, Steampunk Coffee and Luckie Beans as well as Shibui Tea, Pekoe Tea and the Chocolate Tree. 
• From a little further afield you'll meet UK-based Carvetii Coffee, Atkinson's Coffee and Union Hand-Roasted Coffee. And we're also pleased to welcome Obadiah who roast coffee out of Bulgaria and Johan & Nystrom from Sweden. 
• But you definitely need to intersperse your coffee sampling with something to eat, so we're really pleased to have Tasty Buns, Pinnies & Poppies, The Ceic Company and The Marshmallow Lady.
• And of course there are others but we'll reveal more soon.

 What's the number one reason for going to the Edinburgh Coffee Festival?
Apart from a friendly and generally welcoming environment that supports local small businesses, I'd say the biggest draw card is the diversity of flavours all in one place. It doesn't matter how much you know about coffee, you'll be able to talk to passionate producers and try different coffees side-by-side, which makes understanding your own personal preferences easier.

We'll be checking in with Martin and Jennifer again soon to share more news about the next Edinburgh Coffee Festival.