What really went down at London Coffee Festival

With London No2 hot off the press, we headed to the capital for the UK’s biggest weekend in speciality coffee

The London Coffee Festival returned this May for another packed-out weekend of caffeination, latte art throwdowns and industry chatter. Our Indy Coffee Guide crew were exhibiting at the festival, selling the full collection of guides and merch, and sharing recommendations with fellow coffee lovers.

From meeting long-time readers and app users to chatting with baristas, roasters and cafe owners from across the country, the weekend was a reminder of just how vibrant and welcoming the UK coffee community is. Independent coffee shops and roasteries remain at the heart of that culture, and it was brilliant to see so many of the people and businesses featured in our guides represented across the event, as well as at pop-ups and takeovers happening throughout the city.

Festival-goers were also among the first to get their paws on the spanking new Indy Coffee Guide London No2, our freshly brewed second edition packed with 146 of the capital’s must-visit speciality coffee spots. Many of the cafes and roasteries featured in the guide were pouring at the festival, giving visitors the chance to experience exactly what makes London’s coffee scene so exciting right now.

We also loved seeing so many people download the Indy Coffee Guide app and share their latest discoveries with us. Whether through the guides, the app or conversations over a flat white, weekends like this remind us why indie coffee culture continues to thrive across the UK.

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Highlights we’re still thinking about from LCF

• Meeting flat white fanatic and Instagram coffee favourite Flat White Frank
• Discovering experimental coffees and wild fermentation profiles – examples included Las Flores from Hermanos roastery, a natural Colombian coffee with tropical fruity punch on the nose and complex floral notes on the palate, as well as the Kenyan Freeze Frame from Studio Black roastery, which showcased toasty chocolate orange, vanilla fudge and honeycomb flavours
• Carrying on the fun at Batch Baby’s after-party with natural wines, and La Marzocco’s after-party with vinyl sets, fried chicken and beers on tap
• The matcha trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The green sensation’s less-caffeinated-and-toastier sister, hojicha, is also having a moment
• Cinny buns and laminated pastries are still proving the best caffeine accompaniments
• Cold foam rules right now
• With delicious brews flowing everywhere we turned, we’d love to know: did anyone actually sleep over the weekend of LCF?

Didn’t get to the festival to pick up your copy of Indy Coffee Guide London 2? Grab it here.