Signature Experiences
Six formats that stand at every Coffee Festival. Not programme items but places — you go there, you stay, and you come back.
At a glance
Six places, one weekend
Every format has its fixed spot on the floor and its own hour when it is busiest. Below is what you do there — not what you look at.
01
Roaster Village
Roasteries side by side, each pouring its own preparation.
02
Cupping Lab
Bowls, break the crust, smell, spoon — led by Q graders.
03
Latte Art
Competition at the open bar, free slots for everyone in between.
04
Coffee Talks
Fifteen conversations in which the stage is allowed to disagree.
05
Brew School
Twenty-six workshops in which you brew yourself.
06
Music programme
Concerts and DJ sets from late afternoon, on the same floor.
The six formats
What stands at every festival
01
Roaster Village
The heart of the ground. Roasteries stand side by side, each pours its own brew, and nobody gets a bigger stand than their results justify. İstanbul 2024: 170 brands on 158 stands.
02
Cupping Lab
Sensory work without reverence. Bowls on long tables — break the crust, smell, spoon, and say what you taste, even if it is \u201ejam\u201c. Led by Q graders, open to anyone.
03
Latte Art
The loudest place at the festival. Competitions at an open counter, an audience in a half circle, and free slots in between where anyone can pour.
04
Coffee Talks
Fifteen conversations across four days. Roasters, producers, traders and baristas on one stage — with explicit permission to disagree. No panel ends in consensus.
05
Brew School
Twenty-six workshops where you brew yourself. Pour-over, portafilter, cold brew, water chemistry. Sign up on site the same day, no advance slots for trade visitors.
06
Music programme
From late afternoon the ground turns. Twenty-two concerts and eight DJ sets across four evenings — same ground, different light, same audience.
In figures
What actually takes place across four days
The six formats are not programme items but places — yet they have a size, and that can be stated. The figures come from İstanbul 2024 and are the benchmark for Dortmund.
26
Workshops
Brew School across four days — pour-over, espresso, cold brew, water chemistry.
15
Coffee Talks
Roasters, producers, traders and baristas on the same stage.
22
Concerts
Plus eight DJ sets spread across the four evenings.
170
Brands in the Roaster Village
On 158 stands at İstanbul 2024 — the highest figure in the festival's history.
A day on the floor
From the first grinder to the last set
What a typical festival day looks like at the existing venues — reference values, not a programme booklet. The Dortmund schedule appears on the programme page.
10:00
Doors open
The grinders are running; the Roaster Village pours from the first minute.
11:00
Cupping Lab
First round at the bowls. Anyone who has never broken the crust starts here.
13:00
Coffee Talks
The first of three or four rounds of talks that day, each around thirty minutes.
15:00
Brew School
Pour-over and espresso at open stations, sign-up in the morning of the same day.
17:00
Latte Art
Free slots at the bar; on Saturday the competition with the crowd in a semicircle.
19:00
Music
Same floor, different light: concerts and DJ sets into the evening.
Three ways to go
There is no wrong way across the floor
Some come to buy, some to learn, and some to drink good coffee for an afternoon. The floor is built for all three — the only difference is how much time you bring.
Looking around
The simplest way through the festival, and the right one for most people. You walk the aisles, stop where it smells interesting, and let someone explain what is in the cup.
- Roaster Village at your own pace
- Tastings included in admission
- Coffee Talks without registration
- Three to four hours are enough
Hands on
Anyone who has held the jug once sees latte art differently afterwards. The open formats need no prior knowledge and no registration — only a willingness to spill something.
- Open slots at the latte art counter
- Cupping Lab, led by Q graders
- Brew School, enrolment on site
- No prior knowledge needed
- Half a day to a full day
Trade visit
Thursday belongs to the sector. Anyone buying, comparing or looking for suppliers has the floor and the people to talk to largely to themselves that day.
- Separate admission on day one
- Access to the trade formats
- Ticket valid all four days
- Nine per cent of the audience
Latte art
The loudest place at the festival
Competitions at the open counter, the audience in a half circle, and between them free slots where anyone can hold the jug. It is the only area where people applaud regularly — and the only one where beginners and competitors use the same machine.
Picture strip
The six formats on the floor
Drag or swipe
Pictures
The formats on the ground
Photographs from İstanbul and Ankara. In Dortmund the same six formats carry the programme.