There have been so many scammy food fests in Austin that I’m now skeptical of any food fest. My friend wants to go to [Austin Coffee Festival.](https://www.austincoffeefestival.com/about-austincoffeefestival) **Did anyone go last year?** Can anyone confirm that it won’t just be too many people crammed into Fair Market fighting over meager samples of hot coffee in late September/east October?
Edit: adding the bold. I posted because it sounds scammy. Responding that it sounds scammy is not helpful.
by AustinBikeThrowaway
15 Comments
2nd annual eh? Well, I guess you could start by searching insta/FB/etc for pictures or videos from the 1st annual.
Or contact some Austin coffee roasters ( Anderson’s or Texas Coffee Traders come to mind ) to see if they participate(d)
All these things are usually a pretty big let down
All these “festivals” are waste of time and money.
Due to there being little to no regulation or consumer protection in TX, Austin is a breeding ground for shitty food “festivals”. Organizers promote on social, sell tickets, and then throw together a handful of food trucks that may or may not have even existed prior to the “festival”. Because Austin is such a hot spot for festivals that ARE legit, people assume it must be good!
Just go to Fleet for good coffee
OP and the fest both sounds scammy.
It’s not just Austin, it’s scammy food fests everywhere. Several years ago, in another country, SO and I made a “no more food fests” rule after several 2-3 letdowns.
Austin needs a GrassFed Picnic!
I went. It was fun. Most of the big roasters in town were there. Merit, Medici, Little City, Creature Coffee.
It was a little pricey for what you got, but most of the companies had free samples of some kind. Handed out stickers etc. you could also buy merch from most of them.
It wasn’t too packed and I’ll probably consider going again. But I work in coffee and love it so I could be biased. Was it “the best” no… was it enjoyable? Yeah.
Pretty much every roaster in attendance is legitimately great. I personally worked for one, and my hands-down favorite is also on the list.
I didn’t attend last year, but very much wanted to. From the folks within the specialty coffee industry, last year was great. Probably not recommended for the average Sbux drinker, though.
Compared to other scammy festivals, this one has legs. I might try to go this year, too!
I went! It was really fun. Kinda crowded so you need to wait in line for some samples, but you can always walk around and find a relatively open booth. I got so much free coffee and stickers. I left after maybe an hour and half because I’ve alread had too much caffeine.
Edit: there’s all sorts of samples. Cold brews, flavored coffees, besides hot coffee. The samples were plenty, I actually didn’t see anybody run out of samples
I went. There’s way to beat the crowds. It’s not such a big facility that you can’t just circle back when a booth has a huge line. Lots of coffee and coffee related snacks. I wish there had been more espresso drinks but that whatever.
Head Roaster for Little City here; it’s a lot of fun with lots to drink and try. We had a blast showing off the coffees I roasted plus chatting with everyone.
Downside though; it’s hot, lots of people, and things run out early.
I went there last year, it had a few good vendors but overall it was a disappointing event, it was overcrowded, many of the vendors there didn’t have product on hand and the vendors who are giving out free coffee are few and far between so there are incredibly long lines for those
Safe yourself all that and do a coffee shop tour of Austin start with the following
1. Radio Cafe
2. Cosmic
3. Cherrywood Cafe
4. Epoch Cafe on North Loop
Now have fun!
If has the word fest I am avoiding it. Never forgot the crawfish fest