Every April, the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, East London is taken over for four days for London Coffee Festival! This year, Anushka Bedi, our Digital Marketing Executive and I (Laura McKitterick, Commercial Marketing Manager) headed over to immerse ourselves in everything this iconic event had to offer!
First Impressions: Matcha is making its mark at London Coffee Festival
Before we even reached the doors, we were met with a wave of green. PerfectTed, the UK’s leading matcha brand, had unofficially hijacked the entrance to the festival in the most theatrical way possible.
Their team in their bold green boiler suits paced the streets, handing out branded merch and matcha ready-to-drink cans before we even had a chance to scan our tickets. Clever, cheeky, and very effective!
Once inside, it became clear that matcha was no passing trend. From creative drink options to mentions in panel discussions, matcha made a strong statement about where consumer curiosity is heading.
Even the day after the festival, as we explored London, we couldn’t help but notice just how many people were sipping on green drinks. We joined the crowd and queued up at Jenki Bar in Spitalfields, one of London’s first cafés dedicated solely to matcha.
Matcha is gaining momentum here in Ireland too – so we have partnered with Matcha Ninja to provide our customers with a premium, ceremonial-grade matcha. Get in touch today if you would like to add this to your orders!
Coffee Wonderland in the Truman Brewery
Inside the festival, we dived headfirst into the Roasters Village, where some of the top roasters from across the UK served up incredible brews—each with its own origin story and flavour journey.
A few standout moments included:
- La Marzocco’s True Artisan Café, where the vibes were high thanks to a live DJ and a rotating schedule of café takeovers. Each one crafted unique drinks exclusively for festival-goers.
- “Meet China”, a brilliant feature spotlighting speciality coffee roasters from China and their latest innovations. It was fascinating to see how this region is evolving in the speciality space.
- Artist in Residence Mandy Johnson, whose colourful creations brought even more personality to the venue, blending visual art with coffee culture.
- And lastly, we sampled some chocolate-covered coffee beans, because how could we not?
Of course, we had to share a few coffee favourites from the floor:
- We tasted a delicious geisha at the Origin Coffee Roasters stand kindly served to us by Freda Yuan. We challenged Freda to describe herself as a coffee – can you guess what she said? Watch the video til the end here to find out!
- Iced coffee from Volcano Coffee Roasters – cold, smooth, and seriously refreshing. Here we got to meet founder, Kurt Stewart, who shared his story from starting as a chef to serving espressos from the footpath off Rosendale Road, to now establishing Volcano Coffee Works with a London coffee roastery, café and a team of 45 people. We also asked Kurt to describe coffee in one word… Check out the video here to see what he and others at the festival said!
Connections and Conversations
Beyond the coffee, this festival was a reunion. We ran into familiar faces from origin trips, suppliers and collaborators we’ve worked with across Europe and further afield.
A special shout-out to finally meeting Kiki from MTPak, our packaging partner for our recently launched premium coffee range. It’s always exciting to put a face to a name!
London Café Safari – Best Coffee Spots We Visited
No trip to London is complete without a café crawl. Anushka and I set off to discover some of the best coffee shops across the city.
- We even stumbled upon a café pop-up collaboration featuring Victoria Arduino, PerfectTed, Hardlines Coffee, Minor Figures, and Standart Magazine, complete with iced coffee, matcha, a live DJ, and a photo booth.
- WatchHouse – Stylish, spacious, and home to one of the best flat whites of the weekend.
- Origin Coffee Roasters were having coffee bar takeovers and we were able to taste coffee from The Milkman – an independent speciality coffee shop located in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
- We checked out the funky minimalist interior of % Arabica in Spitalfields.
- Got our matcha fill at Blank Street and Jenki!
- Finished off a sunny day of exploring with espresso soft serve ice cream at Rosslyn Coffee, London Wall.
From the vibrant matcha movement to the inspiring people behind every cup brewed, the London Coffee Festival 2025 was a celebration of innovation, connection, and culture. We left buzzing, not just from caffeine, but from the creativity and community that defines this industry. Whether it was discovering new trends, reconnecting with peers, or exploring London’s standout coffee spots, the experience was a true reminder of why we love what we do. Until next year, London!
Catch the highlights for yourself – watch our full recap video here.
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