London’s biggest coffee festival is returning this weekend
Four days of espresso, latte art and dangerously high caffeine levels
The London Coffee Festival 2026 is no doubt the highlight for caffeine enthusiasts, with the annual takeover of The Truman Brewery returning from the 14th to the 17th of May, bringing with it four straight days of espresso, latte art, coffee nerd debates and enough free samples to chemically alter your heart rate for the foreseeable future.
Last year’s festival drew more than 22,000 visitors and 260 exhibitors, effectively turning London's Brick Lane into one giant, over-caffeinated playground. The 2026 edition is expected to top those numbers, which seems plausible given that Londoners now treat speciality coffee with roughly the same seriousness as wine.
The setup is part trade show, part consumer festival, part endurance test for people who think “just one more espresso” is a medically sound decision. Across the four days, more than 275 artisan coffee and gourmet food brands will be setting up shop inside the Truman Brewery, alongside street food vendors, cocktail bars, workshops, live demos and enough brewing equipment to bankrupt anybody who recently got into home coffee.
There’s also a very specific type of person this festival caters to perfectly. The kind of person who owns scales for measuring espresso shots. The kind of person who says things like “natural Ethiopian” without explaining further. The kind of person who has ruined instant coffee for themselves forever.
Even if you’re not deep into coffee culture, there’s still plenty to get stuck into. The festival’s bigger attractions return this year, including the Coffee Masters competition, where elite baristas basically treat coffee-making like an Olympic sport, and Latte Art Live, which turns pouring milk into strangely compelling performance art.
Then there’s the Roasters Village, which is essentially a giant tasting playground packed with independent coffee roasters sharing beans, brewing methods and stories from around the world. Elsewhere, Brew School and The Lab will host workshops and talks covering everything from home brewing techniques to wider industry trends, while cocktail masterclasses attempt to answer the question: what if coffee also got you drunk?
Importantly, the festival isn’t just for industry insiders anymore, either. While Thursday and Friday remain dedicated trade days for hospitality professionals, the weekend opens things up to the general public, which is when the whole event becomes a lot louder, busier and significantly more caffeinated.
Tickets start from £39.90, which initially sounds steep until you remember how much London coffee shops charge for a pastry and a pour-over these days. Plus, entry includes access to the major live events and experiences, alongside tastings, demos and samples throughout the festival.
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