Coffee festivals are, above all, an incredible place to connect with customers, other industry professionals, and coffee enthusiasts. Since we do not (yet) have our own café, these events are the moment when we get direct contact with customers. We hear feedback, see reactions, and have real conversations about coffee.
Trade shows and the competitions held alongside them are also a great way to put our work to an honest test. We have jumped into coffee competitions at these events with confidence, and we have done quite well too, picking up a nice amount of recognition and medals *quietly pats ourselves on the back. :)
This year, for example, we placed second in the Nordics Best Roaster competition at the Nordic Coffee Festival, and at the Kahveista Parhain competition at Messukeskus we took first place in the light roast category. Check out the other awards here.
Richard and Lauri receiving the Nordics Best Roaster 2026 second place award.
Abroad, trade shows are also a very concrete way to grow the business. The Finnish market is relatively small and limited, and elsewhere in Europe the interest in high-quality specialty coffee is arguably a step or two ahead. These events offer a chance to find new B2B customers, build relationships, and increase visibility in a way that is hard to achieve otherwise.
Spring 2026 festival tour: different cities, different vibes
This year we built our own stands in Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, and Helsinki. While all of these events revolve around coffee, each city has a distinct character. Here are some of our thoughts and impressions from each one.
The Copenhagen Coffee Festival, also known as the Danish Coffee Festival, is compact and intimate. The focus is strongly on small roasteries, and you will not see many large, flashy brands. There are plenty of European roasters present, and the audience clearly consists of experienced and passionate coffee enthusiasts. Conversations often revolved around very light roasts, and the “Nordic style” roast profile is sometimes pushed to the extreme. Some visitors even found Good Life Coffee’s coffees slightly more developed than expected, with a few describing them as “cookie-like.” That said, many attendees were clearly looking for more exotic or funkier flavor profiles.
Top sellers at the event:
Los Magnificos Geisha, washed, Colombia
Rugali, natural, Rwanda
Photo: Lauri and Elina in Denmark.
The Nordic Coffee Festival in Gothenburg feels familiar but a bit more professionally oriented. Its location in the heart of Nordic coffee culture brings together industry people from places like Oslo, Copenhagen, and Malmö. The event is clearly roaster-focused, and the Nordics Best Roaster competition adds its own edge. In this environment, quality and consistency stand out, and discussions easily go deep into processing and roasting.
Top seller:
San Rafael, washed, Colombia
Photo: Aleksi and Richard at the Nordic Coffee Festival in Gothenburg.
The Amsterdam Coffee Festival is larger in scale. Alongside coffee, there are equipment manufacturers, plant milks, tea, and kombucha, yet the overall focus remains clearly on coffee. There are workshops across the spectrum, from latte art to roasting and brewing.
The audience is more diverse in our view. There are professionals, enthusiasts, and complete newcomers to coffee. This is reflected in demand. People are looking for a bit of everything: clean coffees, classic geishas, darker roasts and espresso, as well as more experimental options like anaerobic coffees and funkier flavor profiles. Even though these more unusual flavors are on the rise, it was great to see that our typical Good Life Coffee style of clean and classic coffees was extremely well received.
Top sellers:
Shyira Anaerobic Natural, Rwanda
San Rafael, washed, Colombia
The Helsinki Coffee Festival, on the other hand, feels like home to us in many ways. It is all about connections: familiar faces, regular customers, and a known but constantly growing coffee community. The atmosphere is warm and approachable. In Finland, taste preferences still lean more toward darker roasts, which shows in the questions people ask. At the same time, it is great to see how coffee culture continues to evolve year by year.
Top sellers:
Gisheke, natural, Rwanda
Shantawene, natural, Ethiopia
Photo: Aleksi at the Helsinki Coffee Festival.
What did we learn from these events?
One of the clearest trends is the growing interest in experimental processing methods. Anaerobic, natural, and other funkier coffees attract a lot of attention, especially in Central Europe. At the same time, there is a countertrend: clean, classic, and balanced coffees stand out in a positive way.
For us, this has been a good reminder to keep our own direction clear. There is no need to do everything, even if trends are pulling in multiple directions.
Another interesting observation is buying behavior. More and more people are purchasing coffee as whole beans, which suggests that home brewing setups are already in good shape. Coffee as a hobby is clearly deepening, and it shows both in the questions people ask and the choices they make. Price awareness has not disappeared, but people are willing to pay for quality.
Top sellers and what they reveal
Different coffees stand out at different events, and that says a lot about local preferences.
In Copenhagen, for example, the natural-processed Rugali and the elegant, lightly citrusy Los Magnificos Geisha performed well. In Gothenburg, San Rafael was the clear favorite. In Amsterdam, interest was split between two worlds: Shyira Anaerobic Natural answered the demand for funkier profiles, while San Rafael and more classic profiles held their ground. In Helsinki, fuller-bodied Gisheke and Shantawene rose in popularity.
What all of these have in common is simple: good coffee always works, but the emphasis varies. In one place, people appreciate extreme acidity and lightness, while in another they look for sweetness, structure, or something entirely new and surprising.
Why does spending time at trade shows matter? They force you to look at your work from the outside. They show where you stand, what others are doing, and where the industry is heading. At the same time, they help reinforce what makes your own approach unique.
Are you planning to attend any of these events next year?
