11-05-2025
Glasgow Coffee Festival drew record crowds this year
More than 2,000 visitors flocked to the Glasgow Coffee Festival, held over two sold-out days in April.
The festival, founded in 2014 by Lisa Lawson, is now Scotland's biggest coffee event and a key date in the UK's specialty coffee calendar.
(Image: Supplied)
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Thanks to the newly opened Clyde Market Halls, this year's event featured more exhibitors, workshops, and attendees than ever before.
They were treated to the final of the SCA UK Cup Tasters Championship, with Will Greavner, of Butterworths Coffee, crowned winner.
He will now represent the UK at the World Championships in Geneva this June.
Meanwhile, Cairngorm Coffee took home the title of Roast Hero, winning the peer-assessed competition against roasters from throughout Scotland.
The festival also celebrated a special milestone: the 40th anniversary of the espresso martini, marked with a session hosted by Bea Bradsell, daughter of the drink's legendary creator Dick Bradsell.
In spite of a difficult year for the global coffee trade, with green coffee prices hitting record highs, the festival continued to emphasise the importance of sustainability.
It remains completely single-use cup-free, due to partnerships with Borrow Cup, Reposit, and environmental charity Hubbub, part of a city-wide campaign to promote reuse.
Since adopting the policy in 2018, the festival has prevented tens of thousands of disposable cups from reaching landfill.
Coffee grounds from the festival were also collected and repurposed by Revive Eco, a Glasgow-based company which transforms coffee waste into sustainable alternatives.
Last week, the event was crowned Best Sustainable Event at the recent Scottish Event Awards.
(Image: Supplied)
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Lisa Lawson, founder of B Corp Dear Green Coffee Roasters, said: "We've built this festival to celebrate Scotland's incredible coffee scene, which continues to punch above its weight on the world stage, and to prove that events of this scale can be run responsibly.
"From composting and active travel to partnerships with social enterprises, it's all designed to show what's possible when you put values first.
"Sustainability is absolutely at the heart of everything we do."
Looking ahead, Lisa believes the festival offers many reasons to be hopeful for the future.
She said: "Prices are going up, and that's not something the industry can absorb without consequences.
"The global cost of raw coffee is at an all-time high.
"It's affecting producers, roasters, cafés — everyone in the value chain.
"But what I saw this weekend gives me hope.
"We had record numbers through the door, people asking the right questions, willing to taste new things, and hungry to learn.
"Glasgow's coffee culture is growing and evolving simultaneously.
"Meeting the people at the festival, I know this industry will survive and thrive — because so many people continue to do things properly, even when things get hard."
This year's festival was supported by sponsors including Dear Green, La Marzocco, Oatly, Mossgiel Farm, Brew It Group, Brewed By Hand, The Social Hub, Story Shop, and BWT.
