The Istanbul Coffee Festival 2019 was held on September 19-22, on Küçükçiftlik Park in the district of Beşiktaş. It’s a yearly festival that invites coffee lovers from all over to see, taste, and learn all things coffee-related. Many coffee shops, roasteries, equipment brands, and other businesses set up stands to show off their best products. The participants can walk around and taste coffee from different providers. Besides that, there are workshops, seminars and a big stage with concerts.

I visited the festival on the second day. Unfortunately, that was the only rainy day, but that didn’t ruin it for the most fanatics of us. This year, I took more time to observe the people and the festival. I learned that:

1. Passion for coffee makes a difference

In almost any kind of work, a passionate person does it the best. When it comes to coffee lovers, some are lucky enough to make a professional career out of it – even though specialty coffee is not always the most profitable area. As I walked around the stands of the festival, I could notice the people who really love working with coffee. Inevitably, the quality of their work is affected by it.

If you plan to work with coffee, enjoy what you do. But I guess that could be said to any professional field. Sure, there are going to be rough days, sometimes it may seem that the bills won’t be paid, but the enthusiasm for what you do can help to persist through.

If you are a basic coffee drinker or amateur barista, welcome to the club! The world of specialty coffee is really cool, you will meet all kinds of different personalities that are passionate about all things related to this drink. Which leads me to my next point…

2. Coffee connects people

There was a moment at the festival, that we had made a circle around an espresso machine: Brazilians, Americans, Greeks, and Turks. Different worldviews, religions, and cultures, but all of us gathered around coffee.

It’s not without a reason that people frequently say to each other “let’s grab a coffee”, because so many friendships have started around a mug.

Coffee Shops are meeting places. Guests are welcomed with warm drinks. In traditional Turkish culture, coffee is even used by the groom-to-be to seal an engagement.

I would say I love the beverage, but I’m even more passionate about the people. That’s one of the reasons I’m starting this blog. Sure, coffee is awesome, but making friends is priceless.