Coffee is a global favorite: and while many cities worldwide might boast a great connection to the drink there’s something special about London. The capital boasts 3,718 coffee shops: with a huge variety of drinks and food and more on offer.
Specialty coffee, alternative milks, iced coffee and more are all popular with today’s consumers. But what else should we be looking out for?
The latest coffee trends
Opening tomorrow, the London Coffee Festival brings baristas, roasters, chefs and coffee shop operators together for four days to celebrate and showcase the capital’s vibrant and diverse coffee culture.
This year’s festival will feature more than 260 artisan coffee and gourmet food brands, demonstrations from world-class baristas, interactive workshops, competitions, street food, coffee-based cocktails, music and exhibitions.
Thursday and Friday are dedicated industry days: and that’s when attendees can expect to get the pulse of what businesses across the spectrum are seeing.
Free tickets for trade
“In coffee shops, some of the most exciting changes we’re seeing are within health and texture,” said Liv Warren, senior insight executive at Lumina Intelligence, who’ll be presenting the intelligence firm’s deep-dive on coffee shop menus at the festival.
“Consumers are scrutinizing the health factor of their purchases, and as items like coffees become increasingly part of ‘little treat culture’, consumers are also prioritizing treats that make them feel good.”
Functional beverages are booming across the food and drink industry: so it’s no surprise to see that creeping into coffee shop culture too.
“We’re seeing this in terms of functional add-ons, and a really widening range of alternative caffeine sources that goes well beyond your standard decaf options,” said Warren.
Furthermore, consumers’ thirst for something indulgent and creativity shows no bounds.
“Taste and texture are really allowing operators to show their creativity,” she continued. “We are seeing a lot of really textural options, especially coming from the US, which are trickling into the UK market. Think layered drinks, foams, crisps and chewy options to make your drink a more exciting experience.”
Insight
A key element of the festival is The Lab: a series of presentations and workshops for coffee professionals. Highlights include:
- The impact of rising prices (Thursday)
- Coffee culture around the world (Thursday)
- Improving workflow to heighten hospitality (Friday)
- Coffee shop menus (Friday)
- Exploring reverse osmosis in coffee brewing (Friday)
- The future of speciality coffee (Friday)
Then there's also:
- Brew School, brought to the festival by equipment supplier Brewed by Hand. This is a 45-minute journey through the world of coffee, featuring hands-on sessions that are perfect for anyone interested in exploring the rich flavours and artistry of the drink.
- Latte Art Live zone: Masterclasses and interactive sessions.
- Matcha focus: It might not be coffee, but matcha is also mighty! Exhibitors include Blendsmiths, Matcha and Beyond, GoMatcha, MoyaMatcha, Koyu Matcha and OMGTea.
- Sustainability becomes more important to the industry every year and, for the first time ever, all single-use cups at the festival must be fully compostable. Packaging supplier Decent is providing compostable single-use Decent x LCF branded PLA Hot Cups for exhibitors and consumers. The supplier has also teamed up with reusable cup brand Huskee, which will enable visitors to borrow a cup for use on the second floor of the festival and return it to a Huskee 'Borrow Bin'.
Feeling the pinch
Yet everyone knows that running a coffee shop is not easy.
Coffee shop operators might be enthusiastic about adding new options or exploring new avenues, but they know they have to be realistic.
“We can see that coffee and sandwich menu item counts have reduced by -11% between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, showing that operators are really trying to streamline and perfect what they’re doing,” said Warren.
“Value for consumers is now coming from these operators perfecting their offering rather than offering every item they can.”
Food fiesta
The London Coffee Festival with feature a dizzying array of food and drink options.
- Sponsored by coffee machine supplier La Marzocco, the Roasters Village will feature some of the best roasters in Europe.
- The True Artisan Café is a pop-up rotating coffee shop that has been created by La Marzocco to give independent operators the opportunity to showcase their brands and engage and educate the general public on their work and skills.
- Visitors can explore Chinese coffees as Lujiazui Coffee Festival, China’s largest outdoor coffee event, is showcasing Chinese brands under the theme Meet China.
- The Hyde Park Bar is the perfect place to relax and sip expertly crafted coffee cocktails while enjoying curated DJ sets from artists such as Arveene
- The London Coffee Festival Food Court brings together a host of exciting food concepts. These include 'king of sandwiches' Doms Subs, savoury and sweet waffles specialist Utter Waffle and Lebanese street food from BeyRoots.
- Visitors can also indulge in delicious Swedish cakes and pastries from Fika Bakery, and exceptional coffee from the Kaffe Bar, which are brought to the festival by Swedish roastery Löfbergs.
- For a lighter option, visitors could opt for an affogato made with barista blends from Califia Farms, the festival's official plant-based milk sponsor. Califia Farms will also be offering tastes of its brand-new flavours before they hit the shelves.
