This year’s festival will bring together over 200 key players from the coffee industry
Bucharest Coffee Festival takes place between March 21 and 23, at Hala Laminor (256 Basarabia Blvd).
The 2025 edition will bring together hundreds of coffee specialists, from Romania and abroad (Italy, Greece, Denmark), as well as passionate coffee and related products enthusiasts.
At the festival, held on an area of about 5000 square meters, over 200 national and international coffee producers, processors, distributors, and importers, businesses operating in the HORECA sector: cafes, artisanal roasters, ToGo coffee shops etc.
The event is organized by Barista School, First Coffee, and SCA – Romania Chapter (Specialty Coffee Association), and its first edition took place in 2011. It is considered the first festival in the field, held in Central and Eastern Europe and the 2nd in Europe, after the one in London.
It aims to promote specialty coffee, bringing to the public’s attention the main types of coffee depending on the variety of the cultivated plant (arabica), the major players in the industry, roasters, cafes, and small entrepreneurs. Through the national Barista competitions, the Bucharest Coffee Festival has popularized specialty coffee in Romania, the profession of coffee specialist, and practically increased the coffee field, thus becoming the largest platform for promoting the industry.
The 2025 edition will also feature importers and distributors of related products: coffee-making accessories, sweeteners, sweets, professional coffee machines, etc.
Bucharest Coffee Festival brings together professionals in the field and amateurs nicknamed home baristas, due to their passion for the various ways of preparing coffee.
Experience Over 500 Coffee Varieties
At the Bucharest Coffee Festival, visitors will have the opportunity to taste and purchase a wide range of coffee-based products, prepared using various methods, including espresso, filter coffee, V60, and freshly roasted pot coffee.
Both coffee professionals and enthusiasts will have access to state-of-the-art machines, brewing tools, and the latest coffee gadgets.
Live Demonstrations & Expert Insights
Throughout the three-day festival, attendees can enjoy live demonstrations featuring: brewing techniques, coffee mixology (coffee-based cocktails and alcoholic blends), latte art showcases.
Networking & Business Opportunities
Those interested in the coffee industry can explore partnerships and business opportunities in a dedicated networking lounge, where members of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) will be present.
Additionally, the SCA Lounge will host workshops on coffee production, distribution, and preparation, offering valuable insights for professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs alike.
Conference Featuring Brazilian Expertise
On Friday, March 21, at 4:00 PM, the conference “Challenges and Opportunities in Specialty Coffee Production in Brazil” will take place. The event will be supported by Edgard Bressani (Brazil), a distinguished professional with expertise in law, business, marketing, and journalism—widely regarded as an “ambassador” of Brazilian specialty coffee.
Bressani is the founder and CEO of a leading coffee export company, offering a diverse selection of green coffees to over 30 countries. He is also a board member and former president of a specialty coffee association and serves as an ambassador for Robusta Amazonico coffee.
Spending over 180 days a year abroad, Bressani travels across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the USA, delivering presentations, representing coffee farms, and conducting cupping sessions for clients and prospects. He is also the author of “The Barista Guide” (6th edition), a widely recognized resource in the industry.
Three National Competitions Dedicated to Baristas
As in every edition, Bucharest Coffee Festival will host national competitions for coffee professionals, bringing together top specialists from across the country, representing leading specialty coffee companies and cafés.
The 2025 competition lineup includes:
• National Latte Art Championship
• Coffee in Good Spirits (CIGS) – National Final
• National Barista Championship
These competitions are organized by Barista School and First Coffee, in partnership with SCA – Romania Chapter (Specialty Coffee Association), the world’s most renowned coffee association.
The winners of each competition will go on to represent Romania at the World Championships in Geneva (June 26-28, 2025) and Milan (October 17-21, 2025).
A panel of esteemed coffee professionals from Romania, Greece, Turkey, and France will oversee the competitions.
The jury president, representing World Coffee Events, is Michael McCauley—founder of SCA France, global brand ambassador, and trainer at Cafés Richard.
Other distinguished jury members include:
• Stavros Lamprinidis (Greece) – Barista & Bartending Consultant & Trainer, and world champion in the cezve (kettle) category.
• Michalis Dimitrakopoulos (Greece) – World Champion in the Coffee in Good Spirits category.
• Serif Basaran (Turkey) – A long-time supporter of the festival, first participating as a competitor in Romania’s first official barista competition (2010) and returning annually ever since.
The National Latte Art Championship highlights artistic expression and challenges baristas to showcase their creativity and technical skills.
Competition Description: For the preliminary round of the championship, baristas produce a single creative latte design at the Art Bar, then move on to the World Latte Art Championship (WLAC) stage, to create two identical lattes and two identical designer lattes. The scores from the Art Bar and preliminary rounds are combined, and the top 12 competitors advance to the semi-final round. During the semi-final round, competitors make two matching sets of different free-pour latte designs and one matching set of free-pour macchiatos. The top six competitors from the semi-finals advance to the final round, where they make two different free latte designs, pour-over and designer lattes.
The competitor with the highest score in the final round is declared the World Latte Art Champion. Barista specialists are evaluated based on: visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance.
In Romania, the ART Bar stage will take place at Hala Laminor. The winner will represent Romania at WLAC 2025, held in Geneva from June 26 to 28, 2025.
Coffee in Good Spirits
The National Coffee & Alcohol Championship celebrates the art of mixology, challenging baris-tas and bartenders to craft innovative coffee-based cocktails. From the classic Irish Coffee (whiskey and coffee) to unique, modern cocktail creations, this competition showcases exper-tise in balancing coffee and alcohol.
Competition Format
✅ Spirit Bar Round. The first stage, known as the Spirit Bar, evaluates competitors based on
originality in combining coffee, alcohol, and other ingredients, professionalism and hospitality,
work method and efficiency, presentation, drink concept, and overall execution;
✅ Preliminary Round
Competitors must create four drinks: two identical hot coffee & alcohol-based designer drinks
and two identical cold coffee & alcohol-based designer drinks.
The highest-scoring competitors from the preliminary round advance to the final round.
✅ Final Round
Finalists are required to prepare: two Irish coffees, two coffee & alcohol-based designer drinks.
The competitor with the highest score in the CIGS final will be crowned National Champion and will represent Romania at the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS) in Geneva, from June 26 to 28, 2025.
Spirits Zone, a new experience at the Bucharest Coffee Festival
One of the exciting additions to the 11th edition of the festival is the Spirits Village, an exhibition space dedicated to alcoholic beverages and spirits. Here, visitors can taste and purchase an exclusive selection of products, showcased by leading producers and distributors.
For the first time in Romania, the festival will feature a dedicated Espresso Martini bar, celebrating the world-famous coffee cocktail.
A Perfect Pairing: Coffee & Delicious Food
The Bucharest Coffee Festival 2025 will also feature an expansive street-food zone, where mobile restaurants will serve a variety of gourmet street food, alongside alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Festival-goers can enjoy: angus beef burgers & slow-cooked pork, pizza & a selection of meats, Taiwanese & Vietnamese cuisine, artisanal ice cream & Szekler cozonac (Kürtőskalács), the famous Sicilian cannoli.
For those craving Middle Eastern flavors, traditional Turkish, Lebanese, and Syrian delicacies will also be available. And for craft beverage enthusiasts, the festival will offer a selection of craft beers to complement the experience.
A Space for Children’s Creativity
For the first time, the Bucharest Coffee Festival will feature a dedicated space where children can explore their artistic talents through a variety of creative workshops, organized in collaboration with Creative Arts .
Young participants will have the chance to: create artwork using coffee beans, play with coffee-scented slime, try punch needle embroidery (a fun and easy needlework technique)
At the Kids Area, visitors of all ages can also enjoy henna tattoos and African hair braid.
This new addition ensures a fun and interactive experience for children while their parents enjoy the festival.
Bucharest Coffee Festival 2025 – Visiting Schedule
📍 Location: Hala Laminor, 256 Basarabia Blvd.
🕘 Opening Hours:
Friday & Saturday, March 21-22: 09:00 – 19:00
Sunday, March 23: 09:00 – 18:00
🎟️ Entry: Access to the festival is based on tickets and subscriptions, available for purchase at the entrance or online at:
➡ More.ro – https://www.more.com/ro-ro/tickets/happenings/festival/bucharest-coffee-festival/
Festival Website – bucharestcoffeefestival.com
Ticket Prices
🎟️ Single-Day Tickets:
Friday, March 21: 20 lei/person
Saturday & Sunday, March 22-23: 25 lei/person
🎫 Full Festival Pass (All 3 Days): 50 lei/person
Event Organizers
The Bucharest Coffee Festival 2025 is organized by Barista School, First Coffee, and SCA – Romania Chapter (Specialty Coffee Association)
Website: https://bucharestcoffeefestival.coffee/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BucharestCoffeeFestival
Instagram: bucharestcoffeefestival
Tik Tok: bucharest.coffee.f
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Alexandra Dinu, [email protected], 0722. 233.114
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