Queen City residents will be drinking coffee for a great cause this weekend when the ninth annual Cincinnati Coffee Festival returns to Music Hall.
Inside the festival, attendees will find more than just java when the party kicks off at 9 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday. Over 60 vendors are on hand to provide samples of the region’s best coffee, tea, chocolate and more alongside live music, a latte art competition, several seminars, various demonstrations — like a potter making wheel-thrown mugs or an artist who paints with coffee — and plenty more.
The event, which is produced by and sends proceeds to the Ohio River Foundation, focuses on environmental activism alongside its outstanding coffee.
“We’re dedicated to protecting water quality all over the Midwest. And we do a lot of repairing work, taking out invasive species, some advocacy work. This year, we’re focused on reclaiming over 1,000 acres of land and turning it all into pollinator habitats,” said Judi Cogen, the festival’s director. “You can’t have great coffee without great water.”
And Cincinnati has plenty of it, given that WalletHub ranks the Queen City as one of the best cities in the country for coffee lovers — including our fair city being No. 2 nationally for coffee shops per capita. With that in mind, it’s no wonder one of the country’s biggest coffee festivals takes place right here.
“We’ve been holding this event for almost ten years, and thousands of people come every year … I think one of the great things about this festival is the different shops and roasters are willing to meet you where you are,” Cogen said. “So if you want to get into where the beans are grown and how they’re harvested, they’ll go there with you. If you just want to taste a cup of coffee and see if you like it, that works too. There’s something for everyone.”
One of the more interesting ways the Ohio River Foundation helps out the local community is through education. For example, a local program called “Mussels in the Classroom” teaches students about freshwater mussels, a highly endangered species, and even allows the children to take care of the creatures.
“They take the kids down to tributaries and have them stand in the water with fish and other things … and then they bring in a tank of mussels to the classroom, where the kids take care of them for two weeks and get to watch what actually happens to them in the water. It’s really interesting stuff, and the kids love it,” Cogen said.
She is thankful to host the event inside Music Hall’s ballroom, which is “gorgeous and lends that special coffee shop feel to a large festival,” and is glad that several vendors have launched successful businesses from popping up at the event. Really, though, she just wants people to enjoy great coffee.
“I had a friend of mine call me the other day saying ‘Judy, how did I not know I had been drinking bad coffee for all those years? It’s life-changing’ … and that’s what we’re here for,” she said. “This is coffee, not neuroscience, you know? It should be something easy to enjoy. Whether you’re an everyday coffee drinker or a never coffee drinker, I just want people to say, ‘I bought some great stuff, I saw some great things, and I’m coming back next year.'”
Tickets for the Cincinnati Coffee Festival are available now on the event’s website.
