I had to chuckle at the couple hundred people standing outside the Ohio Village gates. It was a Saturday morning, almost 9am, and the line of people all wore the same facial expression: part excitement, part impatience, part zombie. It was well past the time most of us would have had our morning coffee. We had already dressed and driven to the north-central end of Columbus without a bit of caffeine (hence the mixed look of impatient zombie).

But just on the other side of those gates, as soon as the clock struck 9, we’d be allowed inside, where more than two dozen different coffee companies would greet us with open carafes of freshly brewed coffee goodness. So we all waited along the sidewalk, proud of ourselves for having been awake for a couple hours without having murdered anyone in our decaffeinated states. (Surely I don’t just speak for myself with this description?)

Viking Coffee representing at the festival

The Cold Brew: The first Columbus Coffee Festival

Columbus Coffee Fest started in 2016. It was held in early December that year, and I remember feeling inadequately dressed for the cold. “I work in Alaska, for crying out loud, I don’t need no stinkin’ mittens!” Then I got to the darling, outdoor venue, shivering as I held my ceramic mug, scolding myself for not bringing my hand-knit wool gloves. (I’m a knitter, for crying out loud, I have no excuse to ever, ever, find myself wanting of appropriate winter attire.)

Coffee Fest was never again held in December.

But Columbus Underground and those who started the event seemed surprised at the more than one thousand people who had signed up to attend, and how well the festival had been received. I remember getting an email after that debut December festival reading “apparently Columbus loves its coffee!”

Why, indeed we do! And fortunately for us, the Columbus Coffee Festival has continued to grow year after year. Columbus has accumulated a number of independent coffee roasters in recent years, and it’s friggin’ fantastic to have so many roasters together in one location for the sampling.

Like many of the roasters, Roaming Goat had bags of coffee for sale at the festival, so you could take home your new favorite brew.

Pouring Over Options

This year the Columbus Coffee Festival was held over two days. Ticket holders had multiple options as to what day and time they could attend. Want to get your caffeine fix at the festival? Sign up for the morning session. Don’t feel like getting up early? There are afternoon sessions. Hardcore fan who wants to take her time with the options? Come both days!

Nom Noms

The festival now offers several food options as well – a smart move considering all the caffeine being imbibed. I’m going to guess I speak for most of us in attendance when I say I really want to sample every single roaster on the village grounds. But that also means I might hurt myself if I don’t have something in my stomach to absorb all that caffeinated nectar. There were a couple donut options, ice cream, a food truck with Latin fare, chocolates, locally baked goods, and a few other delectables.

I decided on the Mr. Lox from Nate’s Steamed Bagels because, well, smoked salmon and a bagel. Easy choice.

Caffeine Overload

Even with that hearty bagel goodness onboard, I still struggled to get through all the roasters. In fact, according to my notes there were 26 roasters in attendance Saturday morning, and I only got through 18 of them….

So on that note, let me just say if you’re a caffeine addict and concerned you won’t get your money’s worth, rest assured that is NOT the case! Each of these roasters brought at least two coffees to sample. Some brought five or even more roasts. And they are more than happy to let you sample as many of their brews as you’d like!

I easily drank five mugs’ worth of coffee, and that was largely just sampling one brew per roaster.

So Many Coffee Options!

There was literally a coffee roaster for everyone at the festival. Prefer different flavors? Check out Silver Bridge Coffee Company. Want a strong brew that’ll put hair on your chest? I recommend Viking Coffee Company. Ramble Coffee not only showed up with an adorable teardrop camper, but they offered a CBD nitro that was surprisingly smooth. If you prefer some chocolate with your coffee, Winans Chocolates + Coffees was soooo good and such a good coffee mate! And one of the day’s favorites came from Coffee Emporium, which offered a bourbon barrel-aged nitro with maple foam. It was super smooth with just a slight sweetness from the foam.

Enjoy the coffee taste but don’t want the caffeine? Savorista has you covered. And be sure to ask them about the different coffee names – each coffee has a story, and it was a pleasure to chat with them about how they got started!

(And now I’m over here drooling as I type… Might have to make a coffee run at this rate.)

Rin Knits had yarn for sale, as well as hats and coffee mug cozies.

Not Just Coffee

Much to my delight, Columbus Coffee Festival has expanded to include several other vendors that would be of particular interest to the introverts in attendance. First and foremost, there are seating options available for some prime people-watching while you sip your new favorite coffee.

Or perhaps you’d prefer to knit or read in the village’s church. Inside, the Columbus Humane Society was set up with adoptable kittens. Yes, you can play with the kittens. And no, they’re not running amok throughout the church where they might wreak havoc on your knitting.

Perhaps one of the more unique experiences available at the festival was Coffee + Axe Throwing. Get pumped up with some local coffees, then get out your cathartic release with some good ole axe throwing. This seemed to be a rather popular attraction. People were lining up to throw sharp objects pretty much from the start of the festival.

Crafty Options

The Book Bus is a renovated VW bus housing a mobile bookstore – seriously one of the cutest bookstores I’ve ever seen! Rin Knits and Stuff had a stand with coffee cozies, hats, scarves, and yarn for sale. Bring your hook or needles, buy a hank of local yarn, and pull up a seat by the stage with live music.

None of those ideas flip your switch? No worries. There’s Coffee + Watercolors, where you can use brewed coffee to paint. (This may sound odd, but some of the examples on display were amazing!) There was an area of grass dedicated to a couple yoga classes in the afternoon. Several shops were sprinkled throughout with handmade coffee mugs, or decorated dominoes and transformed into necklaces.

Some of the examples at Coffee + Watercolors

Final Thoughts on Columbus Coffee Festival

Columbus Coffee Festival has grown leaps and bounds from that first event a couple years ago. I’m guessing I’ll still be home next September as well, in which case I plan on attending Coffee Festival yet again and seeing which new vendors have been added to the agenda. Both times I’ve attended the event with my brother as it seemed more appropriate to have a friend for the event. But maybe next year, just for funsies, I’ll sign up for both days, and use the second day to just enjoy my favorite couple coffees while I knit and people watch.

The Book Bus

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