Coffee Fest Baltimore: A Field Report

 

I represented Flight at Coffee Fest Baltimore (March 16 - 18), both as an attendant and a competitor. Here are a few highlights from the show!

The Baltimore Convention Center.

 

The trade show.

America's Best Cold Brew

We placed second in the America’s Best Cold Brew Competition with our nitrogen-infused Ethiopia Amaro Gayo! A natural-process coffee with wonderful berry notes, nitrogenation added a creaminess that turned the cold brew into something reminiscent of ice-cream!

The competition was fierce and we're honored to have received second. Congratulations to the other winners and a big thanks to all who supported us! I was amazed at the variety of flavors present. Fruity, spicy, liquor-esque -- all products of terroir and processing!

The final results.

More on processing.

America's Best Cold Brew Trophy
Our silver trophy.
 
Tea Galore
Specialty tea had a large presence. In that vein, you should try Cascara! “Husk" in Spanish, it’s the dried skin of coffee cherries. Cascara brews wonderfully as a tea and is a great way to make use of what is normally a waste-product of green coffee production. It contains caffeine, too (though only a quarter of what is found in coffee, at most).
 
Growth Through Diversity
The amount of diversity in method and approach in coffee is staggering. I sampled barrel-aged coffees with flavors imparted from the container’s original use. Fruity, floral, and tea-like, I drank cold brew “air infused” with tea. I sat in on a presentation in which the speaker argued emphatically that espresso is an intrinsically superior beverage to drip coffee. All-in-all, there’s a seemingly infinite world to explore.


We're fortunate to work in such a diverse and collaborative industry -- it makes us strong!

A busy weekend in Baltimore.

 

...

Jacob Ryder

 

 

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