March 28, 2024

Columbus Coffee Fest showcases Ohio roasters

Caffeine: we love it, we live it, we need it.

Whether you’re a coffee person or an energy drink person, or both, chances are if you’re a college student, you rely on caffeine (and if you’re a lucky soul who doesn’t, I truly envy you).

But when it comes to caffeine, coffee is my drug of choice.

And one of the beautiful things about central Ohio is the plethora of coffee options all over the place so you can drink as local as you want.

Sept. 30 marked the third-ever Columbus Coffee Fest, presented by Columbus Underground at historic Ohio village.

At the festival there were upwards of 20 coffee vendors offering samples from cold brew to Kenyan blend to the most caffeinated of light roasts. Vendors ranged from Columbus favorites like Stauf’s and the Roosevelt Coffeehouse to roasters that may require a bit of travel like Akron Coffee Roasters and household-based artisan roasters Jennings Java from Orient, Ohio.

Coffee Fest was set up in the Ohio Village at the Ohio History Center, with various roasters set up in different buildings like an old-timey hotel or schoolhouse (I have to admit it was very cute).

There were plenty of other companies on-site selling merchandise, like Inked and Screened and Art Dominoes, as well as confectionary businesses like Nothing Bundt Cakes and the Cheesecake Girl.

There were various musicians playing throughout the village throughout the event as well, banjos and all, and a yoga class open to all.

Each attendee was given a mug upon entrance to drink out of at the event. At each coffee stand, the vendor poured samples into the mug in order to reduce waste and create a true coffee experience (because let’s face it, coffee from a mug is way better than coffee from a paper cup).

It was a coffee lover’s dream: the entire village smelled phenomenal, there were coffee beans everywhere, free stickers and pins, the whole nine yards. Some vendors brought cream and sugar so you didn’t have to drink it black, and most had different flavors for you to choose from in order to maximize your coffee experience.

One of the main issues was that there was no palate cleanser available. A few of the vendors were offering water, and there were food trucks on site, but by the end of the event, my tastes were so overwhelmed by all of the different flavors in my mouth that I couldn’t tell which drinks I liked and which ones I didn’t.

I never thought I’d say this, but at the end of the day, I was kind of tired of coffee. It all tasted the same at the end, nothing stood out or tasted particularly pleasant, and although there was plenty of caffeine on the premises, my head hurt. It was very overwhelming, but at the end of the day, it was a blissful few hours.

Author

  • Sydney Deibert

    Sydney was the managing editor at the Chimes for her junior and senior years after working as a staff reporter during her first year at Capital in 2017. Sydney graduated in 2020 with a degree in professional writing and journalism. Some of her favorite things are cold brew, books about dragons, horror films, and her cat, Sterling.

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