I’m proud to say I’ve attended and covered all three Grind City Coffee Xpo events since it began in 2019.
I love coffee. I drink it black like a film noir reporter. And I make it on the stove in an old-school percolator with the little glass thing on top.
So, attending Grind City Coffee Xpo, held November 5th at Wiseacre Brewing Co. downtown, was like being in coffee — and tea — heaven. I drank carbonated coffee at Comeback Coffee’s booth and tea at the booth for Rishi Tea & Botanicals out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And lots of little cups of hot and cold coffee at other stations.
This year’s event featured 18 vendors, says founder Daniel Lynn. “It was awesome,” Lynn says “I think we’re going to end up with around 600 people. It was incredible.”
He doesn’t yet have the final amount of how much they raised for their charity, Protect Our Aquifer.
They didn’t feature tea at their first Xpo, which was held at the old Memphis College of Art.
The event now features “anything in the coffee community,” including tea, Lynn says.
The Xpo also included Ounce of Hope. “I’m a big believer in wellness, health. And CBD in coffee is a really nice thing.”
I asked Lynn what it is about coffee that gets people so excited. Besides caffeine, of course. “It’s so welcoming,” he says. “It not only tastes good, but there’s some incredible science behind it, too. Anyone can make a cup of coffee, whether you’re a novice and you just like your drip machine with your Community Coffee in it. Or you want to get crazy into it and you’re doing a Chemex pour over where you measure out the water and the coffee in grams. It’s a multi-step process. You put the timer on and start the pour and its super relaxing.”
You “let the coffee bloom and then come back and pour the rest of the water over the coffee.”
Making coffee is universal. “Anyone can do it. From the novice to the super nerd. I think it’s very approachable.”
