The aroma of fresh brews will soon fill the San Antonio air once again as the annual San Antonio Coffee Festival returns, but this time in a new downtown location.
After growing too big for its boots, the 12th San Antonio Coffee Festival is relocating from Travis Park to Hemisfair’s Civic Park. Set for Feb. 8, the ticketed event will feature local coffee artisans from over 30 roasteries, offering more than 80 unique coffee blends to sample and savor.
The festival will also feature live music, local bites, an artisans market and informative interactive workshops. Tickets start at $15. Doors open at 8 a.m. for VIP ticket holders and 10 a.m. for the general audience.
Tickets include entrance into the festival and a specialty coffee-tasting flight.
Linda Brewster, the festival’s founder, said she is excited to see the event’s continued success and growth since it first launched in La Villita in 2012. A coffee connoisseur, Brewster said she still plays a big role in the festival’s workshops.
“We really do have a different culture than most other large cities because we were really late to the game,” Brewster told the San Antonio Report. “[We’re] known for the diversity and inclusivity, … and since we have that big melting pot of different types of people …. there really is a different flavor here.”
Brewster said she’s glad to see that San Antonio’s coffee literacy has grown substantially over the festival’s lifetime. When the festival was first introduced, it was apparent that a lot of the participants were still discovering coffee, she said, whereas now it’s a great mix of bean buffs and espresso explorers.
Its continued growth eventually became too much for Brewster to handle alone, and she started working with Galaxy Productions in 2018. The festival has sold out every year since — including the past two years, in which it was held at Travis Park.
Faith Radle, a producer with Galaxy Productions, said their team knew they needed to find a new venue for the event this year.
“It was a nice fit for several years, but the event is very popular — it sells out every year — and we can’t expand it without more space for roasters,” Radle said. “Last year we found ourselves turning away roasters just because of space. We wanted them to join us but we didn’t have the space.”
Galaxy Productions has coordinated other events at Civic Park, including Jazz Alive.
Radle said with the updates that have recently gone into Hemisfair and Civic Park, the move seemed obvious.
“Hemisfair is beautiful, Civic Park is beautiful. I think it’ll be a nice experience,” she said.
Andrea “Andy” Ley, owner of Olla Express Cafe, said this will be her shop’s eighth year to participate and that she is excited to see the event is in Hemisfair this year.
Olla Express Cafe will be showcasing three of its brews at the festival this year, Ley said — their mocha, a tequila-infused mix, and their traditional citrus-infused olla blend.
The festival offers Ley a chance to tell San Antonians about how her Mexican heritage and background has inspired what she offers at her cafe.
For Helotes-based Texas Grounds Coffee Company co-owners, former teacher Jennifer Howard and U.S. Air Force veteran Phillip Santillanes, the festival has offered them a great chance to showcase how many blends their company makes, upwards of 40.
“We love seeing thousands of people come out to sample our stuff,” Howard said.
Santillanes said they always bring their most popular mix for sampling, “The Republic” — but they also like to mix up what other brews they showcase.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how it goes at this new location,” Howard added.
To purchase tickets, visit the event’s website here. Children 12 and under are free.
