This Saturday’s Second Annual Dallas Coffee Day Gathering At Life in Deep Ellum Furthered Dallas’ Claim as a World-Class Coffee City.
Welcome to Unfiltered, our weekly feature that explores the Dallas coffee scene — and how it often manages to thrive in the most unusual places. Given that we live in a time when Starbucks locations are about as prevalent as the golden McDonald’s arches, when new coffee shops seem to open every other week and when almost everyone uses a ChemEx to brew their coffee, we’re here to show you some alternatives — for when your coffee shop routine becomes monotonous or when you’re just looking for something different in your caffeine endeavors.
There’s no better evidence of the leaps and strides in Dallas coffee than the second annual Dallas Coffee Day.
After last year’s successful turnout at Tweed Coffee Roasters in the Design District, this year’s move to Life in Deep Ellum proved to be fruitful, drawing a sold-out crowd for the second year in a row, even with the larger venue.
The relocation of the event to a familiar space also helped include other members of the Dallas coffee scene in the festivities, as the venue’s own Mokah served as somewhat of a house coffee shop, hosting guest shops behind the espresso bar throughout the day. A second espresso bar greeted guests upon entry with mini cortados and espresso fare to be consumed while admiring the works of art on display.
But for hardcore coffee lovers, it’s arguable that it was the lineup of locals that was the true work of art. Stalwarts such as Eiland, Avoca, Tweed, Cultivar, Oak Cliff and Noble Coyote represented familiar faces from last year, as well as Ascension, which shared a seasonal coffee shandy for the occasion, while Novel drew an impressive line for their cold brew floats.
Edison and West Oak meanwhile made their debut as the new roasters on the block, and the Dallas-based company, Handground, demoed its precision manual coffee grinders. The festivities weren’t just limited to the indoors, as Motokofe served up mobile espresso, and Trompo returned with some of the country’s best tacos.
Whether you went for the cupping education, the thrill of the latte art showdown or just to see what new beans are in season, Saturday was a picturesque look into Dallas’ emergence as a world class coffee city.
All photos by Kathy Tran.