Today I’m reflecting on a rare adventure outside the home cafe—Specialty Coffee Expo 2024.
If you don’t know what the Specialty Coffee Expo is, it’s an annual trade show in the US featuring thousands of coffee professionals.
But as the number of home coffee enthusiasts grows, more people look at Expo and wonder if it’s a good fit for them.
Now that it’s been almost a year since I attended, I want to describe my experience and help inform your decision.
It’s chaotic, overwhelming, and also really fun. This is what it’s like to attend the Specialty Coffee Expo as a home enthusiast.
time or money?
The first thing to know is that Expo costs money; you need to purchase a badge to enter.
It’s a few hundred dollars, depending on how many days you want to attend, but there’s a way around that. You can volunteer and exchange your time for a free pass.
It’s not the easiest way in but it is the cheapest.
And to be honest, I don’t think paying to go as a home enthusiast is worth it. At minimum, a 1-day pass for the final day of 2025’s Expo is $99. Friday or Saturday will run you $199. And if you want to attend more than one day, it costs $360!
You can buy a lot of really nice coffee for $360. And the truth is, Expo is more of a business-to-business event. Some booths are relevant to home brewers (after all, it’s the only way you’ll remember that Meticulous still exists) but other booths might literally be a company that makes paper cups; not exactly worth $360.
If you have the time (and patience), volunteering is a great way to get access to a dense world of coffee-obsessives. In exchange for a few shifts, you get free reign of the show floor.
single dosing fomo
Before I get into the details, I need to emphasize that if you can’t go or don’t want to, don’t let FOMO get you down.
You’ll see a ton of content (this post included) online about the event. It’s easy to see people having fun, checking out unreleased equipment, or meeting content creators, and feel left out. But remember, anything consumer focused will be available to you eventually.
Expo is a fun experience but hardly essential If you’re not a coffee professional.
And there’s a good chance that what you’re brewing at home tastes better than the haphazard show-room-floor coffee severed in tiny cups.
why though?
If you do decide to attend, it’s important to consider what you want to get out of the experience.
Do you want to chat with roasters, try some equipment before you buy, watch a competition? You can do any of that and more but it’s tough to do everything. So decide on a loose focus beforehand.
Expo’s website has a list of events with a map of all the booths. And keep an eye out on social media for roaster pop-ups and smaller events at local coffee shops.
shift into gear
Now back to volunteering.
Check the Expo website for specifics, but the TLDR is; you pick a few shifts and the more you do, the more days you can spend on the show floor.
For 2025, you need four 4-hour shifts to earn a 3-day badge.
Picking what you’ll be doing depends on shift availability and your skillset but it’s mostly up to you.
My favorite shift was assisting an espresso workshop.
It’s probably best to pick a shift that interests you but it’s also fun to lean into spontaneity and experience something new. Some shifts are boring, some are grueling, and some require specific skills. (If you haven’t worked as a barista, don’t sign up for one of the barista shifts.)
And consider when you’ll do your shifts. You can spread them out on different days (including weekdays, before Expo opens to the public), and have more time per day on the show floor. Or you can stack them, doing multiple shifts in one day, leaving the rest of the weekend open.
Just keep in mind some of the shifts are pretty exhausting; don’t overextend yourself.
brewing up some chaos
Expect chaos.
The Specialty Coffee Expo is sustained by an army of over 500 volunteers (whether or not this is a good or ethical idea is a topic for another post). There is a staggering amount happening in just a few short days; as a volunteer you peak behind the curtain.
It’s fun to see how everything comes together but it’s also freaking chaotic. Expect some jank and be ready to be flexible.
It’s honestly a miracle any trade show manages to come together.
And don’t be a tool. Especially as a home brewer, don’t assume you know more than the person who’s worked in coffee for 15 years just because they don’t know the latest WDT meta.
Be respectful and go with the flow. Your hard work will be rewarded.
breaking free
Your volunteer shift can be fun and you’ll probably learn something new but the real treasure is out on the show floor. Now you’re finally free.
Decide on a plan for what you want to see and how you want to spend your day. The show floor is huge and can be overwhelming, so use the map to pick points of interest. You will miss stuff, especially if you’re volunteering in four hour blocks, but that’s totally fine. There’s plenty to see.
I did one day of “see everything” moving quickly from one booth to the next. And one day of “slow and steady”, spending more time at a few booths chatting with roasters and companies I admire.
It was so fun and exciting to have my niche hobby sprawled out across hundreds of square feet.
Keep an eye out for events and parties happening in the evening. Don’t try and go to everything and don’t feel FOMO if you missed something. But if you do attend, it’s a fun way to relax and meet coffee people.
Oh also, bring a tote bag. This is a prime sticker collecting opportunity. And on Sunday, the final day, you can sometimes get discounts on show-floor equipment as booths are being torn down.
how much caffeine? all of it.
Out on the crowded show floor you’re like a single coffee bean, shuffling towards a grinder’s blade.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed but it’s also super fun. I only went for two days because I felt like I had seen everything that I wanted to. And I was exhausted.
I seriously admire the companies who run a booth all weekend. It’s hard work and talking to hundreds of people for hours is usually not a normal part of their job.
Remember to eat and drink (water). Try to bring some snacks because the food at a convention center is bad and expensive. And take some time to sit down and recharge during the day.
Lake Michigan, outside of Chicago’s Expo.
And don’t try every single coffee on offer, you’ll quickly get over caffeinated and most of what’s being served is not memorable.
a note for my fellow introverts
Big convention centers are cultivated for and by extroverts. If you don’t gain energy from social situations, this might not be your favorite activity.
That doesn’t mean you can’t go and have a good time; I would much rather be at my home cafe than in a crowded convention center and I still enjoyed it. But I think it’s important that you know what you’re getting into.
It’s noisy, crowded, and if you’re volunteering, you’ll have to talk to a bunch of strangers.
But in my experience, everyone was friendly and welcoming. And once you’re done with your shifts you’re free to explore the show floor in whatever way feels best for you.
good brew
I’m not sure if I’ll get another opportunity to attend Expo but it’s an experience I’ll always remember.
Surrounding yourself with hundreds of coffee people is unique, especially for a home enthusiast. It filled me with joy to meet people who are as passionate about coffee as I am.
It’s nice to remember that coffee is about more than gear reviews on YouTube or extracting the last 1% of flavor from a Panama Gesha. And being surrounded by people who have spent their lives steeped in coffee made me appreciate it even more.
So, if you have the opportunity, I say go for it.
Be helpful and respectful, be ready to feel a little (or a lot) overwhelmed, and you’ll walk away full of memories, stickers, and caffeine.
