Did you know there is a lot more to coffee than a delicious brew that gets you going in the morning? ‘De Koffiewerkplaats’, an innovative festival coming to Delft, aims to educate and inspire people by combining coffee and technology.
Translated as “the coffee workplace”, the festival is the brainchild of Judith Leijdekkers, an Industrial Design Engineering student at TU Delft. Collaborating with the people behind Plan D, self-described as a website about “colourful, creative and innovative Delft”, the idea started as a project to create a coffee map of Delft. “I was surprised about how much goes on in Delft that people don’t know about,” said Leijdekkers, referring to local places and events. So with the goal of making people curious about things to do in Delft and with an enthusiastic response from the cafes featured on the map, the small idea grew into a full-blown festival.
The bean-inspired event will include live musical performances, workshops and a film all about coffee. Of course, no coffee festival would be complete without plenty of the drink to consume. There will be coffee tastings, coffee stands serving caffeinated creations, and even some experimental chefs who will be cooking with coffee.
And because TU Delft is such a big part of the community, Leijdekkers said they wanted to explore a more technical side of coffee. There will be a live roasting demonstration, an exhibit by the designer of a DIY coffee machine and an artist who makes cups and saucers from coffee grounds, among other things. In addition, at the end of the day all coffee grounds will be collected by Avalex, the local waste collection company. The grounds will then be given to an environmentally friendly firm that has found a way to use them to grow mushrooms for commercial consumption.
The organizers are all doing this on a volunteer basis. Why dedicate so much time and effort for free? “People in Delft seem quite separated, like students and residents,” said Leijdekkers. “We want to get people talking.”
Between 700 and 1,000 visitors are expected. Most of the events will be in English, including the film. Attending the festival is free, and Leijdekkers said that costs for coffee and other things to purchase will be reasonable. The event will take place at the Doelentuin in Delft city centre on Sunday, May 24 from 12:00 to 19:00. For more information visit their Facebook page.
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