Coffee & Tea Festival NYC

You can purchase discounted tickets from Groupon etc. I have attended this event twice now and it seems to be repetitive. The first time around it seemed interesting. We were able to sample free teas/​coffees, but they were all OK. None of the stalls really WOWed me into purchasing their products. The second time around, it was a lot more crowded even though the space was a decent size for the event. There were so many people that lines started to form and you have to wait for a while until you can sample something. They had a few food stalls, but nothing much. I love tea, but I’ll pass on this.

I do generally enjoy festivals such as this — the common complaint of overflowing crowds doesn’t really faze me — I mean, I hate on crowds with the best of ‘em, but I can’t imagine why one wouldn’t be eminently prepared for 5:30pm Times Square subway-​level crowding at any event offering free food and beverages.
The several reviews I read of past shows had me well-​prepared for the event’s other main flaws, which, unfortunately, didn’t seem to be addressed this year. Mainly, that I’d comfortably estimate that 2/​3rds of the vendors (at minimum) were tea vendors. So if you prefer coffee (and what right-​minded American doesn’t!!! That’s right… bring it on, tea drinkers!) it can be a bit limited. Also, I think there could be more food vendors as well — whether participatory or just independent food trucks/​carts selling food, it seemed there weren’t enough options, some of which didn’t really fit with the beverages (I enjoy empanadas, but not so much with my coffee) and I felt a bit beveraged-​out by the end. So I hope at some point the people who throw this event finally listen to the feedback and diversify the participants to a much greater degree.
Insofar as the crowds, sure, there might be a substantive wait at a particular booth (especially *ahem* the coffee ones) or a claustrophobia-​inducing pathway here and there, but the general ebb-​and-​flow also allows you to occasionally saunter up and have a booth almost all to yourself. At this particular festival, for example, I got to speak at great length with the proprietors of El Voyage coffee, learning all about their company, trying several free samples, and buying a great new coffee to try from a small, local business I felt excited lending a sliver of support to — an immersive experience that makes these events unique and worthwhile no matter the quibbles one might have.
Perhaps if I wrote this review immediately post-​festival, sitting in scenic Transmitter Park and all hopped up on caffeine, I would have been a tad more generous. But I’ve been to better festivals, both in terms of organization and product. And it seems like the issues people have had (overcrowding/​overselling of tickets, lack of non-​tea vendors) haven’t been adequately addressed over the years. Ultimately, its probably only a must if you are a tea aficionado. Otherwise, its fine if you have an afternoon free and/​or grab one of the many discount tickets available, but otherwise I left feeling as it I could kind of take it or leave it next year.

This show was mediocre & lacked coffee vendors. The festival in the city provided more local coffee.
Toby’s estate was present serving espresso & Grumpys was being sold (not free even though I came during the VIP hours). Great free tote with goodies however.

I went with my foodie partner to the 2016 Festival on Saturday (non VIP session). I haven’t gone to this festival since they moved from the 33^rd street Manhattan location which was many years ago. He went to this festival last year that was held in the same location and warned me that it was very packed. However, since we were able to get general admission tickets for a little less than $ 9 each from Goldstar, it was hard to resist and so we gave in. We drove there and were lucky enough to find nonmetered parking right across the street. We got there around noon which is when they start letting the general admission people in and there was already a line wrapped outside the building. The building is constructed in glass and so as you wait, you can peer in and get a preview of the festival that the VIP members are experiencing. I could see the VIP members carrying around a black tote bag that comes with their admission and that it was not crowded. I’m not sure what was in the bag but after going during general admission, I’m glad that I didn’t pay for VIP admission. We didn’t wait for more than 15 minutes and the line started moving. As we were waiting online, there was a grilled cheese sandwich food truck that people were buying lunch from since there wasn’t much food options inside the festival. When we got inside, there was a separate check-​in table for Goldstar ticket holders and so it was very convenient. They checked for our names on a list and we wrote our email addresses next to it and we were all set.
There were a lot of tea and coffee vendors; seemed more balanced than it was from when I went many years ago. There were also honey, tea/​coffee equipment/​accessory, sauces, ginseng, ginger soda vendors, cheese, etc. It got more and more crowded as the day went on but it was not overwhelming. Overall, vendors were very friendly and eager to give out small samples of their products and answer any questions that you had. For teas, it seemed like a lot of the vendors were sampling peach ginger teas and so after a few of them I couldn’t really tell which was which. David’s Tea was generous in giving out a card to get a free full sized cup of tea at any of their locations.
Food options were very limited if you don’t count the bread/​crackers used to dip sauces and the chickpea snacks, pretzels that were being sampled. There was a place selling pricey empanadas and other small food items. One of the doors in the building led out into an open outdoor space with tables and chairs that you could sit at. There was also a truck giving out free samples and coupons for pastries made from a dough that you can find in the refrigerator section of supermarkets.
We left the festival after a few hours all buzzed up and with some Bruce Cost Ginger soda and Mookie Chai to continue the caffeine high afterwards. I’d go back again next year if I could get reasonably priced tickets again.

Mostly tea pre-​packaged, would like to see loose leaf in the future. Not exotic as I thought it would be. I have gone to other tea shops where it is live and all the tea is
Fresh to the smell. You never know what your getting in a packaged tea pack. Gift bag was a given.
Experience average but if you don’t buy the VIP ticket
Forget it. This place gets packed quick & the BO is really bad. No air circulation @ all.
Food? No biscuits or cookies to go with tea.
Coffee was average not really premium. I use a French
Press machine and the after taste was just awful!
No chocolate for coffee, good thing I had a cigar.
This could be a an awesome event if the right vendors
& planners get it together. I did hear of another event held in Philadelphia. Will try that one next time. To be
Continued with follow up.

Three points. Point 1, over crowded felt like I was at grand central station during rush hour. Point 2, pricey admission and no free samples only v.i.p.s got stuff. Point 3, vendors that we managed to get to had no sales, they charged the same prices that they would if you went to there store.

2.5 stars. 2015 festival, it was just alright… Is this the original location? I was not impressed, the number of vendors seems to have gone down and like last year, barely any coffee vendors. I felt that we were able to sample teas and coffee last year but it was just too crowded this year to appreciate it. Highlights of the festival imo, the chocolate milk one (something farms?), Cheeky Monkey (tomato garlic oil had a good amount of kick), Owl’s Brew (Classic, yes please) and the patient coffee vendors constantly making lattes, cappuccinos and machiattos.
My friends and I got there half an hour before non VIP opening, so we were close to the front of the line. We made our way through all the vendors in about an hour and a half to two hours, factoring in crowd time at vendor tables. My friends and I got half price tickets, so not a bad deal. I don’t think I will be back next year as the vendors this year didn’t really do it for me… Maybe check it out if you’ve never been, bring friends if you do!

Ehh. Coffee and tea, both of which I love! However, this year’s festival did not bring their A game! I still think the best one by far was their early days in the city.
I paid the VIP tickets thinking there will be extras in my goody bag but nope! Just a few samples of mostly tea and some snacks. Oh and a Colgate whitener. Oook! Guess that’s a hint that I need to freshen up my yellow looking teeth. Ha!
All kidding aside. Here’s what I liked and needs improvement in my humble opinion:
–love this type of festivals so I’m already sold!
–love that their bathrooms wasn’t stank! Yay!
–I appreciated that café grumpy was giving out decent sized free drinks! Go café grumpy!
–did not feel the love from the people working there, no not the vendors but the random people scattered around wearing black. We are coffee and tea lovers, not some hoodlums you need to give a stare down. This happened more than 3 times! Different people too!
–unorganized entry point. Bought VIP tickets but still waited 15 minutes on line. Digital tickets also took longer which added another 10 min of waiting on line. Should I have just printed my ticket then?
–there were no freebies!!! I came here wanting to explore other brands but there were no samples at all! some vendors offered a small cup of whatever they had but nothing for me to take home. Sorry vendors but after drinking at least 10 different teas/​coffees, I won’t be able to remember what I liked about you. Except for café grumpy! And that’s because it was a good sized drink.
–the amount of people was ridiculous. Pushing my way to get a sample of your coffee/​tea is not my cup of tea! Ha! Seriously! Too many people all at once and it doesn’t help the vendors at all since there’s usually just two people per booth.
Overall, meh. Will I go again? Depends on the changes they make. Will I pay extra for VIP tickets? Nope. I’d rather take that money and buy some favorite coffee and teas.

The 2015 Coffee and Tea Festival was a very amateurish affair, extremely crowded and over-​hyped.
There were around 5 coffee vendors and lines for all of them were very long. The general number of vendors was small and they mostly exhibited teas and other odd products. It seemed that most of the attention had gone to drawing in huge crowds and very little had been done to bring in good products, vendors and exhibitors.
Absolutely not worth the price of admission, the effort to get there and the overall aggravation. Very disappointing!

This is the 5^th or 6^th NYC Coffee and Tea festival I’ve attended.
I agree with everything that’s been posted here. There were TOO MANY people. Vendors were so absorbed by serving samples to crowds they barely had an opportunity to educate people on their product for more than a few seconds. If you were lucky enough to shoulder your way to a sample you were handed a card with their info on it… But do you actually remember which tea you sampled from which vendor when you get home? Not really.
Yes it was mostly tea vendors. One thing I have noticed from all of these festivals is that most of these brands are here today, gone tomorrow. Some of them like Capital Tea and Harney & Sons are a staple at the show. Others we may never see again.
Overall it was a giant clusterf*ck and had my tickets not been half price and had I not gotten free parking on the street I probably would have left pissed off. There were so many people the windows fogged up. It was also probably a safety hazard. They really need to rethink the number of tickets they sell in an effort to control crowds, even if that means charging more. Or stagger admission times by a two hour window. Or get a bigger space. Just some suggestions.
The venue itself was great. I was a bit leery of the move to Greenpoint as its not as easily accessible for me, but it turned out not to be an issue.

The rating of this event depends on how much you paid for the ticket. A Groupon and a discount code got me a ticket for $ 10.40. For that price, it made the crowded venue a lot more easy to bear.
Yes, it was overpacked but waiting for a sample from a vendor never took more than a minute. But this means only getting a sample since it was too chaotic to listen to the vendors talk about their tea/​coffee.
The reviews here about the vendors being overwhelmingly tea based are correct. However, I am more of tea drinker anyways so I didn’t find this to be a problem. #teamtea
The best vendors in my opinion were:
Café Grumpy — They gave full sized cappuccinos with a heart flower art on top of each one.
Teapigs — they had the best flavored tea in my opinion. Sweet but didn’t leave a sugary aftertaste in the mouth while keeping the natural tea flavors
Subtle Tea– they had the best ice tea in my opinion
Zhen Tea — was the best Chinese tea vendor in my opinion. There was about 50 different kinds of tea in glass jars on display
Capital Teas — Beer/​wine with tea. Now that’s interesting
Bee Raw Honey — they offered 6 different raw and organic honey tastings. Just don’t double dip
Cheeky Monkey Foods — they had the tastiest food sample. Their tomato garlic oil was mind blowing good
Overall for the price I paid, it was enjoyable. I got to sample about half the vendors before I had my caffeine crash and it was time to call it a day.

Two stars if you are a coffee drinker and expecting at least a 50 – 50 mix of tea booths vs coffee. More stars if you are there for tea. Seemed to me 85% is tea related. Also, this «festival» is all about selling. So esp. if you are expecting any coffee education or demonstrations of coffee brewing techniques or coffee equipment forget it. Only exception was Hario which did have some decent items on display like a vac pot, cold brew and some grinders. Wish more coffee equipment manufacturers and known roasters showed but no deal. Check out list of exhibitors, you won’t find (besides Hario) many coffee related companies at all. I’m going to stick to CoffeeCon which had their show downtown on Broad Street a few weeks ago and was fantastic. Oh, I should add that if you do attend this festival definitely spring for the extra bucks and get the VIP tickets that let you in 90 mins before regular tickets. Even just VIP it was a bit crowded and I can imagine what a mob scene would be once they opened the doors. I didn’t stick around to find out but as I left they were just letting people in and the line outside was HUGE. Festival for tea drinkers only. Coffee aficionados take a big pass.

It was way too overcrowded to be enjoyable. The Brooklyn Expo over sold tickets for the size of the venue. Each vendor booth was too crowded. Some booths I couldn’t even get near. It was frustrating to sample anything and make conversation with a vendor to get info because so many people were behind you. One women took a sample poured for me because I didn’t take it fast enough. I also felt like it could be renamed to the Tea festival next year … where was the coffee??? There were way more tea vendors than coffee vendors by far. This expo was definitely not worth the $ 20+ entrance fee or the time it took to commute there from the other side of Brooklyn!

It was sooooo packed. More so than when they used to have the festival in the city. It was hard to sample anything because every booth had a huge line especially for coffee. The check-​in was a mess. I would not do this again

Overcrowded in a super small facility. These guys oversold the number of tickets for the size of Brooklyn Expo to the Tea Festival (Don’t call it a coffee festival). You can’t have 3 – 4 coffee vendors and call it that. Utter disappointment. Won’t be back in 2016.

I thought the festival was ok. It definitely wasn’t worth 25 bucks (plus the 20 for über). This year, only VIP ticket holders got goodie bags, and they sold out of those tickets before I could get my hands on one.
There were a lot of exhibitioners, but it seemed like an overwhelming amount of tea and not that much coffee. I certainly got my fill of samples (I left a little jittery) but I felt like the booths were a little repetitive. Not that much choice in food and the samples were tiny. Definitely have to eat before or after.
Overall, I bought a few things, and the exhibitioners were super nice. I got a free bottle of tatelyle syrup for free for instagramming and I also bought a bag of Javazen coffee.
Overall, I spent about an hour inside. It was a good experience but I probably wouldn’t come again.

My wife got a groupon so we paid $ 15 each. Drove in from LI. Not easy finding a place to park. We finally did.
A very nice exhibition with a lot of samples of coffee, tea and good foodstuff. Vendors are great. Very nice and helpful. Kudos to Cheeky Monkey for the great sauces with a kick and Hudson Valley for the chocolate milk right next door… brilliant.
Why three stars? Too crowded. If you are going to put this on groupon and similar sites then you need better parking and they need a bigger place. Felt like I was on the subway at some points.
Overall, a good time. Just be ready for NY crowds. Maybe they should rent out the Barclays Center next year

Tea (with a special guest appearance by Coffee) Festival
Cons
— Less than 5 coffee vendors!!!
— Small, hard to find, overflowing garbage bins
— Crêpe vendor sloppily made our $ 9 crêpe
— Venue is too small for this event
— Most flavored teas lacked any noticeable flavor
— Watered down juices
— Nowhere to stand (or sit) if you are eating
— Crowded (as expected)
Pros
— We got our tix for $ 10 each on Goldstar, so we saved $ 30 total plus fees
— Empanadas were amazing! (Mac n cheese & Spinach n cheese) 2 for $ 7
— Hernán Mexican Hot Chocolate was THE best thing I drank there, delicious!
— Water coolers available
— The line wasn’t long when we got there
–The ticket-​check process was quick
— There’s a coat check if you need it
Tips
— Not a place for small kids. The crowds of pushy adults could squish them.
— Bring your own plastic garbage bag.
— Bring cash because most places don’t take card in there.
— Plan to eat before and/​or after
— Expect to spend only 1 – 2 hours max, only 4 aisles to get through so it’s quick

It was super crowded this year. Lines formed around the corner down two blocks just to get in. They didn’t even pretend to check the tickets. It was so hectic maneuvering around people to get to the vendors. But they did have a lot of really good vendors! Lots of sampling, not much freebies. I missed out on the 1000 goodie bags. So sad.
There were tea, coffee, raw honey, ice cream, tea, coffee, soaps, chocolate, tea, coffee…
I was told that the prices at the festival were actually a lot cheaper than retail price. I regret not stocking up on tea!
You’ll definitely leave caffeinated.
For more:

2014 Coffee and Tea Festival.
This was my first time at this particular festival though the 69^th Regiment Armory often hosts events like this. My friends and I got in line at 10:50am but the line was already blocks long. The event officially started at 11am. 10am-​11am was VIPs only. We finally crossed the threshold at 11:33am.
We were awarded for our long wait with complimentary yellow bags stuffed with samples and full bottles of coffee and tea drinks. Inside, the place was already packed.
NOTE: This is not a kid friendly environment and I say that after lugging my poor 19 month old in his stroller all over. It is incredibly loud and crowded.
If I were a business owner, I would’ve found it chaotic but I’m sure that was why the VIP hour was designed. Otherwise, we got to try a ton of samples. There were even a few baked goods to sample as well. Highlights were locally roasted beans and some excellent cold brews.
TIPS:
— Get there early! They will run out of free stuff mid-​day!
— Look for discount tickets. We got ours for $ 10 per person on Amazon Local which made all the samples and free stuff well worth it.
— Recommend VIP hour to those who take this seriously.
— Don’t bring little kids. It’s crowded and exhausting.
— Eat before you get there. Other than a few tastes of cookies there really isn’t any other kind of food.
— Bring cash.
I will definitely go again, sans baby. But, to make it worth my while, either discounted tickets or early access.

I’m not a very big fan of coffee, but I was able to experience some great tasting coffee. I love the smell of coffee so whenever they were brewing a cup, you’ll see my nose sniffing away in a cup. I really like the Red String brand because it was so smooth and not bitter at all. I was surprise that I was able to drink dark coffee without milk nor sugar because it was that smooth. I got a really great deal with Tea’s and Tea. A 12 pack (all bottles) of assorted flavors for $ 5 and the best part was they gave a free t-​shirt along with your purchase.

This festival was a ton of fun. The first few hundred guests received gift bags full of free goodies. There was a VIP hour that was great because it gave the chance to browse around without loads of people shoving through. There was something for everyone. Lots of strong coffees, lots of refreshing teas, and plenty of snacks.
I had to remove 2 stars due to the serious lack of crowd control. After the VIP hour ended, everyone else was allowed in and it caused a bit of chaos. Tons of people pushing and cutting lines. It got to the point I couldn’t get to two booths I really wanted to check out. I think they need to do what other festivals have done and jack up the price of tickets so less people attend.

Highlights:
-$ 10 admission
–Optional coat check
–Very friendly vendors
–Lots of free samples: olive oil, coffee, tea, chia, ice cream, 20% off seamless, kind bar, sweeteners from Whole Foods, Irish breakfast, Biscoff, tons of coupons, etc
–No sugar aloe vera 5 for $ 5
–Chia superfood 4 for $ 5
–New York basswood raw honey $ 10

I was so excited to go to this event! I’ve been to several Science-​themed expositions in my lifetime, and I expected this to be similar — except with edible products. So, on Friday afternoon, I picked up my tickets (which I won), invited my friend, & cleared my Saturday schedule.
The day of the event, as my friend and I entered the lobby of 7 West 34^th Street at precisely 11am, we realized we had walked into a madhouse of disorganization. I flashed our tickets at the door, and a volunteer said to turn them in at the «table at the end.» There was no one sitting at the table. I asked another volunteer where the last table was, and she said, «It’s on the 11^th Floor.» Still not convinced I could just walk upstairs without giving my tickets in, we walked back to the first table. A third volunteer waved at us from the middle table, grabbed the tickets, pointed us to the elevators, and said, «We’re the table at the end. Enjoy!»
My friend and I were overwhelmed once the elevator doors opened on the 11^th floor. Dozens of people walking in every direction, pushing, dodging, crowding around tables for free samples of coffee. We realized that everyone coming off the elevators had goodie bags; we weren’t offered any downstairs. Where were we going to put our goodies? So, a trip back downstairs rewarded us with the prized orange bags.
Upstairs again, we formulated a game plan: start walking down the aisle with the least amount of people! We spent the next 90 minutes wandering up & down the aisles, trying a few coffees, and gathering a few complimentary samples — all while dodging some *very* enthusiastic coffee & tea connoisseurs. It was hard to try very many things, as there were people everywhere & many of the display items were for sale (and not for sampling). There was no logical flow to the booths, or the space in general. A lot of the booths seemed to have wasted space behind their tables, leaving the walking area very cramped & crowded.
We sat in on the Barista competition for a little while, but had a hard time understanding what was going on. We were seated in the provided chairs; however, the photographers & fans (?) standing in front of us did little to help our view. The barista had a microphone but we couldn’t understand what he was saying. Perhaps next year there could be some sort of stage or designated viewing area?
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with the experience. It wasn’t at all what I expected for such a highly-​touted event. I wish I had been able to view more of the coffees & teas that were displayed (I’m a small girl, & I wasn’t going to try to push my way through a crowd to see the tables). The items I *did* get to try were fantastic. I grabbed a few business cards so I can keep the companies in mind. And I’m excited to try the teas I brought home.
I’m thankful that I won the tickets to this event, because I don’t think I would return next year — unless the event was better organized or held in a larger space. Until then, I’ll save my energy for the science expositions.