If you can smell something wonderful wafting through Glasgow city centre this weekend, don't be alarmed — it's just Scotland's biggest coffee party getting started.
The Glasgow Coffee Festival returns to The Briggait on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April for its twelfth year, and this time it's supersized. For the first time, the festival is expanding into the newly opened neighbouring Clydeside Halls, doubling the number of vendors and pushing capacity to nearly 3,000 visitors across the weekend — up almost 40 per cent from last year's sell-out crowd of more than 2,000.
The bad news? Tickets have already sold out. The good news? A waitlist is open on the festival website at glasgowcoffeefestival.com, so there's still a chance to bag a spot.
What to expect
Your ticket (from £17) gets you access to over 50 stalls from roasters, cafés and industry exhibitors, plus free coffee tastings, expert-led talks, hands-on workshops and roasting demonstrations. Children under 12 go free, and the event is family-friendly — though dogs aren't permitted (assistance dogs excepted).
The headline attraction this year is the inaugural Best Roaster UK competition. A blind, peer-assessed cupping on April 17 will judge each finalist's roasts, but the winner won't be revealed until the festival's final day. The finalists read like a who's who of UK coffee: Glasgow's own Dear Green and Thomson's will go head to head with Figment Coffee from Aberdeen, Rise & Grind Roastery from Paisley, Glen Lyon from Aberfeldy, Chipp Coffee Co from Leeds, London's Carnival Coffee Roasters, and more. Festival-goers can taste all the competition coffees and vote for the Public's Choice award.
The SCA UK Brewers Cup Championship will also be showcased across the weekend.
A labour of love
The festival was founded in 2014 by Lisa Lawson, who started Dear Green Coffee Roasters in Glasgow's East End in 2011, delivering beans to her first six wholesale customers by bicycle. What began as a grassroots gathering to champion a then-fledgling speciality coffee scene has grown into a key fixture on the UK coffee calendar.
"The past year has been an incredibly tough time for both the coffee and hospitality industries," Lawson told The Scotsman. "Expanding the festival this year felt important. By doubling the number of vendors and opening the doors to more people than ever before, we're creating space for the industry to come together, support one another and celebrate the quality and creativity that defines the Scottish coffee scene.
"Glasgow's coffee community continues to show real resilience. Despite the hardships the industry faces, people are choosing to do things sustainably and with passion. I think that's something worth celebrating."
Sustainability baked in
The Glasgow Coffee Festival has been single-use cup free since 2017, making it a pioneer among food and drink events. Visitors should bring a reusable cup or borrow one at the venue — washing stations are provided throughout.
The essentials
When: Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 April 2026, doors from around 9am
Where: The Briggait (and Clydeside Halls), Glasgow city centre
Tickets: Sold out — join the waitlist at glasgowcoffeefestival.com
Price: From £17 (under 12s free)
Bring: Your own reusable cup
If you're lucky enough to have a ticket, you're in for a cracker of a weekend. And if not — well, the waitlist awaits. Glasgow's coffee scene has never been stronger, and this festival is the proof in the cup.
