Pass more than a few hours in Vienna, and you’ll soon learn that coffee is an essential part of the fabric of the city. A fact also evidenced by the lively coffee festival held at the Ottakringer brewery.
- A celebration of coffee, with displays, demonstrations, and more
- Also features food (and other drinks) and live music
- 2022 dates: TBA (was Oct 8-10 in 2021)
- See also:
What’s it all about?
Technically, coffee might be described as a simple drink. Much like you could call an iPhone a communication device. But there’s so much more to it than that. Coffee is part of Viennese society…rooted in tradition, yet a vibrant part of modern city culture.
Which is where the Vienna Coffee Festival comes in. Consider it a celebration of the coffee bean and its contribution to (Viennese) life.
Don’t expect lectures by white-haired historians on the role of Loos architecture in driving coffee house society in the early 1900s. The coffee festival is a contemporary celebration: the coffee is hot, the company is cool.
So you get, for example, tastings, demonstrations of the barista’s art, professional competitions, barista battles, numerous stands showcasing coffee products, and plenty of advice from those who make their living through the coffee trade. Not to mention street food and live music.
Get a flavour (ba dum tish!) from a post-event video at the bottom of the page.
The venue is normally the premises of Ottakringer brewery, which – surprise – produces beer, but also hosts a range of events through the year, such as live concerts or the rum and gin festival.
Dates & tickets
I’ll post 2022 dates when I get them. The festival usually takes place in January, though it shifted to early October last time out.
Opening times for the public at the previous event were:
- Friday: 2pm to 8pm
- Saturday: 10am to 8pm
- Sunday: 10am to 6pm
Book tickets from the official website once available (day tickets cost €15 online in 2021 for a standard price adult) or on the day on-site if not sold out.
How to get to the coffee festival
The Ottakringer Brewery is out in Vienna’s 16th district, easily reached by trams 2, 9 and 44 (look for the Johann-Nepomuk-Berger-Platz stop).
The 44 leaves from Schottentor near the city centre, and the 2 leaves from just about everywhere (well, almost): you can catch it from the State Opera House, for example.
Ottakring station is the final stop on the U3 subway line and itself about three stops on the 44 tram from the brewery as you head back into town.
Address: Ottakringer Platz 1, 1160 Vienna
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