The Good Coffee Festival 2026 Programme, Hour by Hour

The full programme, by day and stage is at the end of this piece. You can tick the slots you are not going to miss and save them straight to your phone's calendar.

Four hours. That is how long the longest block in the Good Coffee Festival 2026 programme lasts, and it is not a lecture, not a cupping, not a roast. On Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00 the Main Stage belongs to the National Latte Art Championship.

This block arranges everything around it. The programme comes out two days before the opening and reads easily: three days, two places, the square in front of NDK, free entry. The Main Stage carries the words and the competitions, the Brewing Village carries the bar. The distance between them is a few steps, which is the point. You hear about something, then you go and drink it.

The Format

The Main Stage gathers the lectures, the roasting in front of an audience, the two competitions and the closing concert. The Brewing Village works by a different logic: every day different cafés from Sofia and the country take over and brew on professional equipment. Seven cafés over three days, in two-hour blocks.

The two stages overlap on purpose. On Saturday, while the championship runs on the Main Stage, four bars take turns in the Brewing Village one after another. If you stay in one place only, you miss the other.

There is also a third place, outside the two stages. Spetema present "From Roast to Cup", a presentation of their new roasting method under the name Next Level Spetema Roasting, at their own stand from 15:00 to 16:30, with a tasting of the first beans roasted by it. The announcement goes out from the Main Stage, the presentation itself is at the stand.

Friday, 11 September

The day begins at 10:00 with the opening. At 11:00 Martines tell their family story: how a tradition becomes professional specialty coffee. At 11:30 comes geography. Ivan Parnarov of 100% Kofein talks about coffee in Southern Bulgaria, a subject that rarely gets a stage, although part of the good cups in the country pass through it.

At 12:00 is the first roast on stage: roaster, drum and an audience that sees what happens to the bean before it reaches the grinder. At 13:00 geography becomes taste. "Trip to Coffee Belt" is a cupping with Artezan, twenty cups from different origins on one table and an hour and a half in which you travel the coffee belt without leaving the square. Come with a clean spoon and no prior opinion.

At 14:30 Arcobaleno step outside coffee with "More than Gelato": ice cream as a craft, not as a dessert next to the espresso.

The afternoon belongs to the competitors. At 15:00 the roasting competition begins, and at 15:30 La Columbiana and The Farmer give a short intro.

The day ends at 17:00 with a conversation that goes beyond coffee. "Big City Events in Sofia" is a discussion with Irina Dakova, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Tourism, Nikolay Genov, Anton Krinchev, Petya Hristova and Dimitar Petrov. The question is why the city needs such events and what stands in their way.

In the Brewing Village, Samurai Specialty (10:00-12:00) and Sapiens Coffee (13:00-15:00) are brewing.

Saturday, 12 September

One machine, one pitcher, milk that either obeys or does not, and four hours in which the difference between first and third place is measured in millimetres of symmetry. For quite a few people this block alone decides which day to come.

After it the tempo changes. At 15:00 Dabov asks the question "Not All Specialty Coffees Are the Same" and has half an hour to answer it. At 16:00 Georgi Zhelyazkov talks about water for coffee, the ingredient that makes up about 98% of the drink and that almost nobody thinks about until it is time to change the filter.

The Brewing Village is fullest on Saturday: Dwell Coffee (09:00-11:00), Wholehearted Café (11:00-13:00), PUNKT (13:00-15:00) and Coffee Syndicate (15:00-17:00). The bar opens at 9:00, two hours before the Main Stage.

Sunday, 13 September

Sunday is quieter and more sensory. At 10:00, roasting on stage again. At 11:30 La Columbiana lead a cupping: spoons, cups, silence, then conversation. At 12:00 is Dabov's second lecture.

At 13:00 Story Cups tell their personal story: how one cup becomes a brand. At 14:00 IF YOU come out with "The Art of Creating Diamonds!", the least modest title in the programme, which will have to be defended on stage. From 14:30 Be Pure say "Good Morning!" in the middle of the afternoon and talk about coconut water as a source of hydration, electrolytes and good mood.

The closing is musical. From 15:30 to 17:00 The Case play live. In the Brewing Village, Novelli Coffee (11:00-13:00) is the guest.

Practical

The festival is outdoors, on the square in front of NDK, free entry. The programme is current as of the day of publication and may be added to, and changes on the day are announced through the channels of Good Coffee Festival.

If you have only one hour, choose the Saturday championship. If you have three days, do not choose.

Slow Made City is a media partner of Good Coffee Festival. The equipment on the Main Stage and in the Brewing Village is provided by Coffee Tech and Slayer, official technical partner of the festival.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When and where does Good Coffee Festival 2026 take place?
A: From 11 to 13 September 2026 on the square in front of NDK in Sofia. Entry is free, and the festival takes place outdoors.

Q: When is the National Latte Art Championship?
A: On Saturday, 12 September, from 11:00 to 15:00 on the Main Stage. It is the longest block in the whole programme.

Q: Which cafés are guests in the Brewing Village?
A: Samurai Specialty and Sapiens Coffee on Friday; Dwell Coffee, Wholehearted Café, PUNKT and Coffee Syndicate on Saturday; Novelli Coffee on Sunday. Each works in a block of about two hours.

Q: How does the festival end?
A: With a live concert by The Case on Sunday, 13 September, from 15:30 to 17:00 on the Main Stage.