Event Report: The Three Coffee Festivals

November in Ibaraki had me extremely caffeinated. I tried new coffee shops in Mito and went to three separate coffee festivals. That's right. Ibaraki had three coffee festivals and two of them were on the same weekend. Two of those events have been around for a while and one of them started this year. All the coffee festivals were a lot of fun and had great coffee brewers. Today, I will be giving my event report on all three of them. Starting with the Hitachinaka Coffee Festival.

Hitachinaka Coffee Festival

The Hitachinaka Coffee Festival is a huge event. It happened on November 9th-10th. More than 35 coffee brewers attended this event, and they came from all over Japan: Tokyo, Nagano, Kanazawa, Hokkaido, and more!
I went there with a few friends on Saturday, November 9th. I was a bit worried when we were heading there. The reason is that I went to the very first Hitachinaka Coffee Festival three years ago, and I didn't have any coffee. The reason for that is the lines were so long, it was a two-hour wait for a cup of coffee. Even the food lines were insane. You know the saying, "Third times the charm." That saying was perfect for the third Hitachinaka Coffee Festival. There were way more coffee brewers, food vendors, a huge market area, and even a movie screen for later that night. The organizers learned from their mistakes and spread the festival out more so there would be more space and fewer lines. I don't think I waited more than 10 minutes for every coffee I tried. Speaking of coffee, let me tell you what I had.

Hi Five Coffee

I know you have read, and if you have met me on the street, rave about Hi-Five Burgers. I love their burgers and consider them the top burger flipper in Ibaraki. But did you know there is a Hi Five Coffee? I should explain that the two are in no way affiliated with each other. Hi Five Coffee is from Nagano and has some pretty interesting coffee beans. I ended up ordering the Colombian beans and was given a hot cup of drip coffee.
How was this coffee? It was good and a bit...sour? I was surprised by the smell and how sour it was. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was weird. The coffee feels like it is something you must get used to to enjoy it.
I did end up meeting the owner of Hi-Five Burgers the next day and told him about Hi Five Coffee. He laughed and said, "I have to meet them soon!"

Food Area

I enjoyed walking around the coffee area and checking out the different coffee beans. But once my stomach started rumbling, it was time to go to the food area.
The food area was huge. There were probably around 15-20 food trucks. A few of the trucks I knew like Bolilian, Kaltena, And Burger, and more. I did grab something small from a few food trucks but then I saw my old buddy who drove all the way from Kashima to be at this event. That buddy is Kitchen Car KOB and he was making pulled pork Cuban sandwiches. I grabbed one of those sandwiches and headed to one of my favorite coffee vans in Ibaraki, Coffee Bar Stove. Stove was right next to the movie screen that was playing Back to the Future 2. I grabbed a cafe latte from Stove, had my Cuban sandwich on the other hand, hung out by Stove's coffee van, and watched Marty McFly's future self get fired from his job.

I enjoyed the Hitachinaka Coffee Festival a lot and so did my friends. It had a really relaxed vibe to it while also being a serious coffee festival. It felt like all the brewers were giving it their all to show off the best coffee they could make.
I am definitely attending this event next year and hope Mrs. Ibaraki Eats can too.

Tsukuba Coffee Festival

The Tsukuba Coffee Festival was on the same weekend as the Hitachinaka Coffee Festival. Coffee Festival fight anyone?
I went to this festival on Sunday, November 10th. I have been to this festival many times and was excited to check out which brewers would be there. I have to admit, I was a bit caffeinated out from the festival yesterday so I wasn't feeling like trying many different coffee brewers. In the end, I only tried one of them. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in this festival. Most of the coffee brewers had their shops close by. One of the vendors had a place inside Tsukuba Center! I was bummed out by the lack of options and decided to try a coffee brewer with the name of my state.

Sunshine State Coffee

I'm from the Sunshine State so I was happy to have Sunshine State Coffee again. I say again because I had them at the last Tsukuba Coffee Festival. These brewers are from Tokyo and I am always happy to see them in Ibaraki. I ordered the light blend (again caffeinated out) and enjoyed the nice simple taste of freshly brewed coffee.
I walked around the food area and saw a few familiar food trucks and stalls, Arthur Meshi, Hive-Five Burgers, Peace Grill, and Troppo Donuts. It was nice to see everyone so busy. Unfortunately, the lines were a bit too long and I had somewhere to be. I finished my Sunshine State coffee and decided to call it a day.
It was fun Tsukuba Coffee Festival, but I think you need more brewers at this event.

Himitsukichi Coffee Festival

The minute I heard that Himitsukichi in Tsukuba and Coffee Bar Stove were organizing a coffee festival, I was hooked and ready to attend. Himitsukichi has an amazing forest area that is perfect for outside events. I couldn't wait to attend this coffee festival.
November 23rd rolled around and I was there at 10:00 am, ready to enjoy some coffee.
There were a lot of different coffee brewers from the area who are amazing at their craft. Food options were limited though. The only three options were Hi-Five Burgers (I have met Hi-Five 4 times in two weeks), Waffle Bear's (vegan waffles), and Bean Trek Coffee (donuts). All Right Coffee had some brownies and cakes as well.
I ended up grabbing coffee from a few familiar coffee brewers I know but I wanted to try a new brewer and was glad I did. That is how I met Moving Coffee.

Moving Coffee

Moving Coffee is a Canadian-style coffee brewer that does mainly events, but they are going to open a coffee shop in Tsukuba soon! I believe they will be opening in the Amakubo area next year.
I checked out their menu and was surprised by two things: it was in English and had so many listed ingredients for the coffee beans. Moving Coffee is a drip coffee brewer so you order the type of beans you want to try and wait for your coffee to be made. I ordered the Sasaba Guji and chatted with the owner while he made my coffee. Five minutes later, my coffee was ready and I was already in high anticipation just from the aroma that coffee gave out. I took a sip and was blasted back by all the flavors the coffee had. Every ingredient that is listed on the menu, I could taste. Granted some ingredients had a stronger taste than the others, but it was wonderful to taste the orange with honey and be warmed up by the ginseng. This was an incredible cup of coffee and I can't wait to try Moving Coffee again.

Thank you for all the coffee!

I ended up hanging around the Himitsukichi coffee festival for a few hours. I listened to the live DJ playing relaxing music while sipping on some hot coffee and chowing down on a Hi-Five Burger. This was the first time Himitsukichi had a coffee festival and I believe it was a rounding success. I will be coming back to this festival next year.

I had a great time at all the coffee festivals I visited this year. There was great food and many new coffee brewers. I was so caffeinated that it was hard to go to sleep. I hope to attend these festivals again next year.
If I had to give all three of these festivals a ranking, it would go like this:
1. Hitachinaka Coffee Festival
So many choices, so much food, and a lot of fun activities to do.

2. Himitsukichi Coffee Festival
A lot of amazing coffee brewers, and a great atmosphere, but would like some more food options.

3.Tsukuba Coffee Festival
Easy area to get to, some good brewers, but long lines and not a lot of coffee options.

Thank you to all the coffee festivals for a great Coffee November. I hope to see you next year and keep on brewing!