Bringing better coffee to events in over 15 countries

In this post, The Barista co-founder Matthew Carr shares what he’s learned from taking The Barista’s coffee bars across Europe, from the logistics and local sourcing to what true consistency looks like when you’re miles from home.

When clients started asking about European exhibitions, it felt like a natural next step. There would be new details to work through, but we were confident we could deliver the same coffee service we’re known for at home, just across the continent.

We’ve now served coffee at exhibitions in over 15 countries, from Stockholm to Vienna, and I’ve learned a few things about what it takes to deliver consistency when you’re 1,000 miles from home.

Making it work across borders

The challenge was clear: how do you deliver consistent quality when you’re working in cities you’ve never operated in before?

The logistics of getting equipment to European venues vary depending on the event, but we make sure all the research and planning is taken care of. We get our kit to the venue, fly out to meet it and set up like we would anywhere else.

One thing we learned early on is that shipping beans across borders doesn’t make sense. We source fresh coffee locally from roasters in each city. It keeps the coffee fresh and gives the coffee a proper local feel, without compromising on quality.

Then there’s the team side of things. Our baristas know their coffee, but working international events is different. Every venue has its own way of doing things, its own procedures and regulations, its own quirks. The coffee fundamentals stay the same but getting the details right in each new place matters. Our careful event plans and post-event debriefs help with this.

What I’ve learned from European events

Tell people you’re working in Barcelona or Vienna and a lot of them picture a glamorous city break. In reality, it’s a lot of early starts, long days and plenty of hard work.  

We learned quickly that once you’re inside a good exhibition venue, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in Birmingham, London or Barcelona – which is exactly how it should be. It means the setup runs smoothly and we can focus on delivering the coffee.

What makes each city different isn’t the venue, it’s everything else. Working across Europe has taught me what clients actually need when they’re planning exhibitions abroad:

• A partner that understands different venues. European venues often have different setup procedures, power supplies and waste systems. You need a supplier who can do the leg work and adapt without it affecting your stand.
  
  
• Fresh coffee with simple logistics. Working with local roasters means fresh, quality coffee and lower transport costs. We coordinate all that ourselves so it’s one less thing for you to think about.
  
  
• Service that works at any scale. Some European events are huge – Gran Via in Barcelona has over 200,000 square metres of space under one roof. You need a coffee supplier who can handle that volume without the standard dropping when it gets busy.

What we mean by consistency

Consistency isn’t about doing exactly the same thing everywhere. It’s about delivering the same quality and reliability, and adapting when the details change. Same standard of coffee, different beans. Same professional service, different cities. Same attention to getting things right, different venues.

Our clients come back to us for European events because they know what they’re getting: not just good coffee, but the certainty that everything will work as planned. When you’re spending money on an exhibition stand, you don’t want to worry about whether the coffee service will let you down.

Putting it into practice

A great example is our work with Red Hat at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. MWC is one of the biggest shows we do, with thousands of people coming through the doors every day and long hours that keep the team on their feet from morning until evening.

We’ve been Red Hat’s partner there for years, serving everything from branded cappuccinos to breakfast pastries. For me, it shows what these events really come down to: solid preparation, plenty of energy and a reliable team that keeps the quality high no matter how busy it gets.

Helping Red Hat stand out at MWC

A trusted team

What I’m really proud of is that our team of baristas can walk into a venue they’ve never seen before, in a city they might not know well, and still deliver exactly what our clients expect. That takes skill, but it also takes the right attitude: being flexible about whatever’s different but never dropping your standards.

If you’re planning a European exhibition and wondering whether your coffee service will travel as well as you do, drop me a message here on LinkedIn. The venues might be unfamiliar, but our job is to make sure the service feels just as reliable as it does at home.

After all, a proper cup of coffee works just as well in Stockholm as it does in Sheffield.

Planning an event in Europe? Find out more about our event barista services or connect with Matt on LinkedIn for more behind-the-scenes insights.