7 events to check out during the 7 days of Specialty Coffee Week

Capital city roasters and coffeehouses are brewing up seven days of buzzy events for Sacramento Specialty Coffee Week. The inaugural event—which runs Oct. 13 through 19 and is spearheaded by local roasters like Temple Coffee and Chocolate Fish—celebrates our burgeoning artisanal coffee scene through (mostly free) tastings, lectures, classes and more. Here’s a sampling of can’t-miss caffeinated offerings, one for every day of the week-long affair. (And to read more about Sacramento's booming coffee culture, pick up Sactown's Oct/Nov Coffee Issue on newsstands now.)

Benefit for Coffee Kids (Oct. 13)
Chocolate and coffee go hand in hand, and that delicious pairing will be used to benefit Coffee Kids (which works to assist families in Latin American coffee-farming communities) at this event hosted by Vaneli’s (a Lincoln-based roaster) at Rick’s Dessert Diner in midtown. Attendees will experience the nuances caused by roasting variables and techniques by tasting coffee that has been roasted three different ways. Also on the menu: indulging in one of the diner’s succulent, decadent chocolate cakes. $10. 6-7 p.m. Rick’s Dessert Diner. 2401 J St. 315-2538

Latte Art Demonstration (Oct. 14)
Come see as barista Marleena Carter from Yellowbill creates foamy works of art using steamed milk and espresso as her canvas and teaches you how to create a drinkable masterpiece of your own. While you’re there, snack on one of the downtown bakery-cafe’s scrumptious goodies, like its best-selling chocolate chunk cookie or cinnamon-glazed, apple-and-cranberry-filled toaster pies. Free. 1-2 p.m. Yellowbill Café and Bakery. 1425 14th St. 668-7514

Sourcing Seminar (Oct. 15)
Learn how beans from faraway farms find their way into many a morning mug at this seminar held inside Insight Coffee Roasters' downtown location and led by the roaster's co-founder Lucky Rodrigues and Rina Paguagua from Finca Los Congos, a family farm in Nicaragua from which Insight regularly sources its beans. Rodrigues will also conduct a cupping session, where attendees can sample various coffees. Free. 5-7 p.m. Insight Coffee Roasters. 1014 10th St. 642-9255

Black Gold screening (Oct. 16)
Delve even further into the ethics and economics of the coffee industry at Pachamama, a Sacramento-based coffee cooperative owned by 140,000 family farmers in Africa, Mexico, Ethiopia, and Central and South America. The evening will feature tastings of Ethiopian coffees and a screening of Black Gold, a documentary that illustrates the coffee supply chain and follows farmers like Tadesse Meskela, who works in Ethiopia and is one of Pachamama’s cooperative members. Free. 6:30-9:30 p.m. Pachamama Coffee Cooperative. 919 20th St. 530-204-7554

Coffee Works Tour (Oct. 17)
East Sacramento’s Coffee Works is one of our region’s longest-running and most influential roasteries, and their history and production methods will be laid out by the family-owned business’ coffee director Johnny Shahabian. The event concludes with a tasting of six different varieties of cold-brew coffees and select pastries from its bakery. Free. 4-6 p.m. Coffee Works. 3418 Folsom Blvd. 452-1086

Coffee Sourcing Lecture (Oct. 18)
Temple Coffee has earned extensive national recognition—including CoffeeReview.com’s highest coffee ranking in 2013—and at its East Sacramento roasting facility, its coffee director Eton Tsuno will explain Temple’s methods for sourcing its beans and how coffee is bought and sold in today’s economy. Stick around after the lecture for a coffee tasting that will take place at 1:30 p.m. Free. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Temple Coffee Roasters. 2827 S St. 454-1272

Coffee Cocktail Competition (Oct. 19)
End the week with a bang at Hook & Ladder’s competition bringing together two of Sacramento’s buzziest beverage scenes. Eight mixology masters from around town will compete at the midtown restaurant for prizes as they blend spirits and local artisanal coffees in an effort to make creative, caffeinated cocktails. Watch the action, as well as taste samples of locally roasted coffees and munch on special coffee-themed items for purchase. Free. 6-9 p.m. Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. 1630 S St. 442-4885

For more information on these events and others during Sacramento Specialty Coffee Week, visit specialtycoffeeweek.com.

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