UK Coffee Week 2018 runs from 16 to 22 April, and this year is set to be the largest to date.
The nationwide celebration of the United Kingdom’s thriving coffee industry aims to raise money to bring clean water and sanitation to coffee growing communities around the world.
“UK Coffee Week is all about the celebration of coffee and uniting the industry with its customers to raise valuable funds for millions of people across the globe that rely on the product to fund their livelihoods,” says Jeffrey Young, Founder of UK Coffee Week. “It’s important to support the provenance of our caffeine fix and give something back to those that help our country thrive both culturally and financially.”
Leaders from across the industry have signed up to UK Coffee Week, including Caffé Nero, who is donating 20p (about A$0.35) for every single flat white sold during UK Coffee Week as part of a collaboration between Project Waterfall and the Nero Foundation. Costa Coffee will donate 20p from every Character Roast, a Peruvian Single Origin coffee, across its stores in partnership with Costa Foundation Schools.
Other participants include Cafe2U, Elior, Esquires, Debenhams, Muffin Break, Insomnia Coffee, Ground Espresso Bars, Crepe Affaire, SOHO Coffee, Second Cup, Beales, Abokado, Le Pain Quotidien, Harris + Hoole and hundreds of independent coffee shops across the UK.
A host of activities will be taking place across the country to celebrate the annual event, including Latte Art Smackdowns, raffle competitions, espresso martini parties, and more.
Coffee is one of the largest and most powerful industries in the world, pouring £9.6 billion (about A$17.5billion) into the UK economy. According to Allegra World Coffee Portal research, last year alone saw a further 1215 coffee shops open in the UK – an average of 3.4 new stores per day.
In 2017, more than £335,000 (about A$613,306) was raised during UK Coffee Week. As a result, donations have been used to fund a tri-country education project in schools across Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya, in partnership with WaterAid UK.
This year, event organisers hope to top that, with 100 per cent of proceeds going to Project Waterfall’s latest project in the Jabi Tehnan district of Ethiopia. This project will bring clean drinking water and sanitation to more than 7000 people over the next four years. With its yearly donations, Project Waterfall can give even more people from coffee growing communities with access to clean water and sanitation. Since starting, the charity has changed the lives of more than 27,000 lives in coffee growing communities.
For more information please visit, www.ukcoffeeweek.com