14–16 August 2026 | Sunshine Central, Ayer Itam, Penang
A New Coffee Festival in Penang
From 14 to 16 August, we made our way north to Sunshine Central, Ayer Itam, Penang for the first-ever Penang Coffee Festival, organised by PSCS Penang (Persatuan Kopi Kinantan Pulau Pinang) with government support.
For us, it was another opportunity to step outside Ipoh, bring our coffees to a new crowd, and spend a few days surrounded by people who share the same fascination with coffee.
Being the first edition of the festival made it particularly interesting. There is always something exciting about being part of an event while it is still finding its identity.
Two Coffees That Didn't Make It Home
We brought along a selection of coffees from the roastery, but two quickly stood out from the rest.
Our Colombia Chili Bourbon from Huila was one of the first to go. It has become one of our more popular coffees, and Penang seemed to agree.
The other was our Brazil São Paulo, which also sold out during the festival.
There is something satisfying about watching people taste a coffee, come back later, and eventually take a bag home with them. It is a small reminder that the coffees we spend so much time selecting and roasting can find their way into someone else's daily routine.
By the end of the festival, both of our most popular coffees were gone.
We'll take that as a good sign.
More Than Just Selling Coffee
One of our favourite parts of attending coffee festivals isn't necessarily what happens behind the table.
It's what happens around it.
We got to meet other roasters, baristas, coffee enthusiasts, and people we had previously only known through conversations online. Some were completely new faces. Others quickly became new friends.
Coffee festivals have a funny way of compressing the industry into one space. You can spend three days talking about coffee, equipment, processing, roasting, cafés, business, and everything in between.
And sometimes, you end up talking about everything except coffee.
Those conversations matter too.
Being Part of Something New
For PSCS Penang, this was their first coffee festival. For us, it was another small step in Blank Coffee Roaster's journey outside our home ground.
We've attended festivals and pop-ups before, and each one teaches us something different. Sometimes it's about how much coffee to bring. Sometimes it's about which coffees people respond to. Sometimes it's simply about meeting the right person at the right table.
This time, it was a little bit of everything.
We are grateful to PSCS Penang for putting together their first coffee festival and giving us the opportunity to be part of it.
We hope this is only the beginning.