Mississippi Coffee to be Celebrated at Jackson Coffee Festival

The first ever Jackson Coffee Festival will launch on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at the Mississippi Trade Mart.

Southern taste buds appreciate good flavor and coffee is one of our favorite passions. Now, we have an event dedicated to celebrating all things coffee.

More than a dozen specialty coffee roasters will pour samples of their best brews. Coffee fanatics will be able to attend classes, see brew method demonstrations, learn about the coffee flavor wheel and watch green coffee get roasted to perfection.

Organizer Jim Currie explains, “Our festival is as much about coffee education as it is drinking new flavors. The world of coffee is complex and there is so much to explore in terms of different beans, different roasting options and different brewing methods. Our exhibitors are coming from all over Mississippi to share new coffee experiences with our festival visitors.”

One exhibitor is CUPS Espresso Café with locations all over metro Jackson. Coffee roaster Shawn Rogers will be leading a coffee cupping to help explain the nature of quality in green coffee.

“Cupping is a traditional method of quality control and flavor assessment that is done both at the farm, before the coffee buyer selects the beans, and after the ship arrives in America, to confirm the flavor and quality is intact," Rogers said. "We are sponsoring a cupping demonstration to allow people to see how this is done. We will invite about 60 guests to taste these coffee samples to understand the wide variation in flavor from different coffee farms in different countries.”

Another exhibitor is Northshore Coffee who recently opened a cafe at The District at Eastover and is soon to open a locaton at Belhaven Town Center. Owner Trey Malone is excited to have the new festival in Jackson.

“This is a great new event for our state," Malone said. "We can’t wait to share great coffee and help educate the public on some of the new ways to enjoy coffee. One of the greatest innovations of the past few years is new variations on cold brewed coffee. We have some of the country’s best cold brew happening right here in Mississippi. We are thrilled to celebrate that hometown innovation with our friends and neighbors.”

Trey will sample cold brew and teach an Intro to Cold Coffee class for both consumers and coffee professionals.

“Our city is pleased to host a new annual culinary event that has found a home here. This is a fun activity on the day prior to Mother’s Day. Many families will stay downtown to celebrate the weekend,” explained Christine Blackmon, Chief Experience Officer at Visit Jackson.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and parking is free. The exhibit hall runs Saturday from 9am to 4pm. More than 1,000 epicurean visitors are expected to enjoy coffee at the state fairgrounds.

Tickets will be available in April at many local coffee shops and online at JacksonCoffeeFestival.com.