San Diego Coffee World takes place in less than two weeks, and like its predecessor, SCA Expo, it is sure to be three days full of action and caffeine overload. There will be so many events and happenings both inside and outside the San Diego Convention Center – which Sprudg will collect and compile for your viewing pleasure – that it will be effortless to forget that you are in San Diego, one of the few cities in the United States that enjoys perfect weather year-round. It’s the kind of place you want to go out and explore.
And that’s exactly the point Farms in California this is what he expects from WoC participants. Through its Califia Passport program, this alternative milk brand encourages people to take a break from the convention center and visit some of San Diego’s best coffee shops.
The Passport Program is California’s way of “connecting the energy of the World of Coffee with the heart of San Diego’s specialty coffee community.” To that end, they’ve partnered with 12 “influential San Diego coffee shops” to support city residents connect with the city’s best coffee shops, restaurants and places to hang out.
The 12 cafes are: Mnemonic coffee, For life!, Long Hi-Fi playback, Nomadic, Selva coffee, Refined coffee, Fuzowa Coffee, Hotel Lafayette’s café, Cafe @Invigatorium, Jiffy, Chance Coffee, A relic bakery and kitchenAND Tori Cafe. During World of Coffee, each coffee shop will offer a beverage that best represents them, including favorite signature drinks as well as brand recent concoctions prepared especially for the weekend.
To participate, participants simply need to go to the Califia Farms booth at World of Coffee (#4052) and pick up their passport and map. Take it with you when you visit the stores on the list, where you will get a stamp in your passport (after purchasing the drink, of course). Once you’ve visited as many coffee shops as possible, return your passport to the California booth to claim frosty prizes. The more stamps, the better the reward. One stamp gets you a bag, two stamps gets you a hat, three gets you a hat, and four or more gets you a “constrained edition item.”
But according to California, the real goal is more than just loot. It’s about “giving people a reason to explore, supporting local shops and sending visitors home with a real taste of the city and a lasting connection to the community behind it.”
So, while I know it may be tough to tear yourself away from World of Coffee’s exhilarating recent products and scorching gear, or carve out some time between off-site events, hang in there. The World of Coffee is a marathon, not a sprint. Get off. They happen in all these wonderful cities and it would be a shame to leave them unexplored.
