Sip Fest, taking place in Sheffield from Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October 2026, will bring a full week of free citywide events alongside a major weekend at Trafalgar Warehouse.

The festival will feature free events across coffee shops, cafés, roasteries and creative spaces throughout the city, building towards a weekend at Trafalgar Warehouse with a free industry party on Friday 2 October and a ticketed public festival day on Saturday 3 October.

The festival will bring together independent cafés, roasters, coffee brands, makers, baristas, street food traders, DJs and coffee lovers for a full week of activity across Sheffield.

The programme is built around three parts.

From Monday 28 September to Sunday 4 October, Sip Fest will host a free citywide fringe, with events taking place across more than 40 coffee shops, cafés, bars, brunch spots, roasteries and spaces in Sheffield. The fringe will encourage people to visit local independents, discover new places and support the businesses that make Sheffield’s coffee scene what it is.

On Friday 2 October, Trafalgar Warehouse will host a free industry party for people working across coffee, hospitality, food, drink, events and the wider independent business community.

On Saturday 3 October, Trafalgar Warehouse will become the main Sip Fest hub for a ticketed public event, split across morning and afternoon sessions. The Saturday programme will feature more than 30 stalls, talks, tasters, freebies, Sheffield’s biggest latte art competition, Coffee School sessions, street food, DJs and the UK’s biggest coffee run.

The festival has been created to celebrate Sheffield’s independent coffee scene and the people behind it. While the city is already known for music, beer, food, makers and independent culture, its cafés have become an increasingly important part of Sheffield’s social life. They are places where people meet, work, create, plan, recover, organise and connect.

Created by a team from Sheffield’s coffee, hospitality and events scene, Sip Fest has been founded by Matt Cottrill of Steam Yard and Corner Store, and Neil Midgley of Motore Cafe, with illustration and creative direction from Molly Kirk of Steam Yard.

Sheffield’s coffee scene has been building wider recognition for years, with local cafés and roasters appearing in speciality coffee guides and earning attention far beyond the city. Sip Fest will bring that energy together for the first time, giving Sheffield’s cafés, roasters and baristas a shared platform while inviting people to explore the places that make the city’s coffee culture distinctive.

The festival is designed for a broad audience, from serious coffee drinkers and home brewers to casual flat white fans, young professionals, students, freelancers, families and people looking for a social event that is not centred around alcohol.

Matt Cottrill said: “Sheffield has one of the most exciting independent coffee scenes in the country and we want to showcase this to the city and beyond.

“Sip Fest is about celebrating the places, people and energy that make Sheffield’s coffee culture what it is. We want it to feel like something people genuinely look forward to every year, with a sense of fun but also something meaningful behind it.”

Sip Fest will feature local Sheffield independents alongside national coffee brands, creating a platform for the city’s cafés and roasters while also bringing a wider industry audience into Sheffield.

Organisers are now inviting cafés, roasteries, makers, brands, venues and traders to get involved in both the Trafalgar Warehouse event and the wider fringe programme.

To take part, email hello@sipcoffeefestival.com

Early bird tickets for the Saturday public event are available now for £5 at sipcoffeefestival.com