Fez — The Irfane Foundation for Art and Heritage is set to host the inaugural Marrakech Coffee & Tea Festival from December 6 to 8, bringing a national and international line-up of coffee and tea players to the Red City.
The trade fair is designed for both professionals and the wider public, with a focus on networking, training, and showcasing Moroccan know-how.
Organizers say the festival will welcome artisans, producers, roasters, baristas, hospitality professionals, and young innovators, alongside key institutions and partner organizations.
Heritage meets market strategy
The festival’s concept weaves together economic and cultural dimensions. Coffee and tea have long shaped Moroccan sociability through serving rituals, hospitality, neighborhood cafés, and local economies. By placing these traditions at the center of a professional event, the organizers aim to “read” the market through its heritage roots as well as its future potential.
On the economic side, the event will bring together producers, importers, distributors, tourism operators, and emerging brands, offering a platform to track new trends, evolving quality standards, shifts in consumer demand, and long-term investment prospects.
A program of conferences, technical workshops, and professional demonstrations will allow participants to compare models from other markets, clarify processing and sourcing practices, and upgrade skills across the value chain.
On the cultural side, the festival will spotlight what organizers describe as living heritage: mint tea rituals, traditional roasting, gestures of service, regional blends, and the objects associated with tea and coffee. Presenting these elements on a trade-fair stage is meant to both honor tradition and fold it into contemporary development strategies.
Rwanda named country of honor
For this first edition, Rwanda will be the country of honor. The organizers highlight Rwanda’s profile on the African coffee scene, where it has built a reputation around quality, traceability, and training for producers.
By inviting Rwanda as a guest of honor, the festival aims to encourage concrete exchanges on good practices and to open collaboration channels with a dynamic coffee ecosystem on the continent.
A pan-African vision for Marrakech
The Marrakech Coffee & Tea Festival is conceived as a long-term project to build a sustainable ecosystem around education, training, and networking.
The stated goal is to position Marrakech as the pan-African capital of coffee and tea, while generating business opportunities regionally and internationally.
Institutions and partner organizations such as ANAPEC, ONSSA, OMPIC, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Customs and Tax Administration, and AMDIE are expected to take part, underlining the festival’s ambition to anchor itself within national development and export strategies.
Barista championship, conferences, and concerts
Open to both B2B and B2C audiences, the three-day festival will offer a multidisciplinary program:
Moroccan Coffee & Tea Masters: The first National Barista Championship will be supervised by international judges. This competition will give top Moroccan baristas a pathway to qualify for the World Barista Championship starting in 2027, in line with World Barista Championship regulations.
Conferences and workshops: More than a hundred experts from the coffee and tea sectors will take part in talks, seminars, and thematic workshops to share knowledge, innovations, and best practices.
Music and performances: A rich musical lineup will highlight Moroccan traditions such as Aissawa, dekka marrakchia, Andalusian music, and malhoun, alongside international performances from Rwanda, Indonesia, Peru, and the jazz scene.
The public will be able to attend a series of concerts and shows, as well as traditional ceremonies and an art gallery devoted to the visual and ceremonial arts of tea and coffee.
“A festival for bridge-builders”
For founder Karim Ramzi, the festival is intended as much as a cultural statement as a trade event.
“This festival is an act of faith. It is addressed to bridge-builders, to lovers of cultures, to bearers of peace. And I hope that everyone will find their cup of humanity there,” said Ramzi. “The festival is like a child learning to walk: it takes its first steps, sometimes stumbles, but moves forward with hope. It will grow thanks to all those who believe in it and help it stand in the light.”
A long-term platform for a strategic sector
By bringing together expertise, heritage, and innovation, the first edition of the Marrakech Coffee & Tea Festival aims to provide a solid framework for a rapidly evolving sector.
Organizers see the event as a tool for observation and professional improvement, but also as a space for strategic projection, where stakeholders can map future dynamics and partnerships.
Marrakech is expected to register the festival as an annual meeting point for the coffee and tea industries, helping structure a strategic sector, strengthen local skills, and expand Morocco’s reach across regional and African markets.
