Three days inside the regional trade exhibition: crowds, championship battles, deep-tech startups, Kazakhstani roasters, cross-border franchises, and software technologies reshaping the coffee economy.
I spent three full days navigating Astana Coffee Expo 2026. Walking between exhibition booths, I engaged with specialty coffeehouse proprietors, industrial roasting machinery manufacturers, green bean importers, software startups, and operational teams driving the sector forward.
Attendance was remarkable. Vacant booths were virtually non-existent, and organizers expressed justified satisfaction with guest traffic and B2B engagement.
Indonesia’s Vibrant Presence and Global Diplomacy
One of the standout international showcases was orchestrated by the Embassy of Indonesia. Featuring traditional cultural attire, cultural dance showcases, and main-stage keynote presentations, the Indonesian pavilion maintained an energetic throng of visitors exploring single-origin specialty coffees.
The Embassy of Venezuela likewise commanded substantial interest, underscoring strong Latin American involvement. Overall, international representation—both among commercial exhibitors and professional delegates—reached unprecedented levels.
Astana Coffee Expo also announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Italy4Trade International. The Italian trade delegation introduced the Italy Sesto Senso project, hosting high-level commercial negotiations with Kazakhstani retail hospitality operators.
Regional Central Asian delegates were equally prominent. The S Coffee delegation from Tajikistan reported finalizing supply contracts with specialty roasters and HoReCa technology vendors, announcing upcoming expansion into retail gas station chains and restaurants.
On the plenary conference stage, Global Coffee founder Ayattillo Azimov outlined the chain’s aggressive regional franchise rollout from Kazakhstan into Uzbekistan and neighboring markets.
AeroPress Battle Crowns Champion with 200,000 KZT Purse
Among the most competitive arenas was the national AeroPress Battle 2026, culminating in thrilling finals on September 4.
| 200,000 ₸ | Grand prize awarded to champion Adeliya Buranbayeva representing Renoir Coffee |
The competitive tension drew large crowds of hospitality professionals, showcasing precision extraction techniques and brewing science.
Artificial Intelligence and Internal Software Automation
POS platform Poster served as the primary technology partner for the business forum, showcasing cloud management tools alongside Loyallyst, including specialized Postie AI automated marketing workflows.
However, one of my most compelling discussions took place with the Chief Operating Officer of Master Coffee. Rather than relying exclusively on off-the-shelf SaaS subscriptions, the enterprise has developed proprietary internal microservices and machine learning models tailored to operational forecasting, automated supply replenishment, and demand prediction.
Technology across the coffee industry is evolving: hospitality chains are transitioning from passive software consumers into agile internal software creators.
Professional Barista Training and Social Inclusion
I connected with the leadership of CULT Academy, a specialized training institute dedicated to educating certified baristas, managers, and service staff through professional masterclasses.
I specifically inquired regarding vocational training pathways for individuals with disabilities. CULT representatives extended a formal invitation to observe their adapted curriculum and inclusive training environments. The academy also curates specialized sensory workshops for children.
Workforce education is easily overshadowed by discussions of espresso machines and green beans, yet staff competence remains the foundational bedrock of hospitality profitability.
Business Forum: Unit Economics, Banking Infrastructure, and Regional Scaling
The conference program reflected the commercial maturity of the industry:
Zebra Coffee founder Yerzhan Tastambekov delivered actionable insights regarding organizational processes, team retention, and core operational architecture.
Global Coffee founder Ayattillo Azimov dissected unit economics and cross-border expansion across Central Asia.
Ilya Kozlov from Alatau City Bank conducted a granular financial breakdown of commercial banking services: smart POS terminals, QR acquiring fees, payment clearing cycles, and transaction processing costs.
Discussions transcended coffee recipes, focusing squarely on commercial realities: operating margins, hiring, supply chains, and multi-unit replication.
Reflections on a Maturing Regional Sector
De’Longhi presented impressive domestic and semi-commercial equipment. Packaging producer ORNE shared insights into custom manufacturing—and during our discussion, I realized my Astana Hub branded hoodie was produced by their factory.
Across three intensive days, I forged connections with roasting artisans, coffeehouse founders, international bean traders, fintech executives, and enterprise technology innovators.
This encapsulates the defining revelation of Astana Coffee Expo 2026: Kazakhstan’s coffee industry is no longer merely a collection of neighborhood cafés and espresso machines. It is a complex, multi-million dollar economic cluster encompassing domestic manufacturing, logistics, vocational education, franchise exports, cloud technologies, banking services, and high-value employment.
Astana Coffee Expo successfully convened that vibrant ecosystem under a single roof.
| See you at Astana Coffee Expo 2027. RAEM.KZ will proudly return as an official media partner, continuing to spotlight the visionary founders and companies driving Kazakhstan’s coffee revolution. |
