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SOUTH KOREA (just 3 years old) held in conjunction with it. The Café Show, as I learned last year, is one of the largest and most exciting coffee events in the world, and this year attracted just under 130,000 visitors over the four days of the conference and trade show. The only regret I had about my experience the first time was that I didn't pack enough in: There is so much to see when it comes to coffee in Seoul. You could spend the whole time within the walls of the massive COEX Convention Center, within which both the Café Show and the WCLF were held. With more than 520 exhibitors from 32 countries, the show, which took place November 20–23, was designed around the theme of "Connect the World" and was fully in effect. Also, it was sponsored by the International Coffee Organization, in case you were wondering how much clout this show has. It has loads. The WCLF—held November 19–22—graduated to a larger and grander expanse of COEX than previous years. This intellectual gath- ering of some of the most well-respected and influential people in the global specialty-coffee industry is quickly becoming one of the best gatherings of its kind: With just over 1,200 registrants, it's still small enough to afford plenty of opportunities for networking and relation- ship-building, but it's weighted with such esteemed voices and talents from the industry that it's like attending the Golden Globes of coffee. Everywhere you turn, there's someone quite famous in coffee—and you've got access to them. The 34 speakers invited to the WCLF to lead discussions, pres- At top: 2013 World Barista Champion Pete Licata of the United States, le, judges a coffee brewing competition at the Pancake Epidemic barista party in Seoul, South Korea, with his friend, Asli Yaman of Turkey, who placed third in the 2014 World Brewers Cup. Boom: Brandon Davenport (le) chows down on a hot dog with a barista friend at the Pancake Epidemic. Brandon works at the original Pancake Epidemic in Los Angeles, and traveled to Seoul in the summer of 2014 to train all of the Pancake Epidemic baristas before opening. 30 barista magazine