Coffee Fest is a real thing, and it’s beautiful. This trade show started in Seattle back in ’92, and of course, it was a success and is now a trade show that takes place in New York, Chicago and Seattle, showcasing the coffee and tea industry’s top-performers and retailers.

In short, this means walking a trade floor full of coffee and tea goodies, trying them out, and seeing what’s up and coming in the coffee world.

There were a few things we were expecting during attending Coffee Fest (i.e. free coffee), but there were a few things we found out about during our quest at Coffee Fest, and I can personally say that some were revolutionary and life changing to my coffee addiction.

1. EVERYTHING IS FREE.

Yes, EVERYTHING WAS FREE. Well, for the most part. Yet, getting free coffee, tea, and samples of almost everything there was enough. I was expecting a lot of freebies, but getting offered full containers of coffee for free was not on the list. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to the point of tears.

2. Coffee that helps you sleep.

Remember when I said there was something that changed my coffee-drinking life forever? This was it. Counting Sheep Coffee has decaffeinated blends with valerian, an herbal sedative, to help you sleep. They have the original Bedtime Blend and Lights Out!, a stronger blend with a higher dose of the natural sleep aid. I tried the Bedtime Blend and was out within the hour. It felt unnatural to even have coffee before bed, but this will definitely get you into that routine, and help you sleep like a baby.

3. Pens that smell like coffee…

Your first thought might be, “who wants that?” but you do, and just don’t know it yet. Snifty Scented Pens have a variety of scents, but the coffee one was both tempting and overwhelming. Waking up in class with both a cup of coffee and a coffee scented pen would definitely get your day going. They also have fancy coffee scented pens, which is probably out of all our budgets, but would make a great gift for the coffee drinking business person in your life.

4. Hard-to-find brews from around the world.

I was pleased to see that they had coffee from everywhere. Not only were you sampling coffee from local coffee shops, but they had coffee selections from Puerto Rico, Haiti, Colombia, and Brazil. International coffee tour 2014, in one room.

5. Lids that never come off.

This is surprisingly mind-blowing, since it’s another thing you want in your life that you didn’t know you wanted… until you found out what it was. uVu Technologies has made lids that never pop off, which can help that pesky problem of walking down the street with your coffee and having your lid pop off from your grip (coffee splashes, you’re wearing a white shirt, screaming ensues). They have lids for both cold and hot beverages, and I’m single-handedly holding a petition that every coffee shop uses these lids.

6. The epic products of The Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild.

The Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild has some of the best mugs for any fandom you might belong to. From Doctor Who, and Monty Python to Alice in Wonderland, puns, and dinosaurs, you will find the perfect gift for someone, or you’ll end up buying everything for yourself. I also found out that they give most proceeds to unemployed philosophers, and to research for some good causes. Overall, this is a winning company.

7. Coffee for a good cause.

On this exploration, I found Haitian Blue Coffee by Cafe Kreyol, a company that sells their rare coffee and uses it to create a sustainable economy for areas of Haiti stricken by poverty. Good cause + good coffee = warm fuzzies inside.