From Florida to Illinois: What Calavera Coffee Has Been Up to Lately!

If you’ve noticed a short pause on our blog, it’s because we’ve been swept up in an incredible few months! From launching local roasting in the Midwest to bringing Skully, our specialty coffee truck, to major events across Florida, Calavera Coffee has been non-stop.

Here is a look back at where we’ve been, who we’ve served, and what’s brewing next.

March 2026: Calavera Coffee Expands Roasting to Chicago!

We officially started roasting in Chicago! Expanding Calavera Coffee into the heart of the Midwest has been a long-time goal, and doing it alongside our friends at Tailwind made it even sweeter.

Tailwind operates top-tier shared facilities for growing roasting companies, giving us the perfect home base to deliver fresh, artisanal specialty coffee throughout the region.

Stay tuned, we will be sharing a behind-the-scenes look at our Chicago roasting process in an upcoming post!

April 2026: Festival Season & Community Love in Florida

April took Skully, our coffee truck, on a high-energy road trip across Sunshine State events and local communities.

1. Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival (April 7–11)

We were honored to participate in the 4th Annual Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival. This incredible five-day culinary event at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park showcases the finest chefs and culinary talents across Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Our invitation came through the generous support of the Chef Robert Irvine Foundation in partnership with Let’s Chow (letschow.org), two organizations dedicated to uplifting veteran-owned small businesses like ours.

Across three main festival features, we served our signature cold brew creations:

• "Breaking Bread with Heroes"

• "Chef Showdown" Tastings

• The Grand Tasting

Featured Cold Brew Menu:

• Ube Cold Foam Cold Brew – Smooth, velvety, and vibrant.

• Churro Cold Brew – Sweet cinnamon spice meet rich espresso.

• Calavera Sunset – Our tropical Pineapple Decaf Cold Brew.
  
  

Even in a room filled with fine wines, festival-goers made sure to stop by Skully for a caffeine refresh and we were thrilled to receive attendee vote "coins" for "Best Drink of the Event"!

2. Teacher Appreciation Day at American Heritage School

Skully made a special stop at American Heritage School for Teacher Appreciation Day. Serving custom-crafted coffee drinks to dedicated educators was easily one of our favorite mornings of the season. The students even hand-designed custom coffee sleeves for their teachers, making the day extra sweet.

3. Boca Raton Farmers Market

Throughout the month, we maintained our regular Sunday setup at the Boca Raton Farmers Market, pouring fresh brews and catching up with our South Florida regulars.

May 2026: Fueling Global Operators at SOF Week in Tampa

From May 18 to 21, 2026, we returned to the Tampa Convention Center for SOF Week 2026.

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the Global SOF Foundation (GSOF), SOF Week is the premier international convention for military defense professionals and special operations forces worldwide.

As a business with a veteran on our team, serving this community hits close to home. Thanks once again to the Robert Irvine Foundation and Let’s Chow, we kept attendees fueled throughout high-level defense discussions. We had the pleasure of serving attendees from the U.S. as well as partner nations including Belgium, Germany, France, and beyond. It turns out special operators are serious coffee connoisseurs!

June 2026: Coffee Fest Chicago at Navy Pier

To top off an incredible spring, we headed to Navy Pier in Chicago on June 12–13 for Coffee Fest Chicago 2026.

Coffee Fest brings together thousands of specialty coffee professionals, equipment suppliers, café owners, and emerging entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and push coffee culture forward.

We were invited by our good friends at Cafe Real, suppliers of world-class Panamanian specialty coffee (if you haven't tasted their Geishas yet, you are missing out!). It was two packed days of networking, industry talks, and brewing exceptional beans alongside fellow passion-driven coffee creators.

What’s Next?

Whether we are popping up at major trade shows, serving cold brew from Skully, or small-batch roasting in Chicago, our mission remains the same: bringing you exceptional specialty coffee crafted with care.

• Where to find us next: Keep an eye on our event schedule for upcoming farmer's market appearances and pop-ups.
  

• Order Fresh Beans Online: Bring our freshly-roasted beans straight to your home setup.