Roasters are the beating heart of the coffee industry, and at Asia-Pacific’s largest coffee tradeshow they are being celebrated for their passion and craft.
Building on the success of the 2025 event, in 2026 Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) will welcome back its Roasters Playground feature, with Italian coffee machine manufacturer La Marzocco returning as the main sponsor.
With a focus on community, the Roasters Playground is a hub for coffee companies to engage directly with the industry and consumers. Attendees can wander around the marketplace-like space and try brews from different brands and ask roasters their burning questions.
The popular tradeshow feature is a fantastic opportunity for international roasters to get their foot in the door of the Australian café scene and interact with its major players. With more than 30,000 visitors attending in 2025, the region’s movers and shakers are all at MICE.
Reflecting on the inaugural Roasters Playground in 2025, Jets Anita Langlands, Head of Marketing at La Marzocco Australia, highlights the significance of the program.
“The Roasters Playground was a key turning point for MICE. Seeing a whole community of roasters all exhibiting at the same time was fantastic,” she says.
“You had a Perth roaster next to someone from Queensland, who was across from a roaster from Sydney. It really showcased the diversity in our coffee industry. Seeing so many of Australia’s best roasters in one room is a fantastic thing to be a part of.”
Riverina Fresh Executive Chairman and CEO Craig Shapiro, a member of the advisory committee, was also thrilled to be part of the activation.
“The coffee industry is important to us and MICE is the perfect time to celebrate it,” says Shapiro.
“Australia is a nation of milk-based-coffee lovers, and two-thirds of that cup is milk.
“It’s the beans and the roasters who are the main show and we’re there as the support act. You’ve got to get the support act right to bring out the best qualities of the beans in the cup.”
With Australia importing most of the beans it consumes from overseas, Shapiro highlights the importance of welcoming a broader network of exhibitors and attendees to tradeshows like MICE to encourage a sense of unity in the industry.
“We need international community engagement to ensure we attract the best of the global sector to Australia. MICE helps us in our mission to create the best cup of coffee every time,” he says.
Sydney’s White Horse Coffee was one of the roasters to take part in MICE2025. Head Barista Alex Murfet says his highlight was seeing people react to their coffee, and engaging with other exhibitors and guests.
“We loved the real chats where people wanted to know about the beans, the farmers, and how we roast,” says Murfet.
“One person spent 20 minutes with us tasting different coffees and asking questions – they were genuinely curious. That’s what coffee should be about: connection, not just caffeine.
“We had a great moment where a MICE attendee from Japan recognised one of our baristas from when he had visited her café while travelling a year earlier.”
As a roaster, the team at White Horse believe coffee is bigger than any one venue or company.
“From Colombian farmers to café baristas, MICE brings the whole chain together in one place,” says Murfet.
A fantastic opportunity to connect and engage with international businesses, MICE offers one-on-one and in-person connection.
“People remembered some of our team from a recent trip to Guatemala. We had great chats with roasters from New Zealand, some equipment guys from Europe, and green-bean importers working with farms and origins we haven’t purchased from yet,” says Murfet.
“Talking to roasters from around the world is also humbling. Everyone’s dealing with the same challenges, but approaching them differently. You always learn something.”
While the Roasters Playground is a popular attraction at MICE, there are lots of ways roasters can engage and connect with industry leaders. From exhibiting on the tradeshow floor to participating in cupping sessions, panels, or feature areas like Trip to Origin, the annual event offers a diverse range of touchpoints for brands looking to grow.
For more information, visit internationalcoffeeexpo.com
This article was first published in the September/October 2025 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
