Nataley Davis | staff writer

On Saturday, Oct. 26, the Everest Events Group invited the greater Pittsburgh community to the Monroeville Convention and Events Center to indulge in unique samples from a variety of vendors at the Pittsburgh Chocolate and Coffee Festival.

“Who doesn’t like coffee, and who doesn’t like chocolate? We thought, ‘let’s put them together,’” said Jerry Testa, the Executive Vice President of Everest Events Group.

The festival began three years ago and has since expanded to include annual stops in Rochester, N.Y., and Cape May, N.J. Testa said that the event has become successful beyond their wildest dreams.

At the heart of it all, Everest Events is a charity that gives back to the community. The main beneficiary of this year’s festival will be Kids of Love – a foundation that brings toys, books and healthy snacks to children in the hospital year-round.

All the while, Everest Events helps local businesses thrive by exposing guests to the otherwise hidden gems in the Steel City.

“We’re a small business ourselves so we do these events in order to support them and allow them to come and offer their product to a wide audience,” Testa said. “Maybe [attendees] buy from this vendor in the future, online or in their store, and say, ‘Hey, I met you at the Pittsburgh Chocolate and Coffee Festival [and] I liked your product’ … And a lot of our vendors tell us that’s what happens.”

Many vendors at the festival, like Lucky Sign Spirits Project Manager Joe Kiewra, said that events like this one are crucial to expanding their audience.

“This is like the lifeblood of our business. If we weren’t doing events like this we could not function. It also lets you get out into the community and see what other people are doing,” Kiewra said.

The festival filled the convention center with fun treats for guests, including a large chocolate foundation, complementary goodie bags and endless samples. However, it was evident that the guests and vendors shared a similar mission with Everest Events Group – building connections within their community.

Coffee and chocolate is the namesake of the festival, but the samples and purchasing opportunities were not limited. Guests said that they appreciated the variety of products to try, with 85 unique vendor tables to browse.

“I’m glad this wasn’t just chocolate and coffee. There’s alcohol, there’s pickles, there were some cigars. So, I think it’s been kind of a neat mix,” said festival attendee Jon Hicks.

Hicks said that speaking to the local vendors reignited his interest in pursuing his own coffee roasting company.

“We met some people who were [starting a coffee company]. Looks like we found some people who could help us along our journey so I think that’s one of the cool ways where small businesses are connecting and helping each other progress,” Hicks said.

Along with local businesses, the festival also allows guests to connect to other cultures through their products.

Maria Beltran, a vendor from Duskaia Coffee, said that events like this one are most beneficial to selling her business’ Nicaraguan coffee.

“We are a business of eight sisters creating a direct market in the USA. The business goes from the farm to the consumer directly,” Beltran said.

“This type of convention and events are the best for us because this is where you actually see the people and you can tell them the story. You can tell them what’s going on here and then people get interested.”

Meanwhile, Galen Mayle, owner of Couldn’t Bee Better Honey, described the inner workings of his honey business, which was displayed at the festival.

“I have my own bees, my own honey that I get but then there’s honey that you just can’t get here in Western PA, so I started bringing those in,” Mayle said.

Contrary to Beltran’s global offerings, Mayles’ uncommon domestic goods made space for those who don’t drink coffee, giving tea lovers space to enjoy the event as well.

Attendee Christina Keener said that the festival was a convenient way to explore the businesses in her community.

“I think events like this help me to see more local businesses in the area and also gives me an appreciation of how I can support local businesses from my day-to-day life,” said Keener. “It’s very busy, so this is a good opportunity to come to one place and be able to see and meet all