Downtown Columbus was buzzing Saturday morning as more than 1,500 people attended the second annual North Market Coffee Roast. 

The Coffee Roast offered samples from 12 coffee roasters.. and two creameries – all locally produced in Ohio. 

Mary Martineau, director of marketing at the North Market, said the event is a celebration of locally roasted coffee.

“We support small, local artisan businesses,” Martineau said. “We like to have festivals to promote the market and promote local entrepreneurs. The Coffee Roast does that well.”

Demonstrations from local baristas detailing at-home roasting methods were given throughout the morning. The festival also had a Home Roasters Competition, in which amateur roasters entered their brews to be judged in a competition by the local, professional baristas

Baristas from many of the local businesses described roasting coffee as if it was an art form rather than a job.

“For us, coffee is more of a culinary experience. We love having people in who haven’t had that experience before,” said Dave Forman, managing partner of One Line Coffee in the Short North. 

Forman said the affordability of coffee is part of what makes it so enjoyable.

“It is something you can go in and have a really fantastic culinary experience for three or four bucks. Where else can you do that?” Forman said.

The quality of the coffee is only one of the factors why Henry Dean, vice-president of Dayton-based coffee shop Boston Stoker, said you should support local coffee shops. He said people who support local coffee shops also support the workers in the countries where the coffee beans are grown.

“Beyond just the quality aspect are some of the social aspects, more of the story behind the coffee. A lot of our coffee is sourced from third-world countries,” Dean said. “Drinking better coffee will pay the farmers a better price.”