What made the extreme coffee festival so hard to enjoy?

An outdoor coffee market in Fuzhou drew more than a hundred brands last weekend, but temperatures above 30°C, peaking near 40°C at midday, turned the gathering sour. Organizers pushed opening hours to 3:30 PM–9:30 PM and added cooling measures, yet the gap between the shaded inner area and the exposed outer stalls stayed stark, and visitors reported unclear signage and weak lighting.

The site was split into two zones: inner stalls near the mall benefited from escaping air conditioning, while outer stalls sat in cramped space beside ice machines and freezers venting heat, leaving baristas working in steamer-like conditions. The case shows that heatstroke prevention and on-site management for outdoor events in extreme weather still have clear room to improve.

Just past weekend, a large outdoor coffee market in Fuzhou attracted over a hundred brands to participate. However, the high temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius, even approaching 40 degrees, turned this originally relaxing coffee gathering sour. Although the organizers adjusted the event time to the evening and took some cooling measures, the temperature difference between the inner and outer areas was stark. Vendors in the outer area felt like they were in a steamer, and visitors complained repeatedly about unclear signage and insufficient lighting. Holding outdoor events in extreme weather clearly still has considerable room for improvement in heatstroke prevention plans and on-site management.

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Last weekend, Fuzhou held an outdoor coffee market, bringing together over a hundred coffee brands on site and attracting many enthusiasts to check in.

It is understood that the temperature in Fuzhou over these two days reached over 30 degrees Celsius, with the highest temperature at midday even climbing to 40 degrees Celsius. Considering that outdoor high temperatures can easily cause heatstroke, the organizers deliberately postponed the market opening hours to 3:30 PM to 9:30 PM, hoping to bring visitors a more comfortable experience.

The on-site popularity also confirmed the organizers' expectations. Young people coming in groups chatted and laughed, and long lines formed in front of several popular stalls. After nightfall, the temperature dropped slightly, and the flow of people arriving increased noticeably. The live band performance added a bit more carnival atmosphere to this summer night.

However, some merchants had quite a few complaints about the arrangements for this coffee festival. According to them, the organizers divided the event area into two parts: the inner area and the outer area. The inner area was close to the mall, and as long as the mall doors were open, the strong air conditioning could send a bit of coolness to the outdoor stalls and also bring some cooling effect to passersby.

But the stalls arranged in the outer area could not enjoy the mall's air conditioning. In the cramped space, there were also ice machines, freezers, and other equipment releasing heat outward. For the baristas standing behind the counter working, this temporary stall was simply like a sauna. After a day, they were soaked all over, and being in a high-temperature environment for a long time could also lead to heatstroke.

In response to the high temperatures, the organizers arranged for staff to sprinkle water and installed additional fans in the outer area, but these cooling methods had little effect. Merchants said bluntly that they simply could not dispel the heat. One vendor, who really could not stand the heat, bought panels himself and remodeled the open workspace, so that he and his staff could hide inside and use the air conditioning to escape the heat.

Many merchants said that because the weather was too hot, most customers were unwilling to approach the outer area, which had almost no shade. And when the temperature fell at night, due to insufficient area lighting, customer flow did not improve noticeably compared with the daytime. Most visitors still concentrated in the inner area, where they could both watch performances and enjoy the air conditioning.

On the other hand, visitors also raised some opinions about this event. Some reported that the event guide signs were not clear enough and that on-site order was rather chaotic. In the view of some people, the outdoor temperature was too high, which was not conducive to food preservation and could easily cause ingredients such as fruit and milk to spoil, posing certain food safety risks.

For this reason, both visitors and stall owners were dissatisfied with the event's time arrangement. They said that holding an outdoor event in high temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius without a corresponding heatstroke prevention and cooling plan would put people who spent long hours outdoors playing and working at risk of heatstroke, greatly reduce the event experience, and also make it hard for people to maintain a good mood while tasting the drinks carefully made by baristas.

Image from: Xiaohongshu

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.