"Coffee Fest" may sound like a chance to sample the latest latte blends and shop for a new home espresso maker.

But the three-day event that begins Friday at the Washington Convention Center is strictly business -- a trade show whose sponsor says it will attract more than 3,000 cafe owners and restaurateurs who serve and sell coffee.

"We get like 80 percent of the coffee shops in America attending one or more of our shows annually," said David Heilbrunn of Lifestyle Events Inc. of Bellevue, Wash., which makes its money from staging three Coffee Fest shows around the country each year. In July, it's planning its first international Coffee Fest in Beijing, where coffee consumption is rapidly growing in a tea-steeped culture.

Read more about Coffee Fest in Washington at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901006.html.