The coolest beans

With its passionate and knowledgeable consumers, and a diverse array of local shops—including Temple Coffee, Insight Coffee Roasters and Old Soul Co.—Sacramento is certainly a bastion for coffee lovers. If you’re one of the city’s many coffee drinkers, you might enjoy this event: International megachain Seattle’s Best Coffee (part of the Starbucks Corporation) hosts a Red Cup Showdown this weekend at the California State Fair. And while you more than likely prefer, say, Chocolate Fish Coffee to Peet’s Coffee & Tea, this competition will surely feature innovative recipes you’ve never seen before. Fifty entrants vie to impress judges (including Food Network star Jeff Mauro) while attempting to create the nation’s most “imaginative new coffee drink.” The winner takes home $500 and will have a chance to win $10,000 after competing against winners from other states’ fairs. It happens July 12, at 11 a.m., in the Miller Lite Grandstand’s Clubhouse.