David Schomer, the founder and owner of Espresso Vivace in Seattle, will be a speaker next month at Caffe Culture, an industry event in London that will include the World Barista Championship.

More than 10,000 visitors are expected from June 23 to 25, and exhibitors include the Seattle-based (but Italy-made) espresso machine maker La Marzocco. A special exhibit will pay tribute to classic Italian espresso machines from La Pavoni's 'Ideale' (1905), to Victoria Arduino 'Venus' (1910), to the 'Lollobrigida', a San Marco machine from the 1950s named for Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida.

Schomer is being billed as an "internationally renowned cafe bar operator and innovator," and will give presentations on espresso bar design and on "Espresso Vivace - an artisan business model." He said a peek at his blog gives some idea what he'll be discussing.

Schomer was chosen because "he has led the way in so many ways within the cafe bar industry," said event spokeswoman Helen Marriott. "When we decided to dedicate a day to where the cafe bar industry is heading in the next ten years (in terms of design, functionality and customer requirements), David was a natural choice."

In the photo, by Seattle Times photographer Ken Lambert, Schomer is the bespectacled man in the middle demonstrating how to make a great espresso drink at one of his rare Seattle workshops.