The Heroic Coffee Festival: How the dream of fallen hero Artem Telebenev became a reality

Near Kyiv, at the Code of the Nation Museum, the first "Filižanka" heroic coffee festival was held, dedicated to the memory of the fallen soldier Artem Telebenev ("Talib") — a barista, volunteer, and junior sergeant who dreamed of creating Ukrainian coffee with character, on the initiative of his wife Yana Berkut. The event was made possible thanks to the support of the third President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, the public organization "Kyivshchyna — This Is Us," the head of the Gatnenska community, Oleksandr Palamarchuk, and the program of individual support and comprehensive assistance for military personnel, veterans, and their families, "MHP Poruch," implemented by the charitable foundation "MHP-Hromadi." . Hundreds of concerned Ukrainians took part in the festival: veterans, volunteers, military personnel, and cultural figures, according to UNN.

"The 'Filizhanka' festival is much more than just about coffee. It's about memory, gratitude, and unity. Hero Artem Tyelebyenyev dreamed of creating Ukrainian coffee with character, and today his dream unites people from different parts of the country to support those who paid the highest price for our freedom. It is a great honor for the 'MHP-Hromadi' foundation to join this initiative. Because as long as memory lives, Ukraine lives. And gratitude has power when it turns into concrete actions. This is exactly what we do through the 'MHP Poruch' program, systematically supporting military personnel, veterans, and their families," said Oleksandr Pakholyuk, director of the MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation.

At the heart of the festival is a competition of original coffee recipes: five coffee shops from different regions of Ukraine presented their own drinks created with local ingredients. The three best recipes were included in the archive of the Museum of Ukrainian Heritage. "Filizhanka" became the first step towards creating the "Coffee of the Nation" project — a collection of unique coffee recipes from all over Ukraine.

"This is my response to Artem's loss. My way of telling the world: he was, he lived, he dreamed, he defended. The festival is both a memory of him and support for the living. Artem was not just a barista — he was a person who united people. His coffee shop was a place of strength. His dream was to create a national coffee with character. And it seems to me that we succeeded: to unite people through memory, through conversation, through coffee," said Yana Berkut, Artem's widow and the founder of the festival.

The festival was attended by veterans, Artem's military comrades - Diepelyan Halust, Mykhailo Denesenko, Ruslan Bondarchuk, Bohdan Bondarchuk, Oleksiy Balko, his family, volunteers, cultural figures, and simply caring Ukrainians. 

The main goal of the festival was to raise UAH 2,000,000 to support the rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers and veterans in cooperation with the Revived Soldiers Ukraine foundation, which has been providing qualified assistance for medical rehabilitation in the areas of neurotrauma, central nervous system damage, spinal and brain injuries, as well as pre- and post-prosthetic rehabilitation since 2014. During the festival, UAH 232,452 was collected, but the fundraising does not stop, so you can donate to the Revived Soldiers Ukraine foundation account — via the link on the festival website: or the foundation.

Reference

"MHP Poruch" is a program of individual support and comprehensive assistance for military personnel, veterans, and their families. It is aimed at employees and residents of communities where MHP enterprises are present. The program supports military personnel, veterans, and their families during service and after returning from war: humanitarian aid to military units, medical examinations, treatment and rehabilitation, legal and psychological support, social reintegration, professional adaptation, and inclusive sports events.