Following a call for applications in October 2022, Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) has announced its first speakers and panellists for PRF El Salvador. The two-day forum will be held on 16 and 17 March 2023 at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre in San Salvador.

The event is set to return to El Salvador after it was first held there in 2016, and will welcome thousands of local producers and international roasters, traders, baristas, and more.

Every year at PRF, a number of industry experts give speeches and take part in panels. Attendees can also participate in a number of activities, including workshops and cupping sessions.

Read on to find out who the speakers and panellists will be at PRF El Salvador.

Learn more about PRF El Salvador here. 

What is Producer & Roaster Forum?

PRF is the coffee industry’s largest producer-focused event. Each year, it brings together thousands of coffee professionals from around the world – including producers, roasters, green coffee traders, baristas, and more.

As well as facilitating sales of green coffee for farmers in the host country, PRF also includes an extensive programme of speeches, lectures, panels, presentations, workshops, and cupping sessions. Every year, these include some of the most knowledgeable and respected figures in the coffee industry.

Henry Wilson is the founder of PRF. 

“PRF El Salvador will host a number of industry-leading coffee professionals from over a dozen countries,” he says. “Many of these people haven’t been able to speak at other major coffee events because they are in high demand.”

Julio Guevara is the Director at PRF.

“For many of the roasters who will be attending PRF El Salvador, this will be their first-ever PRF event,” he says. “Some of them are travelling from newly-emerging consumer markets, such as Chile, China, and Egypt, alongside key market players like Saudi Arabia, the US, and the UK.”

Why El Salvador?

PRF El Salvador is set to be the biggest PRF event of its kind ever held in El Salvador. A big part of PRF’s focus is putting coffee producing professionals at the centre of the important industry conversations – where previously there has been a significant gap.

Moreover, as it is a prominent international trade hub in Central America, El Salvador was a clear choice for the next PRF event.

Speakers and panellists at PRF El Salvador

PRF invites industry leaders from across the coffee supply chain to share their knowledge and experiences in speeches and panels, and in the process discusses key topics and issues in the coffee industry. 

“We want to ask questions which no one else does,” Henry says. “As part of this, we aim to remain objective and independent.”

Lectures at PRF El Salvador

• Creating a pathway for selling ultra-premium coffees (José Guzman – Kofra Specialty Coffee Roasters, UK)
• Data & green coffee quality: Why is it so important? (Darina Onoprienko – Agrivero.ai, Germany)
• Micro to macro: How to scale a specialty roastery (Rodrigo Jaeger – Café Señor K, Chile)
• What are the purchasing priorities of Chinese roasters? (Lewis Harding – Coffee Exchange, China)
• Exotic processing: Leveraging biochemistry to produce experimental coffees (Wilton Benitez – Varietales Finos SAS, Colombia)
• Key steps for managing quality control (Dulce Barrera – Bella Vista Coffee, Guatemala)
• It’s time to change the standards for how we market and sell coffee (Martin Mayorga – Mayorga Coffee, US)
• How can El Salvador differentiate and grow sales in Europe & the UK? (Dale Harris – Hasbean, UK)
• The evolving coffee market in the US (Matt Swenson – Nestlé, US)
• Coffee prices: What happened in 2022 and what can be expected in 2023? (Albert Scalla – StoneX, US)
• A roaster’s guide to entering the Eastern European market (Zoran Stanojevic – Kafeterija&Love&Brands DOO, Serbia)
• How direct relationships lead to improved quality (Eduardo Choza – Mayorga Coffee, US)
• Reviewing the challenges which direct trade roasters are facing (Mohamad Merhi – Cypher Urban Roasters, UAE)
• Addressing the North-South divide in the coffee supply chain (Sam Corra – ONA Coffee, Australia)
• More than a market trend: Why cold brew quality matters (Julia Leach – Toddy, US)
• Circular economy: Implementing scalable coffee packaging solutions (Mark Zhou – MTPak Coffee, China)
• Entrepreneurship in coffee: How can we encourage more young people to join the coffee industry? (Luis Eduardo López – Quality Coffee Assurance Association, Colombia)

There will also be a lecture hosted by Bram de Hoog of Ally Coffee.

Panels at PRF El Salvador

• How can we make specialty coffee less elitist?
  • Lead panellist: Jonathan Moral (Café de Finca, Spain)
  • Guests: Estella Zuleta Carmona (Deep Café and Roastery, UAE), Rodrigo Giammattei (Café Caté, El Salvador)
• Winning the World Barista Championship: Who’s involved and how?
  • Lead panellist: Federico Bolanos (Alquimia Coffee, El Salvador)
  • Guests: Carlos Pola (Finca San Antonio & Las Brisas, El Salvador), Alejandro Mendez (2011 WBC Champion & 4 Monkeys Coffee Roasters, El Salvador)
• How to connect with the Saudi green buyer
  • Lead panellist: Osamah Alawwam (Roasting House, Saudi Arabia)
  • Guests: Yousef Alzayer (Leanitai Coffee, Saudi Arabia), Miguel Candel (Saudi Coffee, Saudi Arabia)
• The role of women in the Salvadoran coffee sector
  • Lead panellist: María Pacas (Café Pacas, El Salvador)
  • Guests: María Elena Botto (International Women’s Coffee Association & Women’s Coffee Alliance of El Salvador, El Salvador), Ana María Schmidt (Finca Montealegre, El Salvador)
• Customising coffee education and training for Central America
  • Lead panellist: Johanna de Rodríguez (Academia Barista Pro, El Salvador)
  • Guests: Jonathan Rodríguez (Academia Barista Pro, El Salvador), Carlos Guerra (Café San Rafael, Honduras)
• What is a buyer looking for? How can you add value to both yourself and the buyer?
  • Lead panellist: Ryan Garrick (Watchhouse, UK)
  • Guest: Jordan Montgomery (Fjord Coffee Roasters, Germany)
• Are we defining coffee quality incorrectly?
  • Lead panellist: Tony Dreyfuss (Metropolis Coffee, US)
  • Guests: Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery (Rancilio Group DE, Germany), Jorge Raúl Rivera (Finca Santa Rosa, El Salvador)
• Reviewing Middle Eastern specialty coffee trends
  • Lead panellist: Cleia Junqueira (Coffee Planet, UAE)
  • Guests: Anthony Bedoyan (Golden Goose, UAE), Mostafa El-Saiid (Al Fayrouz, Egypt)
• Scaling specialty coffee consumption through relationships with fast food chains
  • Lead panellist: Edgar Cabrera (Thrive Farmers, US)
  • Guest: Kenneth Lander (Thrive Farmers, US)
• How can roasters add more value for producers?
  • Lead panellist: Jeffrey Chean (Groundwork Coffee, US)
  • Guests: Adam Kline (Coffee Unified, US), Sara Corrales (La Tostadería, Nicaragua)

Want to watch lectures and panel discussions from PRF Colombia in 2022? Take a look here.

Who will be hosting workshops and cupping sessions?

Alongside lectures and panels, PRF El Salvador attendees can also participate in hands-on workshops, as well as cupping sessions which will allow visitors to taste some of the highest-quality coffees in Central America.

Workshops

• How can we make sample roasting more relevant to producers? (Sam Corra – ONA Coffee, Australia)
• The relationship between water and coffee: How to make a barista’s life easier (Antoine Communaudat – BWT Water+ more, international)
• A coffee bean changed my life: stories from Africa (Ryan le Roux – Leva Foundation, South Africa and Shaun Aupiais – Red Band Academy, South Africa)
• The basics of price risk management and hedging (Albert Scalla – StoneX, US)
• How to roast exotic coffees (Ola Brattas – Kaffebrenneriet, Norway)
• The influence of temperature on coffee extraction (Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery – Rancilio Group DE, Germany)
• Reviewing high-barrier packaging options for roasted coffee (Alejandro Ocampo – Alico, Colombia)
• Educational roundtable for Mayorga Scholarship recipients (Becados) (Martin Mayorga – Mayorga Coffee, US)
• World Barista Championship: How to develop your drinks & routine (Dale Harris – Ozone Coffee Roasters, UK)

As well as these sessions, there will be more workshops hosted by Fair Trade Academy (US).

Cupping sessions

As well as workshops, a number of cuppings will be hosted by the following companies at PRF El Salvador:

• Café Tuxpal (El Salvador)
• MAV Coffee (El Salvador)
• EFICO/Cuprima (Belgium)
• San José Specialty Coffee (El Salvador)
• Granja Paraiso 92 (Colombia) – who will also host public cuppings for all attendees
• Ally Coffee (Central America)
• Café de El Salvador/El Consejo Salvadoreño del Café (El Salvador)
• Café Pacas (El Salvador)
• Finca Santa Matilde (El Salvador)
• Finca Altamira (El Salvador)
• Finca El Silencio (Guatemala)
• Finca Katharina Pacaya (Guatemala)
• Beneficio Santa Rosa (Honduras)

The PRF El Salvador cupping programme, as well as all cupping protocols used, will be managed by founder of La Escuela de Catadores, Cup of Excellence judge, and co-founder of the Global School of Coffee Excellence, Carlos Pineda.

Spaces will be limited for all workshops, cupping sessions, and micro-lectures, so attendees will need to pre-register well ahead of time to secure their place.

El Salvador is set to host the biggest PRF event yet, with an extensive lineup of industry experts and thought leaders. In the coming weeks, PRF will also be announcing more speakers and panellists.

PRF El Salvador will take place at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre in San Salvador on 16 and 17 March 2023.

To find out more about tickets for the Sourcing Trip Experience, a separate package which also includes a ticket to the two-day PRF event, you can find more information here.

You can stay up to date with all announcements for PRF El Salvador here, or by subscribing to the newsletter here. 

Photo credits: Paulina Pérez, Dulce Barrera, Federico Bolaños, Miguel Candel, Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery, Fundación Bancolombia

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