GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – On 7 & 8 March 2024, Producer & Roaster Forum returned to Guatemala. The two-day forum – which is one of few industry events that places producers at the very forefront – was held at the Anacafé headquarters in Guatemala City. International roasters from over 40 countries – including Spain, Taiwan, Chile, Romania, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Canada and more – attended the event.
Additionally, the local economy received over US $1.5 million in tourist spending, and the two-day forum generated more than 250 jobs, with the help of volunteers from 20 different countries.
Gabriel Cordón is a producer at La Cabaña Estate in Colombia, and attended PRF Guatemala.
“PRF has helped us see where the industry is heading and how to change our mindset from solely focusing on local sales to expanding our business,” he says.
Competitions and awards
This year, PRF Guatemala hosted the third Global Coffee Roasting Contest, the fourth Cold Brew Coffee Championship, and the first-ever French Press Championship.
The technical winner of the Global Coffee Roasting Contest was Carlos David Rivera of Charles Café in Honduras, who received a Nucleus Coffee Tools Link sample roaster. The People’s Choice winner was Charlie McIntyre of New Heights Coffee Roasters in the US, who also received a Nucleus Coffee Tools Paragon Espresso tool.
The top three winners of the Cold Brew Coffee Championship were Byron Meléndez of Luma Café in El Salvador, Luisa Santos of Coffeina Café in Colombia, and Julián Trejos of Cafeína Coffee Shop in Colombia.
The winners of the first French Press Championship were Brandon Hernández of Icoffee Solutions Guatemala and Andy Zoneta of Paradigma Coffee Roasters in Guatemala.
PRF Guatemala also hosted the second edition of the Global Coffee Awards – an awards programme which recognises and celebrates key innovators and leaders in the international coffee industry.
Winners at PRF Guatemala included:
- Volunteer of the Year – Xilene Siquero of Copan Trade, Peru
- Becado of the Year – Norlan Medina from Honduras
- Speaker of the Year – Albert Scalla of StoneX, US
- Booth of the Year – Onyx Coffee in Guatemala
- Partnership of the Year – One BIGG Island In Space (OBIIS), US for its Finca Terrerito project
Announcing the first-ever prd seed recipients
As part of PRF’s social commitment programme, PRF Seed recognises and honours leading volunteers and scholarship recipients so that they can take their entrepreneurial spirit and community-focused initiatives to the next level.
At the first-ever PRF Seed, all finalists received funding or prizes – totalling US $26,000 provided by Martin Mayorga, CEO of Mayorga Coffee, (US $11,000), Henry Wilson, CEO of Producer Roaster Forum (US $10,000), and Michelle Fish, co-founder of OBIIS (US $5,000).
Scholarship recipients included:
- Isalia Martínez from Honduras, who received US $6,000
- Isalia will use funds to establish a women-owned co-operative in her rural community
- Nickolle Sánhez from Honduras, who received US $5,000
- Nickolle will dedicate funds towards operating childcare facilities in some of Honduras’ coffee-growing regions
- Fabián Zapata from Colombia, who received US $5,000
- Fabián will use funds to provide barista training courses at a coffee shop in Quindío, Colombia, and will also invest in new equipment
- Víctor Rojas from Colombia, who received US $5,000
- Victor will dedicate funds towards expanding his coffee truck business, Café Chimila, across the Colombian-Caribbean coast
PRF voices, cuppings and workshops
In addition to a tradeshow, every PRF event invites leading industry figures and experts to give speeches and presentations as part of the PRF Voices speakers programme. A total of 28 international speakers took part in PRF Voices this year, including 12 lectures in English and 16 lectures in Spanish.
PRF Workshops were also hosted at the two-day forum, led by Escuela de Café Anacafé and their expert team of instructors. PRF Coffee Cuppings were led by some of Latin America’s finest coffee producers and traders, too.
The next event – PRF Regenerate – is confirmed to take place on 17 & 18 October 2024 in Santander, Colombia. As the first PRF event of its kind, PRF Regenerate will have a specific focus on regenerative coffee farming practices, and will ensure that producers’ voices and perspectives are at the forefront of conversations and discussions.
PRF sponsors:
- Mayorga Coffee – PRF Diamond Sponsor
- One BIGG Island in Space – PRF Gold Sponsor
- Banco Industrial – PRF Silver Sponsor
- Ally Coffee – PRF Bronze Sponsor
- Guatemalan Coffees – Host Country Sponsor for PRF Guatemala
- MTPak Coffee – PRF Gold and Sourcing Trip Experience sponsor
- Nucleus Coffee Tools and Icoffee Solutions – Official Roasting Sponsors for PRF
- Toddy – Official Cold Brew Sponsor for PRF
- Bodum – Official French Press and Barista Sponsor for PRF
- BWT water+more – Official PRF Cupping and Water Sponsor
- Icoffee Solutions – Official Espresso Bar Sponsor
- TONE – Official Brew Bar Sponsor
For more information about Producer & Roaster Forum, click here.
