In just a few days’ time, PRF El Salvador will host the inaugural Global Roasting Contest at the Salamanca Exhibition Center in San Salvador.
It’s the first roasting competition of its kind to take place in Central America. Our Official Roasting Sponsor, !FEST Coffee Mission, will supply all the high-quality specialty green coffee used at the event, as well as one of the two Aillio Bullet roasters earmarked for competitors.
Additionally, we’re proud to announce that Eduardo Choza, Director of Coffee at PRF Diamond Sponsor Mayorga Coffee, will offer advice and mentorship to Global Roasting Contest participants.
Eduardo is a certified Q arabica grader and is eager to share his experience and insight at the event. Read on to learn more about his role.
A truly global competition – at origin
Julio Guevara, Director of Producer & Roaster Forum, explains that he’s incredibly excited to have a skilled, Latin American coffee professional like Eduardo present at PRF El Salvador.
“This shows how competitions like these have the potential to showcase excellence in Latin American coffee,” he says. “Not only that, but it’s proof that events like PRF can unite producers and roasters together in different formats.”
Eduardo himself explains that any global coffee competition should have both mentors and judges from all over the world.
“For me, representation is important,” he says. “It’s good for the competitors to have someone they can exchange ideas with who speaks their language and shares a cultural connection.”
He adds that there’s a lot of gatekeeping that takes place in the specialty coffee sector. And, if our collective goal is to grow the industry and use best practices, he believes that this has to change.
At the same time, Eduardo is excited about the prospect of an accessible, high-profile coffee roasting competition taking place in a producing country.
“Showcasing coffee competitions in coffee producing countries is essential,” he elaborates. “There are many talented coffee people in the global coffee community we have yet to hear about. I think making competitions accessible and affordable is the key and can have a lasting impact in the world of coffee.”
Bringing the best out of competitors
Eduardo shares PRF’s vision for creating meaningful, lasting connections between coffee professionals. As such, he plans to dedicate a portion of his time at our two-day forum to coach Global Roasting Contest participants.
“I would like for the competitors to create a network of people in their field who they can reach out to for advice, ideas, innovation, and inspiration,” he explains. “I’m looking forward to working with the roasting competitors in a guidance and mentorship role and will be blindly judging their coffees.”
The Global Roasting Contest will involve a number of different international coffee roasting professionals, all working with the same coffee and equipment to create their best work. The competition will take place on 16 and 17 March 2023, with all coffees roasted on day one and judged on day two.
The sample with the most votes will be announced at 17:00 local time on 17 March 2023. The winner will receive an Aillio Bullet Roaster R1 V2. For more information on the Global Roasting Contest, visit this page.
- For all travel considerations and other event details, check out this blog.
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Please carefully review our terms & conditions and code of conduct prior to attending PRF El Salvador. If you have any further questions, feel free to email the PRF Coordinator at tati@producerroasterforum.com.
See you in San Salvador!