!FEST Coffee Mission, a world-class specialty green coffee sourcing company, joins PRF El Salvador as the Official Roasting Sponsor for our new Global Roasting Contest.

How does the Global Roasting Contest work?

The competition will bring international coffee roasting professionals together on a competitive platform, where they will showcase their skills and talents.

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 on 17 March 2023. The winner will receive an Aillio Bullet Roaster R1 V2.

Successful applicants will be able to experiment with the Aillio Bullet Roaster one day prior to the event (on 15 March 2023) at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre.

Competitors will need to show venue staff their PRF ticket and confirmation of participation to gain entry.

On 16 March, each competitor will have 30 minutes to roast one 500g sample of green coffee supplied by !FEST Coffee Mission, with a 15-minute break between each competitor.

  • All green coffee samples provided are identical.
  • All competitors receive samples – and thereby know which coffees they will be roasting – on 16 March before the contest takes place.
  • PRF attendees are invited to watch competitors take part in the contest.

All roasted samples will be left to degas overnight for the second round of judging.

On the morning of 17 March, the judges will review all samples, then choose the best 4 samples to proceed to the next round.

These 4 samples will then be served at the Brew Bar from 15:00 to 17:00 using a ratio of 55g/l. 

The samples will also be prepared using the same brew temperature and method, as well as grind size.

As part of the competition’s unique final assessment round, all PRF attendees will be invited to taste all four samples at the Brew Bar.

Attendees need to show their PRF ticket at the Brew Bar to try the competition coffees.

Anyone who tastes the samples can anonymously cast a vote for their favourite coffee.

Who can participate?

  • At least eight coffee professionals will take part in the competition.
  • Participants need to have at least two years’ roasting experience, and also need to have experience working with a wide range of roast profiles.
  • The competition is open to international applicants.
  • Applicants should be able to cope well under pressure and in a competitive environment.

Participants need to have a PRF El Salvador ticket (get your ticket here).