Our Sourcing Trip Experience is an integral part of our involvement with El Salvador’s specialty coffee industry.
The three-day event takes place on various Salvadoran coffee farms immediately prior to PRF El Salvador, giving roasters and traders an unmissable chance to learn more about local coffee production and create new sourcing opportunities.
With just over a month to go before we embark on this journey, we’re sending out one final call to all roasters and green coffee traders to secure your STE ticket before it’s too late.
El Salvador is a rich and diverse coffee-producing country with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Our hosts are eager to connect with coffee buyers from around the world and engage in meaningful business relationships.
Let’s take a look at what the STE entails, where the various trips will take place, and how you can take full advantage of this exceptional coffee sourcing encounter. Trust us – you don’t want to miss out.
What is the Sourcing Trip Experience?
Although the Sourcing Trip Experience is completely separate from the two-day PRF El Salvador forum, it shares a core mission: to facilitate genuine opportunities for roasters and traders to source amazing Salvadoran coffees. It’s a unique opportunity to engage with the coffee industry in a way that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.
The trip will take place at several renowned Salvadoran specialty coffee farms. There, attendees will be hosted by industry-leading producers in groups of up to 15.
Each STE includes the following:
- Farm tours
- Wet and dry mill tours
- Cupping sessions
- Roundtable discussions with coffee professionals who work in production, workshops, and other interactive activities
- Networking opportunities with potential sourcing partners and other roasters
- Warehouse visits
- Sightseeing
- Organized dinners featuring local cuisine
These activities will bring roasters and traders face-to-face with the people behind El Salvador’s specialty coffee, laying the foundations for long-term sourcing relationships which are mutually beneficial for both buyers and producers.
The journey doesn’t end there – after the STE, attendees will travel to San Salvador to attend the separate two-day forum. Remember: each STE ticket automatically entitles the attendee to access to PRF El Salvador.
You can learn more about the STE here.
Which Salvadoran producers are involved?
We’re proud to share that we’ve partnered with some of the best specialty coffee producers in the country to make our STE a possibility:
Sicafe
Since 1870, six generations of the Silva family have passed down their coffee-growing expertise, culminating in the successful company we see today. Sicafe is so successful, in fact, that it has won several Cup of Excellence awards in recent years.
Having attended the first PRF event in 2016 – which was also hosted in El Salvador – Head of Operations Rafa Silva says he’s looking forward to the wealth of knowledge that will be shared across both the STE and the two-day forum.
Divisadero Coffee
Described by owner Mauricio A. “Moe” Salavarría as “The Kingdom of Naturals”, Divisadero Coffee has pioneered, improved, and ultimately perfected natural coffee processing in El Salvador across five generations.
“[By visiting our farms,] roasters can gain firsthand knowledge on just how difficult it really is to produce, process, and export these beautiful micro lots of specialty coffee,” he says.
Los Pirineos
Over the course of 130 years, Los Pirineos has become globally renowned for its excellent specialty coffees. It’s currently run by fifth-generation producer Diego Baraona, who took over following his father’s passing in 2020.
Throughout his career, the late Gilberto Baraona was dedicated to uplifting smallholder coffee producers and promoting the cultivation of high-quality coffees all over the globe. Overall, the farm has won more than 20 Cup of Excellence awards in the last 12 years, making it a world leader in high-quality specialty coffee production.
UNEX
UNEX is the single largest coffee sourcer, miller, and exporter in El Salvador, sourcing from more than 4,000 producers of all sizes. The company believes that El Salvador is a unique origin that celebrates direct trade, transparency, and sustainability.
Since 1992, UNEX has worked to make roasters aware of the challenges faced by producers at origin. STE attendees will have the opportunity to experience this first-hand when they visit the company’s coffee mill and three local farms: Finca Plan del Hoyo, Finca el Carmen, and Finca Nueva Granada.
“More than a farm, a mill, or a good cupping of quality coffee, UNEX wants PRF visitors to understand and visualize a sustainable supply chain,” the company explains. “A sustainable supply chain in coffee requires the exporter, the roaster, and more importantly the farmer to perceive value in producing coffee.”
With this much to look forward to, we simply can’t wait to welcome roasters and traders to this year’s Sourcing Trip Experience in El Salvador. If you’re still on the fence, consider the following benefits you’ll receive:
- The chance to learn more about new farming techniques, varieties, and more changes taking place in Salvadoran coffee production
- Opportunities for market research and learning more about other consuming markets
- Learning more about how markets are developing in coffee producing countries
- More insight into how other roasters and buyers operate, and how you can change your strategy to source or operate more effectively
- Learning more about emerging trends in coffee production in El Salvador and beyond
- Mentorship opportunities
- Networking with global coffee professionals and brands
If you’re interested in attending the Sourcing Trip Experience, book your experience here or email the STE Coordinator at tati@producerroasterforum.com.