In just a few days, PRF El Salvador will host four epic coffee competitions at the Salamanca Exhibition Center in San Salvador. 

We’ve partnered with Café de El Salvador to host the 2023 El Salvador National Barista Championship and the National Brewers Championship at the two-day forum.

We’re also incredibly excited for the return of the Toddy Cold Brew Championship, and this year also marks the first time PRF will host the Global Roasting Contest – the first event of its kind to be held in Central America.

Let’s take a look at each competition and what you can expect to witness live at our forum.

El Salvador’s national championships

PRF El Salvador will be the first PRF event ever to host official national coffee competitions. The El Salvador National Barista Championship and National Brewers Championship will both take place from March 16 to 17, with the winners going on to represent El Salvador at the World Coffee Championships in Athens, Greece later this year.

Café de El Salvador (operated by Consejo Salvadoreño del Café, CSC) will run both competitions and all PRF attendees will be able to watch contestants face-off live. 

Competitors will also benefit from the mentorship of two renowned PRF El Salvador speakers: Sam Corra, Director of Coffee at ONA Coffee in Australia and Dale Harris, COO of Hasbean and Ozone Coffee Roasters in the UK.

Sam is the 2017 Australian Brewers Cup Champion and Dale was crowned the World Barista Champion in the same year. Both coffee professionals will be on hand the day before the competitions to share their knowledge and experience with Salvadoran baristas.

For more information on the coffee competitions, visit the official Café de El Salvador Facebook page here.

Toddy Cold Brew Championship

Our Official Cold Brew Sponsor, Toddy, will once again host the fiercely-fought Cold Brew Championship at PRF El Salvador. Company President, Julia Leach, calls the event a contest for those who love demonstrating just how exciting cold brew can be.

On day one, competitors will complete the brewing process – using Toddy’s Cold Brew Cupping Kit – under the watchful eye of a technical judge. On day two, they’ll present their drink in three formats:

• Pure concentrate; minimum 30ml
• Diluted concentrate; minimum 30ml; ratio at competitor’s discretion
• Designer non-alcoholic drink; must contain competitor’s concentrate

The top three competitors – two runners-up and one overall winner – will walk away with prizes provided by Toddy.

Prizes are yet to be confirmed, but last year, they included the Toddy Cold Brew System, Toddy Timer, a Toddy Tumbler, and the Toddy Cold Brew Cupping Kit.

For more information on the Toddy Cold Brew Championship, see here. 

The inaugural Global Roasting Contest

PRF is about connecting coffee producers with potential business partners – including coffee roasters. That’s why we’ve initiated an entirely new coffee competition at PRF El Salvador: the Global Roasting Contest.

This accessible, high-profile coffee roasting competition will involve a number of different international coffee roasting professionals, all working with the same coffee and equipment to create their best work.

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.As a matter of fact, the winner of the Global Roasting Contest will win an Aillio Bullet Roaster R1 V2!

As with the El Salvador national championships, competitors will benefit from an experienced mentor. Eduardo Choza, Director of Coffee at PRF Diamond Sponsor Mayorga Coffee, will offer advice and insights at the event.

For more information about the Global Roasting Contest, see here.

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