PRF Guatemala confirms first speakers for 7 & 8 March 2024

Following a call for applications in October 2023, Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) is proud to announce the first speakers for PRF Guatemala. PRF is one of the coffee industry’s few events that places producers at the very forefront – making sure their voices are the most prominent.

The two-day forum will take place on 7 & 8 March 2024 at the Anacafé venue in Guatemala City, Guatemala. This will be the second time PRF is held in the country, after a successful event in 2019 which included hundreds of producers and roasters.

This year’s forum is set to be even bigger – with thousands of producers, traders, roasters, baristas, and other industry professionals expected to attend.

At every PRF event, a carefully selected panel of expert speakers discuss some of the most pertinent and pressing issues affecting the global coffee sector. In addition to lectures and presentations, there are also many other engaging activities taking place at PRF Guatemala – including workshops, cuppings, competitions, and more.

Read on to find out who the speakers will be at PRF Guatemala in March 2024.

Learn more about PRF Guatemala here.

So why Guatemala again?

Although many different supply chain actors and stakeholders attend PRF, the event focuses primarily on producers. In turn, they help to lead some of the most important conversations that the industry needs to have.

In September 2023, PRF Colombia took place at the Plaza Mayor venue in Medellín, Colombia. More than 5,000 coffee professionals attended from around the world, and the event also hosted four unique coffee competitions – including the second edition of the groundbreaking Global Coffee Roasting Contest.

The overall goal of PRF is to empower producers and drive green coffee sales in the host country, as well as championing Latin America as a global coffee knowledge hub. This year’s forum aims to generate US $13.5 million in green coffee sales to boost the national economy.

So why is the event taking place in Guatemala again? 

The country is renowned for its excellent coffee, and also ranks in the top ten producing countries in the world. In fact, in 2018, the government even recognised coffee production as an intangible heritage of Guatemala.

Luisa Fernanda Correa is the General Manager at Anacafé. The association was established in 1960 to represent the values and best interests of the more than 125,000 families in Guatemala working in the coffee industry.

Anacafé will be the Host Country Sponsor for PRF Guatemala, and the two-day forum will take place at the association’s headquarters in Guatemala City.

“For Anacafé and Guatemalan Coffees, it is very exciting to once again host PRF,” Luisa says. “The event will offer some amazing opportunities to our coffee producers, and will be the perfect platform for international buyers to get to know our spectacular country and discover the amazing coffee that we produce.”

Announcing the speakers for PRF Guatemala

As part of its focus on producers, leading speakers and panellists at PRF events discuss some of the most important issues that the coffee industry faces today, as well as in the near future. 

Moreover, the format of the event encourages speakers and attendees to share potential solutions to these issues as part of these conversations.

Martin Mayorga is the founder of Mayorga Coffee, which is the PRF Diamond Sponsor. At every PRF event, Mayorga Coffee sponsors around 500 smallholder farmers to attend the forum through its Beca Mayorga scholarship programme.

Martin also spoke at PRF Colombia on 14 & 15 September 2023 about how the industry can better support producers beyond paying higher prices for coffee.

“PRF helps us to connect and talk to smallholder producers, who have been quite disconnected from the market,” he said at the event. “Here, we can do the most important thing, which is to start the conversation, because if we really want to drive change and make an impact, we have to know what farmers’ goals are and the challenges they face.”

Lectures at PRF Guatemala

PRF Guatemala will include lectures in both English and Spanish covering a range of topics. The speakers will include Bob Fish of PRF Gold Sponsor One BIGG Island in Space (US), Erik David Werner of Valiant Coffee Roasters (US), and Gabriel Restrepo of PRF Bronze Sponsor Ally Coffee.

Other English-speaking lectures will be given by:

• Albert Scalla – StoneX, US
• Cleia Junqueira – The Coffee Connoisseur Collective, UAE
• James Harper and Jonathan Morris – A History of Coffee podcast, Germany and UK
• Konstantinos Vallianos – Kafea Terra, Greece
• Afshin Roshanian – Artisan Green Bean, Romania
• Bruno Nobre – Cultivo, US
• David Paparelli – M-Cultivo, UK

Alongside this, PRF Guatemala will also host a range of lectures in Spanish from the following speakers:

• Eduardo Choza – Mayorga Coffee, US
• Ana Lucrecia Glaesel – Anacafé, Guatemala
• Raúl Rodas – Paradigma Coffee, Guatemala
• Aida Esther Peñuela Martínez – Federación de Cafeteros de Colombia-Cenicafé, Colombia
• Renaud Cuchet – Efico Central America SA, Guatemala
• Joaquim Rogerio – Pinhalense, Brazil
• Carlos Rolz-Asturias – Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala
• Silvio Morales Herrera – Cooperativa Cafetalera Capucas Limitada, Honduras
• Laura Holguin Sterling – Centro Nacional de Investigaciones en Café, Colombia
• Timur Dudkin – Mare Terra Coffee, Spain
• Ashley Prentice – Gento Coffee, Guatemala
• Giselle Barrera – Latinas in Coffee, El Salvador
• Marcela Pino – Food 4 Farmers, US
• Ana María Schmidt, Claudia Abril de Pérez, Max Pérez, and Jorge Escobar Bruno – Montealegre y Co-op La Hermosa, Guatemala & El Salvador

Other events & activities

At the two-day forum, there will also be cupping sessions hosted by:

• Ally Coffee
• Exportadora de Café Especial de Guatemala S.A.
• San Miguel
• Paradigma Coffee
• Café Finos de Honduras
• Guatemalan Coffees
• Fecvelab
• Primavera Coffee
• APROCAUN
• Exportadora de Café Especial de Guatemala S.A.

All cuppings are organised in partnership with Official Cupping and Water Sponsor BWT water+more.

As well as lectures, speeches, and cuppings, PRF Guatemala attendees can also participate in interactive workshops at the event hosted by BWT water+more. These will cover topics such as introductions to roasting, cupping, latte art, and pour over brewing.

This year, PRF Guatemala will also host the fourth Cold Brew Championship, organised in partnership with Official Cold Brew Coffee Sponsor Toddy. More details about other competitions taking place at PRF Guatemala will also be announced in the coming weeks.

The two-day forum also includes an Espresso Bar in partnership with Official Espresso Bar Sponsor I Coffee Solutions and a Brew Bar hosted by Official Brew Bar Sponsor TONE.

Introducing the PRF Seed scholarship programme

PRF’s volunteer and scholarship programmes allow hundreds of industry professionals to attend world-class exhibitions, experience the coffee sector from different perspectives, and connect with leading experts.

This is why Producer & Roaster Forum is proud to launch PRF Seed, which recognises and honours leading volunteers and scholarship recipients so they can advance their entrepreneurial spirit.

The first edition of the programme will take place at PRF Guatemala. The programme will provide a collective fund of US $10,000 to be distributed among a maximum of four winners. This funding can be a crucial way for recipients to expand their reach and impact, and allow them to grow and further improve their operational and strategic activities.

As PRF is a global organisation, volunteers and scholarship recipients from across the world can apply by completing this form. However, all applicants must have been accepted as either a volunteer or scholarship recipient at PRF Guatemala.

Applicants must record and share a high-quality, creative video presentation which should be no longer than 90 seconds. The video has to include an introduction, an applicant profile, an explanation of their entrepreneurial idea, a general business plan, and their required amount of funding. The deadline for submitting the application is 15 February 2024.

PRF’s return to Guatemala on 7 & 8 March is set to be one of the biggest events yet. The two-day forum will take place at the Anacafé venue in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

To find out more about tickets for the Sourcing Trip Experience, a separate package which also includes a ticket to the two-day PRF event, you can find more information here.

You can stay up to date with all announcements for PRF Guatemala here, or by subscribing to the newsletter here.

Please note: PRF does not cover any travel, accommodation, or other costs for speakers and panellists.

Photo credits: Producer Roaster Forum

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