On 27 & 28 March 2025, Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) will host its biggest edition yet at the Copantl Hotel & Convention Centre in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
The event, marking PRF’s tenth anniversary, will bring international roasters, traders, producers, baristas, and industry experts together to share their knowledge – bolstering the growth of the global coffee sector.
Over the last decade, the two-day forum has set a precedent for the format of industry-leading events, creating a space for producers and roasters to connect and build long-lasting working relationships.
As with any edition, the success of PRF wouldn’t be possible without its specially curated line-up of speakers and panellists offering their insight and expertise about some of the industry’s most pressing topics.
In addition to lectures, panels, workshops, and cuppings, PRF Honduras will also include the fourth Global Roasting Contest, the sixth Cold Brew Coffee Championship, the second Cacao Masters Cup, the third Global Coffee Awards, the second PRF Seed scholarship initiative, and an all-new Producer-Roaster Matchmaking programme.
Read on to learn more about who will speak at the event and how you can attend.
Learn more about PRF here.
Gearing up to celebrate PRF’s biggest event so far
Every year for close to a decade, PRF has hosted some of the most groundbreaking events in the coffee sector. Taking place in a renowned producing country in Latin America, each edition gathers together the industry’s top producers, roasters, traders, baristas, and researchers to exchange ideas, drive innovation, and address some of the global coffee sector’s biggest challenges.
In addition to the two-day forums held in major cities in Central and South America, the first-ever PRF: Farm Summit took place on 17 & 18 October 2024 entirely on the award-winning Colombian coffee farm Hacienda Cafetera La Pradera. A total of 1,387 attendees – including 404 farmers and 96 roasters – took part in the one-of-a-kind event, which focused specifically on regenerative and organic farming.
Farm Summit also hosted the fifth Cold Brew Coffee Championship and the inaugural Cacao Masters and Soil of Excellence contests, bringing innovative competitions to a coffee farm.
The two-day forums will continue to serve as springboards for future smaller-format events. Over 4,000 people will attend PRF Honduras, including more than 480 coffee buyers, such as Purity Coffee, Vero Coffee House, Espresso Americano, Woods Roastery, Saltwinds Coffee, and Silverskin Coffee Roasters.
More than 2,000 small producers will also be in attendance, offering roasters an opportunity to connect with and learn from farmers firsthand.
Henry Wilson is the founder of PRF. “Following our last ten years of success, we wanted to organise an event that celebrates the progress we’ve made in reshaping the coffee industry,” he says. “Honduras will be the biggest-ever edition so far, adding more value to the attendee experience and setting PRF up for more accomplishments in the future.”
Why will Honduras host the tenth edition of PRF?
According to the latest USDA figures, Honduras will produce 5.5 million 60kg bags in 2023/24, establishing its position as one of Latin America’s leading specialty coffee growers. This, however, represents a 24% decrease from the previous year, as incidences of coffee leaf rust, an ongoing labour shortage, and falling domestic market prices have posed challenges for producers.
An estimated 95% of the country’s coffee is grown by smallholders, making PRF Honduras, the organiser’s third event in 18 months, a valuable opportunity for roasters to learn directly from these farmers who grow high-quality varieties like Bourbon and Catuai.
The event is projected to generate US $14.5 million for the local economy, supporting the country’s producers and securing a sustainable future for its coffee sector, especially as it grapples with barriers to growth.
“We hosted a virtual forum focused on Honduras in 2021, but we’re now thrilled to organise an in-person forum that will offer even more value to producers and roasters,” Henry says. “Attendees have long asked for us to come to Honduras, so we’re happy to fulfil their requests finally.”
Announcing the speaker line-up for PRF Honduras
Every event includes a tailored PRF Voices programme, specially curated for producers and roasters to gain invaluable insight and knowledge about the wider coffee supply chain.
Over the past decade, speakers have included coffee professionals from 36 countries, representing both mature and emerging specialty coffee markets. These include the US, Australia, Colombia, Japan, El Salvador, Honduras, the UK, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Serbia, and more.
PRF Honduras will include a broad range of English and Spanish industry experts speaking on a range of topics, such as:
- The Baltics Coffee Market: Consumption Trends and Pricing Insights (Darius Vezelis – Vero Coffee House, Lithuania)
- Fluctuating Pricing and Shifting Sourcing Strategies: An Importer’s Perspective (Abraham Castro – Ally Coffee, US)
- Green Buying Practices and Post-Harvest Processing for the GCC Specialty Coffee Market (Raja Muthusamy, IFFCO, and Karthikeyan Rajendran, Three Coffee – UAE)
- Understanding Green Coffee Logistics: Overcoming Challenges and Building an Efficient Supply Chain (Afshin Roshanian – Artisan Coffee Gear, Romania)
- The Science of Roasting for Functional Benefits (Ildi Revi – Purity Coffee)
- From Farm to Cup: Leveraging Social Media to Build Producer-Roaster Relationships (Elton Guillen – Emense Coffee, Nicaragua)
- GIS: Geolocation, Registration, and Documentation of Coffee Farms (Valeria Campos, Geotecnologías SA Costa Rica, and Cinthia Rivera, Geotecnologías SA Honduras)
- Leveraging Computational Simulation to Optimise Coffee Drying, Storage, and Roasting (Jaime Daniel Bustos – Universidad Surcolombiana, Colombia)
- Enhancing Coffee Quality and Volume: Adopting New Brazilian Production Methods in Honduras (Joaquim Brando – Pinhalense, Brazil)
- Understanding the Southeastern European Market: Market Intelligence & Key Insights (Zoran Stanojevic – Kafeterija, Serbia)
Panels
Leading figures in the global coffee industry will also join panels at PRF Honduras, including:
- Progressive Composting Techniques for Coffee Producers (Bob Fish, Michelle Fish, and Biggby producers – OBIIS, US)
- Multi-Generational Family Businesses: Opportunities and Challenges from Producers and Roasters
- Ian Steel – Atkinsons, UK
- Rebeca Paz – Orgánico del Lago, Honduras
- Fine Cacao to Fine Chocolate: Understanding the Bean-to-Bar Process
- Anastasia Zummar – Zucoleto, Honduras
- Hector Aguilar – Fundación Hondureñas de Investigación Agrícola, Honduras
- Ricardo España – Cadelga, Honduras
- Creating Inclusive Gender Policies for the Coffee Sector: Key Considerations
- Sofia Nuñez – Funda AHPROCAFE, Honduras
- Gabriela Osorio – AMUCAFE, Honduras
- Karen Pavon – Corus International, Honduras
What else is happening?
In addition to PRF Voices, the event will also host cuppings led by some of Latin America’s best producers and exporters. Attendees will have the chance to taste some of the region’s finest coffees.
This year, workshops at PRF Honduras will be led by Zamorano University (Pan-American Agricultural School), one of Latin America’s most prestigious leading universities, which offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in coffee production and marketing. All workshop attendees will receive a certificate issued by Zamorano to recognise their participation officially.
Competitions at the event will include:
- The fourth Global Coffee Roasting Contest, which assesses pure roasting skills, including both a technical and a people’s choice winner
- The sixth Cold Brew Coffee Championship, where competitors need to create two cold brew-based beverages and a designer drink to showcase their creativity and flair
- The second Cacao Masters Cup, which demonstrates the deep connection between coffee and cacao
- PRF Honduras will also feature a Fine Cacao Zone for producers and roasters to taste specialty-grade cacao
After its successful debut at PRF Guatemala in March 2024, PRF Seed will return in 2025. This scheme recognises driven entrepreneurs in the coffee industry and empowers them by funding valuable community-focused initiatives. This edition of the programme is open exclusively to volunteers, providing them with a valuable platform to share their ideas and accomplishments.
The event will also host the third edition of the Global Coffee Awards, which celebrate key innovators and leaders across the industry.
Finally, there will be an Espresso, a Brew, and a Cold Brew Bar for attendees to try exceptional coffees from Honduras and beyond.
Introducing Producer-Roaster Matchmaking
With a growing number of activities taking place at events, finding the time to connect with other attendees can be challenging. Networking, however, remains a crucial and necessary part of industry events if visitors want to receive as much value as possible.
To facilitate these connections, PRF will launch the Producer-Roaster Matchmaking programme, an initiative designed specifically for coffee producers and roasters to connect, at the event in Honduras.
The programme will offer one-to-one networking opportunities, allowing roasters and producers to bypass intermediaries and engage more closely with one another.
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, PRF will host a major event in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on 27 & 28 March 2025, highlighting its decade-long impact on the global coffee industry. PRF facilitates a growing number of connections among coffee professionals worldwide, and this year’s edition will only support this further.
International tickets are available here. You can also purchase Sourcing Trip Experience tickets at this link.
Take a look at lectures from previous PRF events here.
Photo credits: Producer & Roaster Forum
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