World's Largest Specialty Roaster Gathering Heads to El Salvador
More than 500 specialty roasters from over 40 countries will descend on San Salvador later this month for the largest Producer Roaster Forum in the event’s eleven-year history. The March 26-27 gathering at the Hilton Hotel represents something unusual in specialty coffee: a chance for roasters and farmers to negotiate directly, taste lots together, and build relationships face-to-face.
PRF organisers expect over 4,200 total attendees this year, with projected business deals exceeding $15.7 million. The numbers reflect how the forum has evolved from industry meetup to essential sourcing event—a place where a roaster from Brooklyn might finalise a contract with a producer from Apaneca over lunch.
Who’s Coming
The confirmed roaster list reads like a map of American specialty coffee. Onyx Coffee Lab, the Arkansas powerhouse and James Beard semifinalist, will be there. So will California’s Verve Coffee, Texas-based Critical Mass Coffee, and Mill Cross Coffee from Virginia. Australia’s Ocean Grind and the UK’s Tree Artisan Coffee are making the trip, along with dozens of others whose names are less familiar but whose businesses depend on relationships built at events like this.
El Salvador isn’t a random choice. The country’s volcanic highlands—Apaneca-Ilamatepec, Santa Ana, Morazán—produce some of Central America’s most sought-after beans. For roasters sourcing Bourbon, Pacas, and Pacamara, being on the ground matters.
The Sourcing Trip
The forum itself runs two days, but the real work starts earlier. From March 22-25, the Sourcing Trip Experience sends roasters directly to farms across El Salvador’s coffee regions. They stay with producers, cup harvests in process, and see firsthand how altitude, soil, and care translate to flavour.
It’s the kind of due diligence that transforms transactional buying into genuine partnership. A roaster who has walked the rows at 1,400 metres, met the pickers, and tasted the cherry understands what they’re selling in a way no sample bag can communicate.
Competitions Within Competitions
PRF has accumulated a constellation of contests over the years. The Global Roasting Contest enters its fifth year. The Cold Brew Championship reaches number seven. This edition adds the Global Cupping Championship and continues the Soil of Excellence competition, which rewards farmers for regenerative practices.
The main event arrives March 24-25: the Global Coffee Awards World Championship. Regional winners from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and producing countries compete for the title of world’s best roaster. It’s the culmination of a year-long competition circuit, and the finals take place right before PRF opens.
Also on the schedule: the Producer-Roaster Matchmaking programme, which arranges speed-dating-style meetings between buyers and sellers, and Seed Connect, focused on variety development and agricultural innovation.
Why This Matters
Specialty coffee can feel abstract when experienced only through retail bags and cafe menus. Events like PRF collapse the distance between crop and cup. A roaster sitting across from a farmer, tasting the same lot, negotiating a fair price—that’s direct trade in practice, not marketing copy.
The 2026 edition marks a milestone. Over a decade, PRF has grown from niche gathering to the largest annual meeting of specialty roasters and producers anywhere. That San Salvador hosts it says something about El Salvador’s continuing relevance as an origin and the country’s willingness to invest in specialty infrastructure.
For roasters who haven’t made the trip, March offers a chance to see what sourcing looks like when it happens at origin rather than over email.