World of Coffee 2024: The Inside Scoop
The World of Coffee is a global event that attracts roasters, producers, and equipment suppliers, primarily from Europe, offering a unique platform for networking and collaboration within the coffee industry. The 3-day event is great for building connections with fellow coffee fanatics, selling products, and learning what’s next in the “World of Coffee.” This is the second year in a row that we have been fortunate enough to attend the convention and we could not have been more thrilled. The World of Coffee has now taken us to the most incredible places in the world like Athens, Greece, and this year to the beautiful city of Copenhagen.
Representing Honduras at WOC
As you can imagine, representing Honduras at the World of Coffee was a huge honor. Our booth, organized by Ih-Café, showcased coffee from the Copán region of Honduras. We served coffee from our family farm Finca Terrerito to coffee lovers from all across the globe. We brought Marcial, Director of Operations, and Lourdes, Director of Quality Control, from Finca Terrerito with us to help oversee the booth and chat more in-depth with those visiting our booth about the farming process.
Over the 3-day event, we built relationships, discussed farms and sustainability initiatives, and worked closely with Loring, focusing on sustainable practices. The first two days, we spent our time with Ih-Café representing Honduras and the final day with Loring showcasing our mission towards sustainability and supporting the creators of our favorite roaster!
Falling in Love with Copenhagen
Copenhagen was a stunning city and we were astounded with all that the city offered. Something that surprised us was their moves towards sustainability. In Copenhagen, most people travel by bike, so much so that the roads are built specifically for bikes, not cars. There are bike lanes, bike lights, and bike racks everywhere you look.
More than just transportation, they put a focus on reducing waste. For example, if you go to a restaurant and order more than you can eat, you get charged extra for the food you didn’t eat. There is a huge stance against overconsumption in Denmark, and we are so here for it. We are all about sustainability and doing all that you can to keep the world a clean place. We left Copenhagen inspired and re-invigorated in our mission towards sustainability.
European Coffee Adventures
We started in Copenhagen and from there flew into Barcelona to visit roasters in the area and get a sense of the coffee scene in Spain. While there, we visited an incredible roastery: Cafés El Magnifico Roaster. Cafés El Magnífico was created in 1962 by the Velasco family. The business was built into a coffee empire within Spain and today is successfully run by their son Salvador Sans Velasco. Furthermore, Cafés El Magnífico has been a major influence in the specialty coffee community. In 1996, Cafés El Magnífico co-founded the non-profit organization, The Forum Cultural del Café, with five other coffee roasters in Spain “to promote the consumption of quality coffee, to be a platform for disseminating coffee knowledge covering the entire value chain of the product and to promote the professionalization of the sector.” We were honored to be able to visit the roastery and see what Cafés El Magnífico is all about!
From Spain, we went on over to Lisbon, Portugal to catch our flight back home. You know we couldn’t leave without grabbing a cup of coffee first though! We stopped by a local, popular roastery called 7G Roaster. We were so impressed with the quality of the coffee they roasted and how rich the flavors were. After enjoying a delicious cup, we headed on over to the airport to catch a flight back home.
Our journey through Europe and participation in the World of Coffee was a transformative experience. We built connections, learned new practices, and deepened our appreciation for the global coffee community. We can't wait to continue our journey and represent Honduras in the years to come.
