Many Spanish baristas and roasters know the origins of coffee, some even coming from Colombia or El Salvador. The Spanish language allows an easy connection with the countries of origin.

For example, Syra Coffee in Barcelona is very close to Irene from MAV Coffee. Irene divides her time between Barcelona and her parents' farm in El Salvador, which we have already told you about here.

We can also talk about Toma Cafe, in Madrid, whose family owns the Lechuza farm, also in El Salvador, and managed by our cacao sourcer, César.

Although Barcelona has more roasters per capita, Madrid is the city of coffee shops. Valencia presents itself as a rising city on the Spanish scene.

The take-away culture is very present throughout the country, with many franchise chains like Syra.

This trend can be explained by the Spanish climate. But it also reflects a desire by coffee shops to be profitable, with small places designed for take-away.

And, in any city, in the land of “café con leche”, the filter (batch brew) is largely democratized. Unlike other European countries, when it comes to filter coffee, we almost only drink batch brew in Spain.

Madrid Coffee Festival

The Madrid Coffee Festival is an unmissable event. With the participation of international experts like James Hoffman and Lance Hedrick, but also local ones like Dara Santana (Q-Grader, water expert, founder of the game Caffeine Race), this festival is an ideal platform to discover the latest in coffee specialty and the richness of the Spanish scene.

During the second edition in 2024, Belco organized several activities:

• Cupping open to the public
• A conference on sailing transport, with D.Origen
• A conference on specialty cacao, with Astro Café.
• A cupping at Toma Café, discovering coffees from Ethiopia and El Salvador

Around 60 people attended this event at Toma Café, including roasters, baristas and influencers. All in a very warm atmosphere, like the Spanish scene.

Barcelona Coffee Awards

The Barcelona Coffee Awards stands out for its trendy and very “specialty” atmosphere. With 15 to 20 exhibitors in 2024, the festival has a very end-consumer-focused approach.

This year, by sponsoring the event, Belco helped to highlight the best roasters in Spain.

Naked Coffee Festival, and many more

Initially focused on the Aeropress Championship, the Naked Coffee Festival in Madrid has evolved into a multidisciplinary celebration of coffee and flavors, attracting a diverse audience.

Among the country's other festivals, we can cite the Forum Café, organized by the French equivalent of Collectif Café, and the brand new Valencia is Coffee, under the leadership of Albert from Solo Magazine, the first edition of which will take place from May 31 to June 2, 2024.

For two years, we have therefore been able to observe the dynamism of the specialty coffee market in Spain.

Recently, we have seen roasters from other European countries, such as The Miners (Czech Republic), expand into Spain, with a mainly B2C approach (online sales and coffee shops).

If you are interested in discussing it with us, do not hesitate to contact Laure or Caroline. And, if you're already in Barcelona, ​​consider ordering a "coffee and bikini", as they call ham and cheese sandwiches there!