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We have successfully concluded the 20th edition of Let’s Talk Coffee® (LTC), which took place at the end of September at the Real InterContinental Lima Miraflores in Peru’s capital city. A diverse group of attendees – approximately 1/3 of whom were from consuming countries – came together for three days of presentations and panels addressing a range of topics, including government involvement in the coffee industry, producer financing, technology, and regenerative agriculture.
Under the theme “The Climate of Business & the Business of Climate,” LTC 2025 created a forum to discuss the ongoing volatility in the global coffee marketplace and the impacts on producers and roasters. Dr. Aaron Davis, Senior Research Leader of Crops & Global Change at Royal Botanic Garden (Kew, England), kicked off the event with a keynote speech that addressed the long-term forecast for arabica production and the need to consider alternative species. Jordan Hooper, Head of Green Coffee Trading for Sucafina, Sustainable Harvest’s parent company, followed with a presentation on the current state of the industry. The following day, Kat Nolte Ferguson, Managing Director of Sustainable Harvest, shared the company’s audited financial information with all attendees, in what was perhaps the first case of a green coffee importer providing full financial transparency at an industry event.
In addition to the main educational program, LTC 2025 featured three well-attended cupping sessions that showcased samples from Sustainable Harvest’s supplier network in Peru as well as in other Latin American origins. Dr. Davis and Ben Brewer, Senior Director of Global Coffee Quality & Innovation at Blue Bottle Coffee, led the attendees in a tasting of five excelsa and liberica species roasted and provided by Blue Bottle. A representative from World Coffee Research also conducted a workshop on genetic integrity and quality of seed sources, using Peru as a case study.
As the strategic partner of LTC 2025, the Comisión de Promoción del Perú para la Exportación y el Turismo – commonly known as PROMPERÚ – provided both financial backing and promotional materials. PROMPERÚ also assisted Sustainable Harvest in incorporating various aspects of Peru and Peruvian culture into the event, e.g., gastronomy, pisco, tourism, and crafts. Other key supporters included Be Perú MICE, Cámara Peruana del Café y Cacao, Coffee Quality Institute, Distilería La Caravedo, Grupo Aste, Grupo RomEx, HVC Exportaciones, and Sanremo Coffee Machines.
“Lima was a great host city for this event,” says Al Liu, Director of Let’s Talk Coffee. “We sincerely appreciate the support of everyone who made LTC 2025 possible – especially PROMPERÚ, with whom we collaborated for well over a year. Peru really has come into its own as a specialty origin, and PROMPERÚ has been at the forefront of promoting the country’s diverse coffee-growing regions.”
Participants included producers from Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru, as well as green buyers from Canada, England, South Korea, and the U.S. Simultaneous interpretation, a long-standing LTC tradition, allowed for everyone to sit together, listen, and ask questions. Immediately following LTC 2025, a sizeable group of roasters, accompanied by Sustainable Harvest staff members, traveled to northern Peru to visit Finca Churupampa, CAC La Prosperidad de Chirinos, APROCASSI, and other key suppliers.
One of the specialty coffee industry’s longest-standing events, Let's Talk Coffee is widely recognized for its emphasis on transparency and honest conversation. LTC creates space for candor by building content around the perspectives of producers and roasters who have direct sourcing relationships. Sustainable Harvest plans to conduct the next LTC in 2027, with several host countries already in consideration.
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