Yauco National Coffee Festival

The Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco is an annual festival held in the town of Yauco, Puerto Rico. The festival honors the region’s tradition of coffee cultivation, which has been a staple in its economy since the 19th century. It is significant both as a celebration of a key agricultural industry and as a showcase of local identity, combining coffee-related tastings and tours with music, dance, artisan fairs and community spectacle.

The festival is known for its “Desfile del Café” (coffee parade), barista competitions, and an official poster art competition, and is typically held in late February to early March.

It presents a convergence of culture, economy and heritage: linking Yauco’s nickname as “El Pueblo del Café” (“the Coffee Town”) with its mountainous terrain and history of coffee farming.

History of the Festival del Café

As it stands today, the 1974 was the inaugural year for Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco. Since 1974, the annual festival has been organized by the municipal government and local community leaders to honor Yauco’s deep connection to Puerto Rico’s coffee heritage. This tradition makes the Yauco Festival del Café the oldest coffee festival in Puerto Rico!

The inaugural event in 1974 coincided with efforts across the island to revitalize agricultural traditions and promote tourism through regional festivals. Its creation reflected Yauco’s reputation as “El Pueblo del Café” — a title earned for producing some of Puerto Rico’s most renowned coffee, cultivated in the surrounding mountain ranges since the nineteenth century.

Over the following decades, the festival evolved from a modest harvest celebration into one of Puerto Rico’s leading cultural gatherings. By the 1980s, it featured organized parades, musical performances, and artisan fairs alongside coffee-themed exhibits and competitions.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the event grew in both size and national prominence, attracting visitors from across the island and the diaspora. Its program expanded to include barista demonstrations, farm tours, and the “Desfile del Café,” a colorful parade bringing together farmers, schools, and community groups. In recent years, the festival has also highlighted sustainability, rural development, and the contributions of local producers to Puerto Rico’s specialty-coffee movement.

The 50th edition, held from February 23 to March 2, 2025, marked a milestone for the municipality and underscored the festival’s enduring role in preserving Yauco’s coffee identity. Events were split between the barrio Collores, home to the island’s earliest plantations, and Plaza Fernando de Pacheco y Matos in Yauco’s town center. The anniversary celebration emphasized intergenerational participation—uniting farmers, artisans, and artists under a shared theme of honoring Yauco’s legacy and the resilience of Puerto Rican coffee culture.

Importance of coffee to Yauco

It’s hard to understate the importance that the coffee industry holds for Yauco, shaping both its economy and cultural identity. The town’s mountainous terrain, fertile volcanic-derived soils and ideal micro-climate have long made it a prime coffee-growing zone. As noted by local sources, Yauco has been acknowledged as El Pueblo del Café (the Coffee Town) due to its sustained role in high-quality coffee cultivation and export.

By the mid-19th century, farmers, adopted and refined cultivation techniques in the region, contributing to coffee becoming an economic driver and a source of civic pride. Beyond agriculture, the coffee heritage contributes to tourism and local pride making the significance of the Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco a key part of local Yaucano identity.

Activities and things to do at the festival

Activities at the festival span educational, cultural, gastronomic and entertainment fields.

Coffee tastings and demonstrations of roasting, processing and brewing methods by local producers.
Barista competitions where coffee-preparation creativity and skill are judged.
Coffee farm tours (“De la finca a la casa”) and exhibits about the coffee heritage of Yauco.
Music concerts (salsa, plena, bomba), folkloric dance nights (e.g., “Noche Jíbara”), and community parades including the parade of floats in the “Desfile del Café”.
- If you are lucky you may also get to witness a La décima puertorriqueña or Trova jíbara, which is a traditional Puerto Rican form of improvised sung poetry. The performers, called trovadores, improvise verses following a strict rhyme and meter pattern (usually 10 lines of 8 syllables each). Usually in competition, two or more trovadores take turns improvising rhyming verses in response to one another. The poetic duel is called a controversia.
Artisan and craft fairs (jewelry, textiles, décor), food vendors including dishes incorporating coffee, and family-friendly programming such as children’s activities and cultural workshops.
Poster unveiling ceremonies and other arts-based contests (literature, painting) tied to the festival’s theme.

Annual festival poster competition

Art collectors will be excited to know that there is a prized annual poster competition. There’s a competition for the design and artwork then the poster is unveiled at the festival. Official poster copies are sold in limited quantity, so be sure to grab one quick if you are a collector. These posters serve both as promotional items and as lasting artefacts which reflect the festival’s aesthetic linking of coffee, culture and the town of Yauco. Here’s a look at some of the festival’s posters from over the years.

Good to know information

Venue location and dates

Plaza Fernando de Pacheco y Matos, with some events in surrounding barrios such as Collores.

Festival dates

It usually takes place in the late February to early March timeframe (for example 23 Feb–2 Mar 2025).

Weather

Depending on the time of day, Yauco can be quite hot and sunny. When visiting for the festival be sure to bring adequate skin protection and optimize for times of day when the sun is less direct. Comfortable walking shoes are ideal.

Other tips

While many places in Yauco would accept multiple forms of currency, you may want to bring some cash, especially if you plan to buy souvenirs from the artisans and street vendors.

Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco 2026

The Yauco Coffee Festival should take place in late February to early March 2026.

Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco 2027

The Yauco Coffee Festival should take place in late February to early March 2027.

Festival Nacional del Café de Yauco 2028

The Yauco Coffee Festival should take place in late February to early March 2028.

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