Sun City Specialty Coffee Fest

Hotel Paso Del Norte Hosts El Paso’s First Celebration of Specialty Coffee

On Saturday, July 11, 2026, Hotel Paso Del Norte introduced a new tradition to El Paso’s hospitality scene with the inaugural Sun City Specialty Coffee Fest—a sold-out event that brought together local cafés, hospitality professionals, coffee enthusiasts, and creative entrepreneurs for a morning dedicated to craftsmanship, education, and community.

Held throughout the hotel’s second floor, the festival transformed the historic property into an immersive coffee experience where hundreds of guests moved between tasting stations, educational workshops, panel discussions, and live DJ sets. Complimentary coffee tastings from every participating café invited visitors to discover new businesses while experiencing the diversity and creativity that continues to shape the Borderplex’s specialty coffee movement.

More than a competition, the festival became a celebration of the people behind every cup.



Hotel Paso Del Norte

As one of El Paso’s most recognizable hospitality landmarks, Hotel Paso Del Norte provided the ideal setting for an event centered around experience and connection. The thoughtfully designed flow encouraged guests to comfortably explore each vendor while moving naturally between workshops, conversations, and coffee tastings.

The event was presented through the leadership of the Hotel Paso Del Norte team:

  • Belén Díaz — Director of Sales & Marketing
  • Paola Torres — Group Sales Manager
  • Francisco Copean — Social Media Manager
  • Jazmin Honorato — Events Manager
  • Carla Ojinaga — Marketing Manager

Together, they introduced an event unlike anything previously offered in the region, creating a platform that highlighted both local businesses and the continued evolution of El Paso’s hospitality community.

Monstera Cafe
Judge panel
July 11, HPDN
Wake and Bake
Coffee Competitition
Matcha Competition

Award Winners

Photos by: Nouf Muhsin

Doppio Coffee

Best Matcha

Located at 806 Montana Ave., El Paso, TX 79902, Doppio Coffee has quickly established itself as one of the city’s newest specialty coffee destinations. Open for just over a year, the café was founded by a young couple whose passion for specialty coffee was inspired through travels across London and New York, bringing international influences back to El Paso.

Named after the Italian espresso term doppio, the café embraces precision, balance, and thoughtful extraction in every beverage they serve.

During the festival, Doppio not only earned Best Matcha, but also led the Experiencing Coffee Cascara workshop, introducing guests to one of coffee’s most overlooked ingredients—the fruit surrounding the coffee bean itself. Through beverages like their Cascara Tonic, attendees experienced naturally occurring notes reminiscent of tamarind and bright citrus while learning more about coffee beyond traditional brewing.

Their award-winning matcha immediately stood out for its vibrant green color—a clear indicator of freshness and quality. Balanced, smooth, and exceptionally well prepared, it demonstrated the level of craftsmanship that has quickly made Doppio one of El Paso’s most exciting coffee concepts.

After Coffee

Best Coffee Roaster & Best Specialty Drink

After Coffee left a lasting impression on both guests and judges, earning awards for Best Coffee Roaster and Best Specialty Drink.

Inspired by Indian coffee traditions, the café focuses on coffee in its purest expression, allowing exceptional ingredients and careful roasting to speak for themselves. Throughout the festival, guests sampled Indian-inspired offerings while learning about the roasting process and the importance of sourcing.

Working with coffee beans imported from Colombia, After Coffee demonstrated an appreciation for quality at every stage—from origin and roasting to the final cup.

Their presentation reminded everyone that extraordinary coffee doesn’t always require complexity. Instead, it showcased confidence in exceptional ingredients, technical precision, and thoughtful preparation.

The dual recognition reflected the café’s commitment to craftsmanship and reinforced its place among the Borderplex’s leading specialty coffee businesses.

A Community Built Around Coffee

Beyond the competition, one of the festival’s greatest strengths was introducing guests to the incredible diversity of El Paso’s coffee community.

Participating cafés included:

  • After Coffee
  • Aroma Cafe
  • Boba Mi Amor
  • Cafe Mis Viejos
  • Covenant Coffee
  • Despierta Coffee
  • Dulce
  • Doppio Coffee
  • Mape Cafe
  • Moe Green’s Coffee Bar
  • Montsera Cafe
  • Mountain Espresso
  • Pedaling Coffee
  • Podium Finish Cafe
  • The Cup Studios
  • Velvet Border
  • Wake & Bake
  • Zoe’s Coffee House

Each business contributed its own perspective on specialty coffee, whether through roasting, brewing techniques, cultural influences, or innovative beverage programs. Together, they demonstrated the remarkable variety that continues to define El Paso’s evolving coffee culture.

Learning Beyond the Cup

Education remained at the center of the festival throughout the morning.

Guests had the opportunity to learn directly from coffee professionals through live conversations and workshops exploring brewing techniques, sourcing, coffee origins, and hospitality.

Behind the Brew

9:30 AM

Featuring:

  • Wake & Bake
  • For You Coffee
  • The Cup Studios

The Borderland Blend

10:30 AM

Featuring:

  • After Coffee
  • Picacho Coffee Roasters
  • Despierta Coffee

Experiencing Coffee Cascara

12:30 PM

Hosted by:

  • Doppio Coffee

These conversations reinforced an important idea: specialty coffee is as much about education and storytelling as it is about what ends up in the cup.




Judging the Competition

As the morning progressed, attention turned toward the competition, where a panel of judges evaluated entries across three categories:

  • Matcha
  • Latte Art
  • Coffee

The judging panel included:

  • Lucie Calderón — Onset Marketing & Content Creator
  • Alex Galindo — Content Creator & Brand Owner
  • Gabriel Márquez — Artist & Muralist
  • Annie Perez — Experience Marketing, Office of El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego
  • Vivian Serrano — Founder & Creative Director, PO Studios

Far beyond simple tasting, every submission was evaluated on presentation, creativity, technical execution, balance, aroma, flavor, and overall quality.

While visual presentation immediately captured attention, the final decisions ultimately came down to craftsmanship and flavor. The quality presented throughout the competition made selecting the winners an unexpectedly difficult task—a testament to the level of talent represented across the festival.

Supporting Partners

The inaugural festival was made possible through the support of:

  • Encore — Audio & Visual Production
  • Mineragua
  • Dulce Café

Editorial Notes

One of the festival’s most memorable achievements wasn’t simply identifying award-winning coffee—it was creating meaningful opportunities for discovery.

Throughout the morning, guests were introduced to cafés they may never have visited before. Conversations unfolded between owners and customers, workshops transformed curiosity into knowledge, and every tasting became an invitation to experience coffee through a new perspective.

As El Paso’s specialty coffee scene continues to evolve, events like the Sun City Specialty Coffee Fest demonstrate that hospitality extends far beyond what is served. It is built through education, craftsmanship, generosity, and community.

For a single morning inside Hotel Paso Del Norte, coffee became the common language connecting an entire city—and if this inaugural sold-out festival is any indication, it marks only the beginning of a promising new chapter for the Borderplex’s hospitality industry.

Editorial Credits

Creative Director 
Vivian Serrano

Photography
Nouf Muhsin

Editorial Team
Valeria Hernandez
Montserrat Villarreal

Copy Editing
PO Studios Editorial Team