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What are the Flavor Characteristics of Guatemala Pacamara Coffee Beans | Pacamara Coffee Beans Price per Half Pound

Published: 2026-01-28 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/28, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Many coffee enthusiasts may not be familiar with the country of El Salvador. El Salvador is located in Central America, bordered by Guatemala and Honduras to the north, with the Pacific coastline forming its western and southern borders. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America by area, and also has the highest population density in Central America.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information. Please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Many coffee enthusiasts may not be familiar with El Salvador. El Salvador is located in Central America, bordering Guatemala and Honduras to the north, with the Pacific coastline forming its western and southern borders. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America by area and also the most densely populated. The terrain is predominantly mountainous and plateau, with numerous volcanoes. The Santa Ana active volcano, at an elevation of 2,385 meters, is the country's highest peak; the northern region consists of the Lempa River valley, while the south features a narrow coastal plain.

Despite its small size, El Salvador possesses dozens of volcanoes, making it the country with the highest volcanic density in the world, earning it the nickname "Land of Volcanoes." The country's relatively high average elevation creates an ideal environment for coffee cultivation. The western region of El Salvador, near Guatemala, is the main coffee-producing area.

Climate Characteristics

El Salvador experiences a tropical savanna climate. The plains have a tropical rainforest climate, while the mountainous regions have a subtropical forest climate. The average annual temperature ranges from 25-28°C. Mountain areas receive over 1,800 millimeters of rainfall annually, while coastal regions receive approximately 1,000 millimeters. The rainy season extends from May to October.

Don't underestimate El Salvador's coffee production. At its peak, it was once the world's fourth-largest coffee-producing country. However, decades of civil war nearly devastated the coffee industry. Fortunately, with the cessation of conflicts in recent years, the coffee industry has been revitalized. The only benefit the civil war brought to El Salvador was that farmers left their fields fallow, missing out on the popular trend of Catimor sun cultivation over the past two decades. This preserved ancient varieties such as Bourbon and Typica. In other words, El Salvador still employs the most traditional shade-grown cultivation methods.

This has positive implications for coffee aroma development. In 2005, El Salvador's hybrid variety Pacamara made a spectacular appearance in the Cup of Excellence (COE), confusing many international cuppers who didn't know how to score it. Unexpectedly, this hybrid bean not only broke through existing boundaries of coffee richness but also enhanced the visibility of Salvadoran coffee.

El Salvador's specialty coffee is concentrated in the western Santa Ana region and the northwestern Chalatenango volcanic rock region. In recent years, the top ten winners in cupping competitions have almost exclusively come from these two regions. With elevations ranging from 900-1,500 meters, Bourbon is the predominant variety (accounting for 68%), followed by Pacas (29%), while hybrid varieties such as Pacamara, Durai, and Caturra make up only 3%.

The coffee harvest season extends from November through March of the following year. Coffee cherries are harvested exclusively by hand. Coffee cultivation in El Salvador is predominantly practiced by small-scale farmers who employ traditional methods: almost 100% shade-grown cultivation. The coffee harvest season extends from November through March of the following year. Coffee cherries are harvested exclusively by hand.

Overall, Salvadoran coffee inherits the mild quality characteristics of Central American coffees, being generally soft, slightly acidic, with pleasant sweetness. Simultaneously, it possesses its own distinctive features: aromatic flavors with slight acidity, remarkably smooth; pure without off-flavors, with exceptionally balanced taste; a creamy chocolate-like smoothness that leaves a lasting impression; and a rich mouthfeel that gives coffee depth of flavor and a long aftertaste.

Pacamara Variety Profile

Pacamara coffee beans are a hybrid variety discovered in El Salvador in the 1950s, resulting from crossing Pacas (a natural mutation of Bourbon) with Maragogype (Elephant Bean).

It was first cultivated by Salvadoran researchers in 1958. Pacamara is an excellent variety rarely achieved through artificial selection, surpassing its parent varieties in quality. It perfectly inherits the advantages of its parent plants, possessing both the exceptional flavor of Pacas and the large bean size of Maragogipe. The beans are at least 70-80% the size of Elephant Beans, with 100% measuring 17 screen size or above and 90% measuring 18 screen size or above. The average bean length is 1.03 centimeters (compared to 0.8-0.85cm for typical beans), with an average width of 0.71 centimeters (compared to 0.6-0.65cm for typical beans), and a thickness of 0.37 centimeters. The beans are plump and round in shape. The most distinctive characteristic of this variety is its lively and sophisticated acidity, sometimes exhibiting biscuit aromas and sometimes fruity flavors, with excellent body and mouthfeel. The highest quality examples are produced in El Salvador and Guatemala.

Bolsa Estate Introduction

Bolsa Estate is located in the La Libertad province of Guatemala and produces consistently high-quality coffee. The coffee produced by this estate has won numerous coffee cupping awards and is frequently featured in various barista competitions.

Bolsa Estate borders Guatemala's most renowned Finca El Injerto, producing quality coffee that is comparable and often difficult to choose between in competitions. In 1956, Dr. Jorge Vides purchased this fertile land and began his coffee cultivation career. Today, the estate is managed by the third-generation successor, Mr. Renardo Ovalle.

The Vides family established the estate's core facilities in the valleys between the Cuchumatanes mountain range, with two rivers flowing through the property. Along the riverbanks, they built many essential facilities, including schools, farmhouses, hydroelectric power stations, and most importantly, green bean washing and processing plants.

Of the current approximately 100 hectares of land, 80 hectares are used for growing coffee trees, using organic compost and water sources from the natural environment. Most local coffee trees are maintained at 15 years of age, with pruning done 3-4 times annually, 3-4 rounds of pest and disease control, 3-4 applications of fertilizer, and harvesting divided into four separate rounds during the harvest season. Unlike other Guatemalan estates, due to the extremely steep mountain terrain, all work must be done manually, which enhances coffee quality but also makes production work extremely challenging.

In 2002, Bolsa Estate achieved the honor of second place in the Guatemala Cup of Excellence, winning with a high score of 94.98.

In 2005, Bolsa Estate was selected by Anacafe and Germany's DWTV as the main subject of a coffee documentary about the Huehuetenango region, showcasing how high-quality coffee is produced in Guatemala. The documentary has since become well-known in coffee-producing regions worldwide.

This micro-lot of washed Pacamara coffee beans is globally limited to 138 kilograms. Excellent coffee varieties, superior geographical conditions, combined with meticulous processing, have resulted in this rare micro-lot specialty coffee.

Pacamara Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Pacamara coffee beans offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value for money. A half-pound (227-gram) bag costs approximately 118 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams per cup, one bag can make 15 cups of coffee, costing only about 7 yuan per cup—truly a conscientious recommendation compared to cafés that often sell coffee for dozens of yuan per cup.