Pacamara Coffee Bean Roasting Recommendations | Pacamara Variety Analysis | Pacamara Coffee Bean Pricing

Understanding Pacamara Coffee Bean Roasting

Many roaster friends still have many questions about roasting Pacamara. When we roast and cup samples, we deeply understand that presenting its best flavors requires certain techniques and experience. To help our roaster friends understand the Pacamara variety and develop suitable roasting plans to better present the optimal flavors of Pacamara coffee beans, we have specially selected a chapter about Pacamara from Mr. Sasa's book "Coffee Man" to share with readers.

How to Roast Pacamara Coffee Beans

"When roasting Pacamara, we need to pay close attention to the bean's density, moisture content, shape, and size, as these factors affect how each coffee bean receives heat. For example, denser beans can retain heat more effectively, while during the roasting process, beans with larger surface areas absorb heat differently than those with smaller surface areas.

During the roasting process of Pacamara coffee beans, we found that in the middle stage, they behave similarly to low-density coffee beans; however, in the final stage, the way the beans maintain temperature resembles that of high-density coffee beans. As a roaster, being unable to properly control each stage of roasting and make the beans behave as you want can be very frustrating. At this point, you need to make a compromise in your roasting approach.

I spent several weeks studying Pacamara roasting plans and began observing various minute details during roasting. I discovered that at different stages of the roasting process, the beans consistently showed uneven coloring - some golden yellow, others brown.

I used a small wooden sieve to screen the green beans. After analyzing the screened coffee beans, I discovered an interesting phenomenon: coffee beans from the same bag showed completely different particle sizes after screening. 21% of the beans were screen size 18 or smaller, round in shape, with 11.7% moisture content and 680g/ml density; 33% of the beans were screen size 20 or larger, with moisture content actually below 11.1%, oval in shape, with 660g/ml density; the remaining 45% of Pacamara beans were between screens 19-20, with moisture content slightly below 11.5% and density of 672g/ml.

The Origins and Characteristics of Pacamara

In addition to understanding these special circumstances, we must also understand what kind of coffee variety Pacamara is. It is a new variety created by crossing the Pacas variety with the Maragogype (elephant bean) variety. These two coffee trees have completely different root systems, leaves, and node structures, so their fruits also present completely different flavors. I personally prefer the multiple flavors and mouthfeel presented by high-quality Maragogype, with its prominent lychee flavor.

Pacas is a high-quality coffee variety. Its small tree size is an advantage, meaning it will not be affected by wind speed; at the same time, it has a very solid root system structure and is more disease-resistant compared to Maragogype. From the farmer's perspective, crossing these two tree varieties can create more attractive new varieties. The Pacamara variety is widely grown in Central and South America, especially in the El Salvador region.

The Roasting Challenge and Solution

When we roast single-variety coffee beans, beans from the same tree have similar shapes and sizes. The screening results of Pacamara explain why roasting Pacamara is a challenge for roasters. Although it is also a single variety, because this variety was formed by crossing different tree varieties, the grown coffee beans have different structural characteristics.

These results show that although growing on the same tree, some coffee beans inherit genes from the female parent tree, while others inherit genes from the male parent tree, and some even inherit genes from both parent trees. This is completely different from inheriting only female or male parent tree genes.

For example, round, high-density screen-18 coffee beans absorb, retain, and release heat completely differently during roasting compared to oval screen-20 beans. After screening the beans, we roasted these three sizes separately and recorded their roasting curves to find the most suitable approach. Then, we roasted them separately and blended them together before cupping. Finally, we found that the same coffee's cupping score was 83-85 points before screening, but after screening, separate roasting, and blending, the cupping score could increase to 87.5 points.

During roasting, when coffee beans reach a certain temperature, sugar browning (the Maillard reaction) occurs, and this stage is also the flavor development phase for coffee beans. During the roasting process of these three different sizes of coffee beans, I compared and discovered the key to the problem: screen-20 coffee beans reach the sugar browning stage relatively earlier than the other sizes, which means these beans will have too long a roasting time before leaving the roaster, leading to over-development that damages the coffee's cleanliness, sweetness, organic flavors, and aroma.

Meanwhile, screen-18 coffee beans have higher density and smaller surface area, needing more time to reach sugar browning. If the roasting time from this moment until the beans leave the roaster is insufficient, it will lead to underdeveloped coffee bean flavors, unable to maximally present their expected flavor characteristics.

Therefore, when roasting Pacamara without screening, you will encounter quality control issues similar to roasting blended green beans. This means our roasting plan cannot fully meet the roasting requirements of the coffee beans. For Pacamara roasting, we now have two choices: first, determine the screen size of the majority of coffee beans and choose a roasting plan suitable for that size, but even this roasting plan is not perfect. As for the second choice, it is to screen and roast the different sizes separately.

Through such screening and separate roasting of different-sized coffee beans, you can roast coffee beans with stable flavors without needing any compromise approaches. At this point, the only 'trouble' you need to face is that you need more time to sieve the beans."

- By Angus Mackie

Australian ONA COFFEE Roaster

ONA COFFEE Chief Trainer and Partner, Australia

2018 Australian Barista Championship Third Place

Pacamara Coffee Bean Recommendations

Because Pacamara beans are large, dense, and structurally uneven, they demand a roaster's full attention - and a well-executed medium roast is usually the most rewarding. In roasting generally, three elements decide the final cup: acidity, sweetness, and bitterness. The darker the roast, the more bitter and heavy the body; the lighter, the more acidic and thin. For a balanced cup, medium-roasted beans are the best place to start.

If you would like to explore well-balanced medium-roast coffees, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate is a fine choice: a Yellow Bourbon from Brazil, the world's largest coffee-producing country, with a gentle, sweet cup that shows cream, peanut, chocolate, toasted bread, and sugarcane notes after medium roasting. The FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha blend - combining Costa Rican honey-processed coffee with Panamanian washed Geisha - is another sweet-leaning medium roast with orange-honey fragrance and rounded sweetness, suitable for pour-over, espresso, cold brew, and a moka pot.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For those who want a balanced, easy-drinking daily coffee, FrontStreet Coffee suggests starting with medium-roast single origins. The Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon offers low acidity, gentle sweetness, and notes of cream, peanut, chocolate, toast, and sugarcane, and it works equally well as pour-over, moka pot, or espresso. The 2013 Yunnan Sun-Dried Typica is another balanced medium roast with soft notes of nuts, dark brown sugar, black tea, and dried apricot.

If you prefer something fruitier but still medium-roasted, the Strawberry Candy Geisha blend pairs Costa Rican honey-processed coffee with Panamanian washed Geisha, giving both delicate florals and sweet fruit character. Whichever you choose, aim for a consistent grind and controlled heat development in the roast - the same care Pacamara deserves - and you will be rewarded with a cup that balances acidity, sweetness, and body.