Introduction to El Salvador Pacamara Coffee Bean Variety | El Salvador Coffee Bean Price

The Famous Pacamara Variety of El Salvador

Among the coffee varieties in El Salvador, the most renowned is undoubtedly the Pacamara variety. Here's the story and flavor profile of the Pacamara variety:

Pacamara coffee is a hybrid variety discovered in El Salvador in the 1950s, a cross between Pacas (a natural mutation of Bourbon) and Maragogype (Elephant Bean).

First cultivated by Salvadoran researchers in 1958, Pacamara is an exceptional variety resulting from careful artificial selection - truly a case of the offspring surpassing its parents. It perfectly inherits the advantages of both parent varieties: the excellent flavor profile of Pacas and the large bean size of Maragogipe. The beans are at least 70-80% the size of elephant beans, with 100% scoring above 17 screen size and 90% above 18 screen size. The average bean length is 1.03 cm (compared to 0.8-0.85 cm for typical beans), with an average width of 0.71 cm (vs. 0.6-0.65 cm typically) and a thickness of 0.37 cm. The beans are full and round in shape. The most distinctive characteristic of this variety is its lively, intricate acidity, sometimes with biscuit aromas, sometimes fruity notes, with excellent body and mouthfeel. The best quality comes from El Salvador and Guatemala.

Finca Ataisi Estate Introduction

Finca Ataisi Estate is located in the volcanic region of Izalco, Sonsonate Province, El Salvador. Due to volcanic activity, the estate soil contains rich organic matter. The average altitude is approximately 1,800 meters with steep terrain. The estate is currently operated by owner Rene Martin, whose philosophy is to maintain El Salvador's original traditional cultivation methods. Beyond necessary pruning and irrigation, the estate maintains extensive natural agroforestry ecology, with over 90% of the area planted with Pacamara variety.

In addition to excellent cultivation, Finca Ataisi Estate also has its own coffee washing processing facilities. This not only avoids price exploitation from external processors but, more importantly, allows for meticulous handling of carefully selected coffee cherries. Rene Martin is extremely rigorous about the washing process, not only recording daily temperature and humidity but also closely monitoring the green coffee processing in fermentation tanks.

El Salvador Finca Ataisi Washed Pacamara

• Country: El Salvador
• Certification: Rainforest Alliance Certified
• Region: Izalco region, Sonsonate Province
• Grade: SHG (Strictly High Grown)
• Processing: Washed fermentation, sun-dried
• Altitude: 1,800 meters
• Variety: Pacamara

About El Salvador

Many coffee enthusiasts may not be familiar with El Salvador. Located in Central America, El Salvador borders 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. The terrain is primarily mountainous and plateau-like, with numerous volcanoes. The Santa Ana active volcano, at 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 has dozens of volcanoes and is the country with the highest volcanic density in the world, earning it the nickname "Land of Volcanoes." The country's high average altitude creates ideal conditions for coffee growing, with the western region near Guatemala being the main coffee-producing area.

Climate Characteristics

El Salvador has a tropical savanna climate. The plains have a tropical rainforest climate, while the mountainous regions have a subtropical forest climate. The average annual temperature is 25-28°C. Mountainous areas receive over 1,800 mm of annual rainfall, while coastal regions receive about 1,000 mm. The rainy season runs from May to October.

Coffee Industry in El Salvador

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 civil war's one silver lining for El Salvador was that farmers abandoned their fields, missing the popular Catimor sun cultivation trend of the past two decades. This preserved ancient Bourbon and Typica varieties, meaning El Salvador still uses traditional shade-grown cultivation methods.

This has positive implications for coffee flavor development. In 2005, El Salvador's hybrid Pacamara variety made a spectacular showing at the Cup of Excellence, throwing international cuppers off balance as they struggled to score it. No one expected this hybrid variety would not only break existing boundaries of coffee richness and aroma but also dramatically increase the visibility of Salvadoran coffee beans.

El Salvador's specialty coffee is concentrated in the western Santa Ana region and the northwestern Chalatenango volcanic rock region. In recent years, nearly all top ten competitors in cupping competitions have come from these two regions. At altitudes of approximately 900-1,500 meters, Bourbon is the dominant variety (68%), followed by Pacas (29%), while hybrid varieties like Pacamara, Durai, and Caturra account for only 3%.

The coffee harvest season runs from November through March of the following year. All coffee cherries are harvested by hand. Coffee cultivation in El Salvador is mostly done by small farmers who use traditional methods: nearly 100% shade-grown cultivation. The coffee harvest season runs from November through March of the following year. All coffee cherries are harvested by hand.

Flavor Profile of Salvadoran Coffee

Overall, Salvadoran coffee inherits the mild qualities of Central American coffee - gentle, slightly acidic with pleasant sweetness. At the same time, it has its own characteristics: aromatic flavors with slight acidity, very smooth; pure without off-flavors, with excellent balance; an impressive creamy chocolate-like smoothness; and the dense mouthfeel that gives coffee depth of flavor and a long aftertaste.

Cupping Notes

• Dry Aroma: Spices, passion fruit, hazelnut-like nuts, berries
• Wet Aroma: Nutty chocolate, sweet and sour passion fruit, creamy chocolate, strawberry aftertaste, nuts

Tasting Experience

The entry is exceptionally delicate and silky, with clear, gentle fruit acidity sliding across the tongue. Like all Pacamara characteristics, it's quiet and soft. The mid-palate reveals fresh fruit acidity of wild berries and nutty aromas of hazelnut. The finish shows distinct caramel sweetness, with a delicate, smooth aftertaste. The aftertaste is persistent with a long throaty finish, perfect for savoring slowly on a quiet night.

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