El Salvador Coffee Bean Varieties: Pacamara's Large Size and Superior Flavor

FrontStreet Coffee - El Salvador Coffee Variety Introduction

As a coffee-producing country, El Salvador seems to have little reputation domestically. But is that really so?

El Salvador is a small country in Central America with a high population density but a small land area. Despite this, El Salvador boasts three world-famous volcanoes, and its location in the tropics provides ideal conditions for coffee cultivation.

Coffee produced in El Salvador is characterized by soft acidity and a smooth mouthfeel.

El Salvador primarily cultivates traditional varieties such as Bourbon and Typica, as well as the rare variety Pacamara. Pacamara is a giant in the coffee world: its beans are one-third larger than ordinary coffee beans, earning it the nickname "elephant bean."

The Pacamara variety is a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe, with its optimal growing region in western El Salvador. Pacamara beans are large and plump, with a distinctive aroma, moderate body, and bright acidity.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Pacamara's bright acidity and floral, fruit-forward character pair well with FrontStreet Coffee's light-roast, fruit-and-floral beans. For an easy first pour-over, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gudingding Cooperative shows the signature citrus, berry, and floral notes of Yirgacheffe with a green-tea-like sweetness. Unlike the "sour coffee" many people imagine, a good Yirgacheffe's acidity is soft and bright, more like the natural sweet-and-sour of fruit than a sharp, biting tartness, which makes it very easy to accept for those just starting with pour-over.

If you want more tropical fruit, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui is one of the recent standouts of the specialty market. Its most striking trait is an extremely prominent tropical-fruit aroma, often with strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and even lychee. Sweetness is obvious and bitterness is very low, with a smooth, juicy entry that many describe as "the coffee that tastes least like coffee."

For bright berry-like acidity with complexity, try FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Cherry Tomato, a Kenya specialty washed bean grown in the Thika region at 1,550-1,750 meters from SL28 and SL34. Its core character is vivid cherry tomato and smoked plum acidity with a full, juicy body, processed with Kenya's 72-hour double washed fermentation and lightly roasted to preserve a lively acidity and layered fruit.