Pacas and Pacamara: El Salvador’s heritage lives on

The story begins in El Salvador. In 1949 the Pacas family found a compact Bourbon plant on their farm in the Santa Ana region. This spontaneous mutation a (“dwarfism” trait caused by a single gene) allowed for closer planting distances, facilitated maintenance, and thus increased yields without fundamentally compromising the cup quality typical of Bourbon.

In the 1950s and 1960s the Salvadoran Coffee Research Institute ISIC added the variety to a selection program. This step helped spread Pacas across El Salvador and later across Central America. Pacas became a pillar on many farms. Growers valued it because it joined quality and productivity in a compact plant that is easy to manage.

Practical experience and research soon gave rise to the desire to combine the advantages of two contrasting parents:

ISIC launched a hybridization program in 1958.
Through targeted crosses and multi stage selection using an incomplete pedigree method, Pacamara was developed. The name comes from the first syllables of the parents Pacas and Maragogipe. After about three decades of trials, the variety was given to producers step by step in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Since then it has been a flagship of Salvadoran breeding.
The key was the mix of the productivity and adaptability of Pacas with the bean size and sensory finesse of Maragogipe.

Pacas shows the balance typical of Bourbon derivatives. Quality is medium to good. At higher elevations it shows clear sweet acidity and a round texture. Its compact growth allows closer spacing and more efficient field work. This advantage made Pacas popular with smallholder farmers.

Pacamara is more demanding in terms of agronomy (including lower yields, segregation tendencies, and altitude preference), but can produce exceptional qualities at high altitudes: large, oil-rich beans with a distinctly complex aroma, a rich body, and often tropical-fruity to floral notes. It is precisely this combination that has made Pacamara the competitive variety par excellence.

Pacamara has dominated many Salvadoran quality competitions for years and has repeatedly achieved top rankings in the Cup of Excellence. In 2024, a Pacamara from Chalatenango won the El Salvador COE (score 92.00) – a recent example of the variety’s enduring reputation in the top league. Official bodies in El Salvador now honor Pacamara with a nationwide day of celebration and refer to its numerous international titles.

Café Pacas remains a defining force in the Salvadoran coffee world to this day – a family whose name has long been synonymous with quality and innovation. Their fincas, including Santa Petrona and La Esperanza, are living examples of modern, sustainably managed agriculture based on deep-rooted tradition. The transition from Fincas Finest to cumpa has also created a personal and long-term connection to Christine, who now works on the cumpa team and has collaborated with the Pacas family for many years.

However, Pacas and Pacamara are no longer purely Salvadoran varieties. They have spread across borders – from Honduras and Nicaragua to Colombia and Peru, where individual producers now also rely on this genetic line. The current season in particular offers an excellent opportunity to taste Pacas and Pacamara from different origins or even add a small collection to your own portfolio – a sensory journey through the diversity of a genetic family that has had a significant impact on specialty coffee.

What began as a local mutation became a global stylistic device in the specialty sector thanks to systematic research, genetic selection, and the pioneering spirit of Salvadoran producers: Pacas created the agronomic framework as a reliable, compact base, while Pacamara added the sensory signature on top. With the rise of origin competitions, auctions, and “variety storytelling,” both varieties found their way to roasters and consumers worldwide. Today, Pacamara is internationally synonymous with expressive, often award-winning lots from high altitudes – a synonym for character, size (of the beans) and complexity. Pacas remains a quiet driving force on many farms, balancing economic efficiency and quality. Together, they embody the strength of the Central American breeding tradition: locally developed, scientifically refined, globally appreciated.