My grandfather bought our family’s coffee farm in the Apaneca region of El Salvador before I was born. My father, Mauricio, later took over its care. Some of my earliest lessons about coffee came from working alongside him there.
The farm is called Finca Argentina. Like any farm, it has changed over the years. We’ve replanted ageing trees, tried different varieties and made decisions that take seasons to reveal whether they were good ones.
Planting Pacamara was one of those decisions. It began when I tasted Pacamara coffees from neighbouring farms and wanted to see what the variety could do on our land.
What is Pacamara coffee?
Pacamara is a variety of Arabica coffee developed from a cross between Pacas and Maragogipe. Pacas is a compact variety discovered on the Pacas family’s farm in El Salvador. Maragogipe is known for its unusually large beans. Pacamara can also produce very large beans and has the potential for exceptional cup quality, particularly in suitable growing conditions.
It isn’t a guarantee that every Pacamara will taste the same or score highly. Where it grows, how the cherries are picked and processed, and how the coffee is roasted still matter. The variety also brings challenges for a farmer: World Coffee Research identifies it as susceptible to coffee leaf rust. Those possibilities and risks are part of the decision to grow it.
Why did I plant Pacamara at Finca Argentina?
I liked what I was tasting from nearby farms. That made me curious about what would happen if we planted Pacamara in a higher section of ours.
I found seeds for red-fruiting Pacamara and, through contacts in Nicaragua, obtained seeds for a yellow-fruiting selection too. We chose a plot near the upper part of the farm, approximately 1,250 to 1,350 metres above sea level, for the planting.
The idea took shape around 2014. Finding the seeds, raising young plants and getting the plot ready took time. We planted the area in 2017, with red and yellow Pacamara growing alongside one another.
When I say coffee farming asks for patience, this is what I mean. I could choose a variety and a place to plant it. I couldn’t turn those young trees into a finished coffee by the following Tuesday.
What changed on the farm while the trees grew?
Pacamara was one part of a larger effort to renew areas of the plantation and grow a wider range of varieties. My father, our farm team and I also worked on how we cared for the trees and soil.
We made compost using materials available to us, including coffee pulp, and used other soil and plant-care practices suited to the farm. None of those steps alone can promise a particular tasting note. What they represent is the work behind giving a coffee tree a chance to grow well, produce good cherries and keep producing in the years ahead.
There are people behind every one of those decisions. Planting is only the beginning; someone has to keep caring for the trees long after the excitement of a new variety wears off.
Do red and yellow Pacamara taste different?
They can, but I would never promise a flavour difference based on cherry colour alone. We need to taste the coffees from each harvest. The growing conditions, ripeness, processing and roast can all influence what ends up in the cup.
Being able to keep lots separate gives us that opportunity. We can cup them, learn what each one offers and decide whether a particular harvest deserves its own release. If you’re curious about the work that follows picking, read how we make natural process coffee on raised beds at the farm.
That is still one of my favourite parts of farming: you make a decision years earlier, then eventually sit at a cupping table and find out what the trees have given you.
Can I buy our Pacamara year-round?
No. Our farm-grown Pacamara is a seasonal coffee. We bring a limited amount of each harvest to Calgary, so availability depends on how much we have that year. Once it sells out, we have to wait for the next harvest to be processed, evaluated and shipped before we can roast it again.
This article will stay here when a release sells out because the story of those trees doesn’t disappear with the last bag. For a coffee from our family farm that you can check for current availability, visit our El Salvador Bourbon page. Or browse the coffees we’re roasting now.
Pacamara has a special place in my heart. I remember the coffees that made me want to plant it, the seeds we managed to find and the wait before we could taste a harvest of our own. When we have a Pacamara lot to share, I hope you’ll enjoy knowing where its story began.
From our farm to your cup,
Alejandro