You might see Bourbon or Pacamara on a bag of coffee and wonder: is that a place, a flavour, or something the farmer grew?
It’s the coffee plant’s variety. Think of varieties as different kinds of plants within a coffee species. They can differ in height, yield, disease resistance and the qualities they may bring to the cup. But a variety alone cannot tell you exactly how your coffee will taste. The place it grows, the way the cherries are picked and processed, and how we roast and brew the beans all matter too.
On our family farm in El Salvador, that distinction is personal. A farmer lives with a planting decision for years. It has to make sense in the field as well as in the cup.
First, what’s the difference between a species and a variety?
Most coffee grown around the world comes from two species: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora. You may know canephora by the name Robusta. Other coffee species are grown too, but on a much smaller scale.
Within Arabica, there are many varieties. Bourbon, Pacas and Pacamara are three examples with close ties to El Salvador.
I used to hear broad claims that Arabica was always the good coffee and Robusta belonged in instant coffee. That is too simple. There are excellent Arabica coffees and carefully produced canephora coffees worth tasting. The species tells you something about the plant; it does not grade the finished cup for you.
Where do coffee varieties come from?
Some appear through natural mutations. Farmers or researchers notice a plant with a useful difference, then work to reproduce and study it. Others are intentional crosses, developed to combine traits from parent plants.
Pacas, for example, was discovered in El Salvador as a natural mutation of Bourbon. It grows in a more compact form. Caturra is another compact Bourbon mutation, discovered in Brazil.
Catuaí has a different story: researchers in Brazil developed it by crossing Mundo Novo with Caturra. And Pacamara, a variety especially meaningful to our farm story, was developed in El Salvador by crossing Pacas with Maragogipe.
These histories are a good reminder that “variety” is more than a tasting word. The shape and behaviour of a coffee tree can make a real difference to the people caring for it.
Why would a farmer choose one variety over another?
Flavour matters, but it is only one part of the decision.
A farmer also has to consider how a plant performs in that particular place. Will it grow well at the farm’s elevation? How much attention does it need? What is its potential yield? How vulnerable is it to diseases such as coffee leaf rust? And, after the work of growing and harvesting it, will people value the coffee it produces?
There is rarely a neat choice between “high yield” and “good flavour.” A farm needs quality and a crop it can sustain. A beautiful cup is difficult to celebrate if the trees cannot thrive where they are planted.
One fascinating example is the Timor Hybrid. It arose naturally from a cross between Arabica and canephora and became important to coffee breeding because of its resistance to coffee leaf rust. Breeders have used it to develop other varieties. Resistance is valuable, though it is never a reason to stop paying attention to the health of a farm.
Can you taste the difference between varieties?
Sometimes, yes. Variety helps shape a coffee’s potential. But I would be careful about promising that every Pacamara will taste one way or every Bourbon another.
Take our family-grown El Salvador Bourbon. We describe this particular coffee with dark chocolate, brown sugar and a gentle red-grape note. Those notes describe this coffee, grown, processed and roasted as it is. They are not a flavour guarantee for every Bourbon grown around the world.
That is part of what makes coffee interesting to me. The variety begins the conversation; the farm and the people handling the coffee carry it forward.
What should you look for on a coffee bag?
If the variety is listed, be curious about it. Then look at the origin, processing method, roast and tasting notes together. Those details will help you choose a coffee far more than any single name on the label.
And if a bag does not list the variety, you can still find a coffee you love. Start with the flavours you enjoy and the way you like to brew. You do not need to memorize a family tree of coffee plants to have a good cup.
If you would like to see where some of our coffee story begins, meet our family farm. Next time you spot Bourbon or Pacamara on a bag, you’ll know you are seeing one of the choices made long before the beans reached our roaster.
From our farm to your cup,
Adriana