Our family’s newest coffees have arrived from our farm in El Salvador, and we could not be happier to finally share them.
Yes—coffees, plural.
Our family farm produces several coffee varieties and small micro lots, each shaped by its location, harvest, processing method and the decisions made throughout the growing season.
Some of these coffees are being reserved for our Coffee Advent Calendar. Others are part of something very special that we are preparing for next year.
But one is ready to share now: our Yellow Pacamara coffee, also known in our family as Pacamara Amarillo.
Grown on our farm in the volcanic highlands of Apaneca, El Salvador, this naturally processed coffee offers vibrant tropical fruit notes, a creamy body and balanced acidity.
It is one of the projects closest to our hearts—and one of the coffees that has required the most patience.
What Is Yellow Pacamara Coffee?
Yellow Pacamara is our yellow-fruiting selection of the Pacamara coffee variety.
While most ripe coffee cherries turn red, the cherries on these trees develop a rich golden-yellow colour when they are ready to be picked.
Pacamara is already known in the specialty coffee world for its unusually large beans, distinctive cup profiles and potential for exceptional quality.
Our Yellow Pacamara expresses that variety in a particularly bright and tropical way.
In the cup, this micro lot offers notes reminiscent of:
- Passion fruit
- Pineapple
- Grapefruit
- Tropical sweetness
- Creamy texture
The fruit-forward profile is balanced by gentle acidity and a smooth body, creating a coffee that feels vibrant without becoming sharp.
From a Few Seeds to a Growing Coffee Project
Our journey with Yellow Pacamara began in 2017.
While visiting Nicaragua, we encountered a yellow-fruiting Pacamara selection that immediately caught our attention. We were fascinated by its potential and brought a small number of seeds back to our family farm in El Salvador.
Those seeds were carefully planted in our nursery.
From there, the project became an exercise in patience.
Coffee trees do not produce a meaningful harvest immediately. They must first establish their roots, develop healthy branches and mature enough to begin flowering and producing fruit.
Over the following years, we selected promising plants, collected seeds and gradually expanded the number of Yellow Pacamara trees growing on the farm.
Each harvest gave us more information about how the trees responded to our soil, climate and elevation.
This was never a project that could be rushed. It required years of observation, careful farming and the willingness to wait.
This harvest represents the moment when much of that patience began to pay off.
Where Our Yellow Pacamara Is Grown
Our Yellow Pacamara coffee grows on our family farm near Apaneca, El Salvador.
Apaneca is located in the volcanic highlands of western El Salvador, an area known for coffee farming, mountain landscapes and rich volcanic soils.
This micro lot grows between approximately 1,300 and 1,350 metres above sea level.
At this elevation, coffee cherries generally develop more slowly than they would in warmer, lower-growing regions. That gradual development gives the fruit time to build sweetness and complexity before harvest.
The coffee is grown alongside the other varieties and micro lots that make up our family’s farm.
Each one responds differently to the land. Yellow Pacamara has shown an especially expressive tropical character that distinguishes it from our more chocolatey or traditional Salvadoran coffees.
How Yellow Pacamara Coffee Is Harvested
Determining ripeness is especially important with a yellow-fruiting variety.
Most coffee pickers are accustomed to looking for deep red cherries. Yellow Pacamara requires a different visual reference and close attention to colour, texture and maturity.
The cherries must reach their full golden-yellow stage before they are collected.
Picking them too early can result in less-developed sweetness and harsher flavours. Waiting until they are fully mature helps protect the tropical character and creamy texture we want to find in the finished cup.
The cherries are picked by hand, allowing our farm team to select ripe fruit and leave immature cherries on the trees for a later harvesting pass.
That requires more time, but the quality of the coffee begins with the quality and ripeness of the fruit.
How This Coffee Was Naturally Processed
After harvesting, this Yellow Pacamara micro lot was naturally processed and patio-dried by our partners at Coop Los Ausoles.
In the natural process, the coffee seeds remain inside the whole cherry during drying rather than having the fruit removed immediately after picking.
The cherries are spread across drying patios and carefully managed as their moisture level gradually decreases.
This process requires close attention. The cherries must be moved regularly and monitored to encourage even drying and protect the coffee from unwanted fermentation or defects.
For this lot, the natural process complements the coffee’s inherent fruit character.
It contributes to the tropical sweetness, fuller body and expressive flavour profile we experience after roasting.
What Does Yellow Pacamara Coffee Taste Like?
Our Yellow Pacamara coffee has a vibrant, fruit-forward profile with a creamy and balanced finish.
You may notice flavours that remind you of:
Passion fruit: Bright tropical sweetness and gentle tanginess
Pineapple: Juicy sweetness and lively fruit character
Grapefruit: A clean, citrus-like lift
Creamy body: A smooth and rounded mouthfeel
Balanced acidity: Bright enough to feel expressive without becoming sharp
Tasting notes describe what a coffee naturally reminds us of. Passion fruit or pineapple has not been added to the coffee.
Those flavour impressions develop through the coffee variety, growing conditions, cherry ripeness, processing and roasting.
Yellow Pacamara Coffee Details
Coffee: Yellow Pacamara / Pacamara Amarillo
Producer: Mauricio Martínez
Farm: Our family farm
Region: Apaneca, El Salvador
Elevation: 1,300–1,350 metres above sea level
Process: Natural
Drying method: Patio-dried
Roast profile: Add the exact roast level used for this release
Tasting notes: Passion fruit, pineapple and grapefruit
Body: Creamy
Acidity: Gentle and balanced
Availability: Limited micro lot
What Is the Best Way to Brew Yellow Pacamara?
Yellow Pacamara can be brewed using several methods, but manual filter brewing is especially useful for revealing its fruit character and clarity.
Good brewing options include:
- V60
- Chemex
- Origami
- AeroPress
- Clever Dripper
A pour-over method can emphasize its tropical notes and clean finish, while an AeroPress or Clever Dripper may highlight more of its sweetness and creamy body.
Start with freshly ground coffee and filtered water. Avoid brewing with water that is aggressively boiling, since extremely hot water can make a fruit-forward coffee taste harsher than intended.
The exact recipe will depend on your brewing equipment and grind size, but a balanced starting ratio is approximately 15 to 17 grams of water for every gram of coffee.
Why Is Yellow Pacamara Available for a Limited Time?
Yellow Pacamara is produced as a small micro lot.
We currently grow a limited number of these trees, and the coffee must be carefully separated during harvesting, processing, storage and roasting.
Once this harvest has sold out, we cannot simply produce more until the trees deliver another suitable crop.
Its availability depends on:
- The number of cherries produced
- Weather during the growing season
- Cherry ripeness
- Harvest quality
- Processing results
- The final cupping evaluation
That seasonality is part of what makes small coffee lots so special.
They offer a chance to experience the character of a particular harvest rather than a flavour designed to remain identical year after year.
Yellow Pacamara Coffee: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yellow Pacamara the same as regular Pacamara?
It belongs to the Pacamara family, but our Yellow Pacamara selection produces cherries that turn golden yellow when ripe instead of the more common red.
Where is Yellow Pacamara coffee grown?
This micro lot is grown on our family farm near Apaneca, El Salvador, between approximately 1,300 and 1,350 metres above sea level.
Why is Pacamara coffee known for large beans?
Pacamara is associated with large coffee cherries and beans. Bean size alone does not determine quality, but it is one of the variety’s most recognizable physical characteristics.
Is Yellow Pacamara naturally flavoured?
No. The passion fruit, pineapple and grapefruit notes occur naturally. Nothing is added to flavour the beans.
Is this a natural-process coffee?
Yes. The coffee was dried inside the whole cherry using the natural process and patio-dried by Coop Los Ausoles.
Is Yellow Pacamara coffee acidic?
It has noticeable fruit brightness, but the acidity is gentle and balanced by its creamy body and natural sweetness.
Is the coffee available year-round?
No. It is a limited micro lot, and availability depends on each harvest.
From Our Family Farm to Your Cup
Every bean in this Yellow Pacamara lot represents years of patience, experimentation and connection to the land.
What began with only a few seeds in 2017 slowly became a growing project on our family farm.
The trees had to mature. The plants had to be observed and selected. The cherries had to be harvested at the right moment, carefully processed and evaluated before we could finally share the coffee with you.
That is what seed-to-cup coffee means to our family.
It is not only knowing where a coffee came from. It is participating in its journey—from planting and farming to selection, roasting and the final cup.
We are incredibly proud to welcome Yellow Pacamara back.
It is available now for a limited time and freshly roasted to order in Calgary.
Shop Yellow Pacamara Coffee
From our family farm in El Salvador to your cup.
Brew boldly. Live fully.
The Crickle Creek Family