Pacamara (variety)

El Salvador hybrid between Pacas (Bourbon mutation) and Maragogype. Very large bean (>8mm). Bright acidity, tropical notes. Suited for experimental fermentations. High price due to low yield.

Background & Context

The Pacamara variety is the specific botanical name for the large-seeded Arabica cultivar bred by the Instituto Salvadoreño de Investigaciones del Café (ISIC) in 1958 — a cross between the Pacas variety (a compact Bourbon natural mutation) and the Maragogipe variety (a large-seeded Typica mutation from Maragogipe, Bahia, Brazil, discovered around 1870). The variety designation is used interchangeably with "Pacamara" — both refer to the same cultivar. Pacamara's defining characteristics are: exceptional bean size (screen 18–20, significantly above the typical screen 16–17 of standard Arabica), a thick, distinctive parchment layer, high sensitivity to altitude (flavour complexity increases markedly above 1,400m), and a cup profile that combines intense florality, bright citric acidity, stone fruit, herbal, and occasionally spice notes when grown in optimal conditions.

Practical Use

For buyers and roasters, the Pacamara variety designation on a lot document is a positive quality signal — particularly for Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Nicaraguan lots. World Coffee Research's Variety Catalogue includes Pacamara with detailed morphological and sensory characterisation, enabling verification of variety claims. In brewing, Pacamara's high bean density and large seed size produce a particularly rich espresso extraction at long yield ratios: experienced baristas often use 1:2.5–1:3 ratios for Pacamara espresso (versus 1:2 for standard blends) to avoid over-concentrating the variety's intense flavour compounds. The variety also performs exceptionally as single-origin filter coffee — in pour-over at 93°C, its florality and fruit complexity rival Ethiopian Geisha in terms of aromatic layering. A practical consideration for baristas working with Pacamara espresso: the variety's large, dense bean creates higher resistance to water flow through the puck than standard-sized Arabica. This means that a grind setting calibrated for Bourbon or Typica will often run too fast for Pacamara — requiring a finer grind adjustment of 1–2 notches on most commercial grinders. Pre-infusion at 3–5 bars for 8–12 seconds before full extraction pressure significantly improves puck saturation uniformity and reduces channelling risk on Pacamara's characteristically large, dense puck structure.

Related Terms

Related terms: Pacamara, Bourbon, Typica, Cup of Excellence, Geisha.