What is the Pacamara variety?

Pacamara is a hybrid arabica variety created in El Salvador in 1958 by the ISIC (Instituto Salvadoreño de Investigaciones del Café), resulting from the cross between Pacas (a dwarf Bourbon mutation) and Maragogype (a giant Typica mutation). It is prized for its very large beans, exceptional aromatic complexity potential, and relative rarity on the world market.

Pacamara is the result of an intentional breeding programme aimed at combining Pacas's compact productivity with Maragogype's exceptional bean size — whose beans can exceed 9 mm in length, roughly twice the size of a standard arabica bean (4-5 mm). This extraordinary size directly impacts the roast profile: Pacamara beans require slower heat curves and longer development times to ensure even heat penetration to the bean's core.

Sensorially, Pacamara is often described as one of the most complex arabica varieties available. Its typical profiles include fresh grass and vegetal notes at the attack (altitude character), followed by tropical fruits or citrus in the mid-palate, and a long chocolaty finish with occasional floral undertones. This multi-layer evolution is attributed to high concentrations of aroma precursors — sugars, amino acids, and organic acids — that the large bean size allows to accumulate during ripening.

Pacamara is grown primarily in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. In El Salvador it has become an emblematic variety: several Pacamara micro-lots have won awards at the Cup of Excellence. Its susceptibility to coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix) is a notable drawback — though the high-altitude plantations enabling its maximum aromatic expression are also zones where rust is less aggressive, providing a workable compromise. A remarkable fact: Pacamara is genetically unstable and can show very different phenotypes from plant to plant within the same plot, which makes authenticated Pacamara micro-lots particularly rare and valuable.

Pacamara variety profile