Pacamara Coffee Thrives Despite El Salvador’s Tumultuous History

Coffee bean favoritism is a bit like musical preference. Everyone has their own unique preferences for what is appealing to them. Pacamara coffee from El Salvador is no different.

Despite the political clash between the has and have nots over the course of El Salvador’s history, the culture of coffee in the country has continued to thrive and flourish. They have created advanced farming techniques using state-of-the-art machinery.

Some of El Salvador’s more rural regions have had volcanic eruptions throughout their history. The eruptions left behind very rich fertile soil. Many farmers take advantage of the very fertile soil near the volcano.

The Pacamara bean was invented in El Salvador in the 1950s. The Salvadoran Insitute for Coffee Research conducted crossbreeding experiments with the Pacas Bean with the Maragogipe. The resulting high-quality bean retained the best characteristics of each.

The hybrid bean’s name comes from the first four letters of each of the parent’s names. The Pacamara bean was not publicly released until the 1980s – after nearly 30 years of research.

Over the years, El Salvador has depended on the cash crop of coffee. The country’s economic ups and downs with coffee created fortunes for the elite and exploited the laborers and small farmers in the country.

One of the unique characteristics of the Pacamara bean that sets it apart from the competition is the larger-than-average cherries. The beans produce a delicious, high-quality medium-bodied cup with mild acidity. Hints of chocolate and butterscotch with an undertone of citrus delight the palate when drinking coffee made from Pacamara beans.

Written by Ebonee Stevenson
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware

Source:

Coffee Or Die: Coffee In El Salvador And The Innovation of the Pacamara bean; by Tim Becker

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Maren Barbee’s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of nodigio’s Flickr Page– Creative Commons License