How Do Pacamara Coffee Beans Grow and Taste in the Cup?

Pacamara is a hybrid of the Pacas and Maragogipe varieties, developed in El Salvador over roughly thirty years by ISIC. It combines juicy citrus and red berry notes with creamy sweetness and a full body. This article traces the Pacas family's coffee-growing history, explains how Pacamara was created, and shows how the variety performs using a Guatemala example brewed on a Hario V60. It also answers a common question: does coffee beans grow on trees? Yes, coffee grows on trees, and Pacamara trees are known for their large leaves and big cherries.

Pacas was discovered by Fernando Alberto Pacas in El Salvador in 1956. The Pacas family began cultivating coffee in the 19th century, when Jose Rosa Pacas bought land in the Apaneca Lamatepec range and planted Bourbon coffee trees. That seed-to-cup operation now spans coffee farms, processing plants, an export company, a roasting facility, a training center, and shops.

Pacamara is hailed by many coffee enthusiasts as the "Tyrannosaurus Rex" of the bean world. It is a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe, with a strong and complex flavor that combines the juicy character of citrus and red berries with a creamy sweetness and full body. This article will begin with the coffee-growing origins of the Pacas family, trace the discovery of the Pacas variety, and explain how El Salvador's ISIC spent about thirty years developing Pacamara. Then, using Front Street Coffee's Guatemala Little Blueberry Estate as an example, it will share information about this bean along with the Hario V60 brewing parameters and technique commonly used by Front Street, helping you gain a more complete understanding of this variety's background and its performance in the cup.

If you were looking for a "Tyrannosaurus Rex"-level presence among coffee beans, whether at Front Street or among coffee enthusiasts, most votes would probably go to Pacamara. It was developed by crossing Maragogipe with Pacas, and in Front Street's Guatemala Pacamara, this variety's typical style comes through quite clearly: complex and intense flavor layers, with a juicy texture reminiscent of citrus and red berries, elegantly fresh acidity, and a finish that turns toward creamy sweetness and a rich body. Next, let's move into today's coffee knowledge and brewing sharing.

The Pacas Family and the History of Coffee Cultivation

Pacamara's promotion is inseparable from the Pacas family, and this family has deep ties to coffee, having begun cultivating it as early as the 19th century. The first in the family to devote himself to coffee cultivation was Jose Rosa Pacas, who purchased land in the Apaneca Lamatepec mountain range in El Salvador and planted Bourbon coffee trees, thus beginning the family's coffee business. Today the Pacas family has reached its fifth generation and continues to operate and expand its business. The family has a seed-to-cup integrated system covering coffee farms, processing plants, an export company, a roasting facility, a barista training center, and coffee shops. The coffee they produce is regarded as among El Salvador's finest and is exported around the world. And the protagonist of this article, Pacamara, was created by crossing with the Pacas variety.

How Was the Pacas Variety Discovered?

Pacas was discovered by El Salvador's Fernando Alberto Pacas in 1956. The variety was subsequently transplanted and grown on the Pacas family's San Rafael farm, and he also noticed that this variety was clearly different from others.

So How Was Pacamara Developed?

Pacamara was developed by El Salvador's coffee research institute ISIC in 1958, with Pacas and Maragogipe as its parents. Pacas originated as a natural mutation of Bourbon, and scientists once studied it at the University of Florida. The Pacas tree is shorter with tighter internodal spacing, so its branches and leaves grow densely, which helps it withstand harsh climatic conditions such as strong winds, intense sun, and heavy rain. In addition, it has strong disease resistance, can adapt to a variety of growing environments, and also offers considerable yield.

Maragogipe, on the other hand, is a natural mutation of Typica. The tree is very tall, and the seeds of its fruit are enormous; although its yield is not high, its flavor performance is quite outstanding. The original purpose of crossing Pacamara was precisely to combine the advantages of these two varieties, and its name is also formed by combining the first parts of the English names Pacas and Maragogipe. This variety underwent about thirty years of scientific research before farmers began planting it in the late 1980s.

Taking Front Street Coffee's Guatemala Little Blueberry Estate as an Example

Guatemala El Morito

Guatemala Little Blueberry Estate

Country: Guatemala

Region: New Oriente

Altitude: 1550-1800M

Processing Method: Natural Process

Grade: SHB

Variety: Pacamara

Front Street Coffee Brewing Tutorial

[Hario V60]

Let's start by brewing a pot with the most commonly used Hario V60 on hand. The ribs of the V60 dripper are distributed in a curved pattern from top to bottom, and vary in length. During brewing, air escapes relatively smoothly and the flow rate tends to be fast, so when using the V60, the editor usually pairs it with staged extraction: on one hand, this slows the water flow; on the other hand, it increases the extraction rate, which to a certain extent can avoid under-extraction caused by too fast a flow rate.

Parameters: Grind size BG 5R (80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), water temperature 90°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15

Front Street Coffee brewing method: First bloom with 27 grams of water for 30 seconds, then pour to 128 grams for the staged pour. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. The extraction time (starting from the beginning of the bloom) is 1 minute 50 seconds.

Flavor: The aroma offers fresh fruity acidity. On the palate, there are acidity notes of green grape, lemon, and grapefruit. In the mid-palate, aromas of nuts and biscuits gradually emerge. The finish has a tea-like sensation reminiscent of green tea, while the sweet aftertaste presents notes of macadamia nut and cream. Overall, the flavor layers are relatively rich.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.