Origins and Development
Pacamara began in El Salvador. Our latest example comes from Bolivia and shows why variety is only the beginning.
Pacamara tends to announce itself before the brewing starts.
Tip a dose into the grinder, and the beans look unusually large. That part is real. The shortcut that often follows, “big bean, big flavour,” isn’t.
What Exactly is a Pacamara?
Pacamara is a coffee variety, or pacamara varietal: a hybrid cross created in El Salvador by the Salvadoran Institute, the Instituto Salvadoreño de Investigaciones del Café (ISIC), and the result combined traits from Pacas and Maragogipe.
The breeding program began in the 1950s, took more than thirty years to stabilize, and was released to producers in the late 1980s.
Pacamara coffee beans
Parent Varieties: Pacas and Maragogipe
The name takes a little from each parent. Paca from Pacas, and mara from Maragogipe.
Pacas is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety, known for compact plants and productivity. Maragogipe sits at the other end of the table: a mutation of the Typica variety, known for giant cherries and very large bean size. According to World Coffee Research, Pacamara is compact like Pacas but produces very large beans. Its yield is low, while its potential for quality at high altitude is exceptional. The Pacamara varietal is not fully stable: plants can revert to Pacas, and about 10–12% do so from one generation to the next.
Challenges in Cultivation
That word potential matters. Disease challenges are part of the picture too: high susceptibility is present for coffee leaf rust and Ojo de Gallo, so performance can vary sharply with the growing environment.
Variety and Quality: What Shapes the Cup?
A variety doesn’t come with a fixed set of tasting notes. The country, climate and soil matter. So does the work on the farm, what happens after harvest, and how the coffee is roasted. For specialty coffee drinkers and anyone curious about distinctive varieties, that’s what makes Pacamara worth understanding: it can produce exceptional cups, but variety, place, process, and roasting all shape the result.
“Pacamara” tells us which plant we’re starting with. It doesn’t tell us exactly what will end up in the cup.
Example: Bolivia CLP Pacamara
Our Bolivia CLP Pacamara makes the point rather nicely.
Pacamara was developed in El Salvador and is still grown mainly there. This one comes from smallholders around Calama in Caranavi, La Paz, most working plots under five hectares at 1,400 to 1,600 metres above sea level.
The coffee is fully washed. After picking, the cherries are floated and depulped, then fermented in open tanks for around a day. They’re washed clean and dried on raised beds beneath greenhouse cover.
Tasting Notes of Bolivia CLP Pacamara
In the cup, we find apricot fruit cake first, followed by the toasted-barley depth of mugicha. Caramel butterscotch sits underneath, with a finish that reminds us of cola candy.
It’s a washed coffee, but the fruit has more weight than the process label might lead you to expect. Sweet, gently herbal, and a little odd in the best way.
That combination belongs to this Pacamara, grown in this part of Bolivia and handled this way. Another Pacamara may taste quite different.
Brewing and Enjoying Pacamara
The large beans will probably be the first thing you notice when you open the bag. Brew it clean, let it cool for a while, then forget the size and pay attention to what’s actually in the cup.
Try the Coffee
- Bolivia CLP Pacamara (https://prodigalroasters.com/products/bolivia-clp-pacamara)
- Fully washed filter roast · 200g · $36
- Roasted to order in Singapore. We recommend resting it for 5–7 days.
Pacamara is just one of many varieties we carry, if you're keen to explore other options, check out our single origin coffee beans collection, or browse our full range of coffee beans in Singapore.
Keep brewing!
Folks at Prodigal Co