Pacas: El Salvador's compact Bourbon variety

Pacas is a compact coffee variety that has been part of El Salvador's coffee industry for more than 70 years. It was discovered on a farm in the Santa Ana region in 1949 and turned out to be a natural mutation of Bourbon.

Its compact growth is the main reason it became so useful. Farmers can plant Pacas more densely than taller varieties, increasing the amount of coffee produced from a given area. It also happens to be one of the two parents of Pacamara, which has given Pacas a place in specialty coffee well beyond El Salvador.

Where did Pacas come from?

The story begins at Finca San Rafael in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador, where the Pacas family noticed unusual coffee trees growing among their Bourbon.

The plants were shorter and more compact than the surrounding trees, with dense foliage and short internodes. They were also productive, so the family kept and propagated the unusual plants rather than removing them.

When researchers later examined the trees, they found that Pacas was a natural mutation of Bourbon. The same basic type of single-gene mutation is also responsible for the compact growth of Caturra in Brazil and Villa Sarchi in Costa Rica.

The variety was named Pacas after the family on whose farm it was discovered. In 1960, the Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) began a programme of pedigree selection, choosing individual plants and propagating the better-performing trees over successive generations.

Pacas is still widely grown in El Salvador. World Coffee Research estimates that it accounts for around 25% of the country's coffee production. It was also introduced to Honduras by IHCAFE in 1974.

The Pacas Family Tree

A compact Bourbon mutation

Pacas belongs to the same group of naturally occurring Bourbon mutations as Caturra and Villa Sarchi. The three varieties developed independently, but all have a mutation associated with dwarf or compact growth.

That shorter stature changes how farmers can use their land. Pacas can be planted at higher densities than traditional Bourbon, with around 5,000–6,000 plants per hectare possible under single-stem systems.

For small farms, that can make a meaningful difference. More trees don't automatically mean better coffee, of course, but higher planting density can increase the amount of coffee produced from a limited area.

What does Pacas look like?

Pacas is a compact, densely foliated plant with short internodes and green leaf tips. The cherries are red when ripe and the beans are around average in size for Arabica.

The plant's compact structure is one of its clearest distinguishing features. It also makes Pacas easier to manage and harvest than taller varieties, particularly on farms where coffee is picked by hand.

Pacas generally begins producing coffee around its third year. It has medium yield potential as an individual plant, although higher planting densities can increase total production per hectare.

What does Pacas taste like?

World Coffee Research describes Pacas as having good quality potential at high altitude and standard cup quality for Central America. That is perhaps a more useful description than assigning a fixed list of tasting notes to the variety.

Well-produced Pacas can be sweet, balanced and clean, with moderate body and acidity. Chocolate, caramel, nuts and fruit can all appear, but the exact profile depends heavily on the farm, elevation and processing method.

We've tasted Pacas from the same farms as Bourbon and often found the Bourbon slightly more expressive. That isn't a rule, though. Good Pacas can produce excellent coffee, and some of our most memorable examples have come from Pacas plants themselves.

Processing can shift the profile considerably. Washed coffees often show more clarity and defined acidity, while honey and natural processing can add sweetness, body and more pronounced fruit character.

Where is Pacas grown?

El Salvador is still Pacas' home. The variety is particularly associated with the country's higher-elevation coffee regions, including Santa Ana and the broader Apaneca-Ilamatepec growing area.

Pacas was introduced to Honduras in 1974 and is grown elsewhere in Central America too, although it has never displaced the major commercial varieties across the region.

Its history in El Salvador is partly responsible for that. Pacas was selected locally and became established as a practical variety for farms dealing with limited land, where its compact growth and potential for dense planting were useful.

The problem with Pacas

There is one major weakness: coffee leaf rust.

Pacas is highly susceptible to Hemileia vastatrix. World Coffee Research gives it a very high susceptibility rating, which is a significant consideration for farmers in regions where rust pressure is high.

The variety is also susceptible to nematodes. That doesn't make Pacas impossible to grow, but it does mean that farmers need to pay close attention to plant health and farm management.

The severe coffee leaf rust outbreaks that affected Central America from 2012 onwards made this weakness particularly obvious. Producers had to weigh the benefits of established varieties such as Pacas and Bourbon against the disease resistance offered by newer hybrid varieties.

Pacas remains widely planted despite that vulnerability, which says something about the value farmers place on its growth habit, productivity and familiarity.

Pacas and Pacamara

Pacas has another claim to fame. It is one of the parents of Pacamara, the other being Maragogipe.

The cross was made in El Salvador in 1958 as part of breeding work at ISIC. Researchers were looking for useful combinations of the two varieties' characteristics, and after several generations of selection they arrived at the Pacamara that is now famous in specialty coffee.

Pacas contributes its compact growth and Bourbon background to that family tree, while Maragogipe provides the very large fruit and beans that make Pacamara so distinctive.

You can read more about that combination in our Pacamara guide.

Why Pacas still matters

Pacas isn't a competition-focused variety and it isn't known for one spectacular flavour characteristic. Its importance is more practical.

A compact Bourbon mutation that can be planted densely, performs reasonably well and produces good coffee has obvious value to farmers. In El Salvador, those characteristics were enough for Pacas to become one of the country's most widely grown varieties.

It also provides a useful reminder that variety isn't just about what's in the cup. Plant size, disease resistance, yield, harvest timing and the amount of labour a farm needs all affect whether a coffee variety makes sense in the first place.

Quick varietal facts

Varietal: Pacas
Species: Coffea arabica
Genetic background: Natural mutation of Bourbon
Origin: Santa Ana region, El Salvador
Discovery: 1949
Selection programme: ISIC, from 1960
Growth habit: Dwarf/compact with dense foliage and short internodes
Leaf tip colour: Green
Cherry colour: Red
Bean size: Average
Yield potential: Medium
Planting density: Around 5,000–6,000 plants/ha under single-stem systems
Quality potential at high altitude: Good
Disease resistance: Very highly susceptible to coffee leaf rust; susceptible to nematodes
Notable offspring: Pacamara (Pacas × Maragogipe)
Typical cup profile: Sweet, balanced and clean, with chocolate, caramel, nut and fruit characteristics varying with farm and processing

Further reading

World Coffee Research - Pacas Variety Profile
Detailed information on Pacas' genetics, history, growing characteristics, disease susceptibility and quality potential.

Perfect Daily Grind - What's So Special About Pacamara?
An interview exploring the Pacas family's coffee history and the development of Pacamara.

Interested in Pacas' family tree? Read our guides to Bourbon, Pacamara, and Caturra.