Bourbon characteristics of the History of Coffee cultivation in El Salvador, the birthplace of Pacas Pacamara Coffee beans

Position in the world as a coffee exporter (19gam20):

On the 19th

Annual export of gunny bags (60kg) (19pe20):

About 546000

Percentage of the world coffee market:

Less than 1%

Export of other major agricultural products:

Sugar, corn, rice, beans

Typical varieties of production:

Bourbon, Pacas, Pacamara, Kaddura and Katuai

Major coffee producing areas:

Apaneca-Ilamatepec, Central Belt, Chichontepec, Cacahuatique and Tecapa-Chichontepec Mountains

Typical harvest time:

October-March

Generally available:

Since July

El Salvador is the smallest of the Central American countries. It produces quality coffee to a consistently high standard. Mercanta regularly buys selected single varieties, such as orange / pink bourbon, red bourbon and Pacamara, and has established strong long-term relationships with many producers and factories in this small coffee powerhouse.

The history of Salvadoran coffee is inseparable from the development of the country itself. Coffee was launched in the late 1880s and quickly replaced indigo as the country's main export. By the 1920s, coffee accounted for 90% of all exports in El Salvador.

This mass production is owned by the elite of small lands that own large tracts of land (by 1895, General Thomas Ragalado alone owned more than 6000 hectares of land! ) and is closely related to the governance of El Salvador, which has had a negative and positive impact on the development of the country. On the one hand, the leaders of these coffee economies (and countries) invest heavily in internal infrastructure, such as roads, to benefit the coffee industry; on the other hand, those who have no land (which is the majority of the population of El Salvador) are largely ignored in the wealth created.

By the 1970s, El Salvador was the fourth largest coffee producer in the world; this was remarkable given the size of the country. However, the over-reliance on coffee for political and economic growth led to a cyclical struggle that eventually led to a civil war that lasted from 1979 to 1992. This period and the consequences of the war also witnessed significant land reform and redistribution in the country, which eventually led to the collapse of many of the country's large traditional estates. Today, about 95% of the country's coffee producers grow coffee on less than 20 hectares of land, and no one can own more than 245 hectares of land.

What is unusual in Central America is that about 60% of the coffee produced in El Salvador is bourbon, which is characterized by unusually clean, bright and sweet, with a strong citrus flavor. However, an unusually high proportion of this famous coffee variety in the country is currently threatened by coffee leaf rust, which has a significant impact on the country's production, resulting in a 20 per cent drop in export earnings between 2011 and 2013.

In front of the street, the coffee of El Salvador's Mount Ura Manor is grown in bourbon, and the honey treatment adds to the sweetness of this coffee. On the palate, there are plum and grapefruit with a slight citrus acidity, and the finish of Xuanmi tea with nut chocolate flavor is full of texture.

It is worth noting that El Salvador is also the birthplace of Pacas and Pacamara varieties, the latter of which is a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogype. The famous Pacamaras from El Salvador usually produces a larger-bodied wine with tropical fruit, syrup, citrus brightness and a distinctive yellow grapefruit finish.

Ninety-five per cent of the coffee produced in El Salvador is grown in shade, and the enthusiasm and expertise of farmers, combined with skilled picking and grinding labour, have greatly contributed to the sustained high quality of the country's production. In addition, today, coffee producers are supported by Consejo Salvadore ñ o Del Caf é, which has done a great deal of work in supporting and promoting Salvadoran coffee at home and abroad, as well as in providing support to domestic producers. Through their work, they tirelessly stimulate export markets for growers and maintain and improve the quality of coffee produced in El Salvador.