Key takeaways
- Bourbon and Pacamara define El Salvador’s coffee identity.
- Traditional African varieties like Gesha and SL28 are becoming increasingly popular.
- New high-quality varieties help producers target the ultra-specialty coffee market.
- Production limitations mean farmers can’t grow new varieties at scale.
Despite being Central America’s smallest country, El Salvador is one of the region’s most important coffee producers. The USDA predicts its 2025/26 production to increase modestly to 597,000 60kg bags, largely driven by favourable weather conditions, while labour shortages and high input costs continue to limit growth.
Even with these challenges, the country has a global reputation for its iconic, exceptional quality coffee varieties: Bourbon, Pacamara, Pacas, and Bernadina. While these will always remain integral to Salvadoran coffee’s identity, a small but growing number of producers are planting traditional African varieties to diversify the country’s coffee sector.
These varieties, primarily from Kenya and Ethiopia, offer distinct acidity and florality that contrast with the traditional sweetness of Salvadoran coffee. Their cultivation has been a strategic move, allowing Salvadoran producers to target the ultra-specialty coffee market and differentiate themselves from competitors.
There’s a solid argument that all coffee is inherently African in origin, although some assert it has Yemeni roots. Researchers at New York’s University at Buffalo recently traced arabica’s origins back to Ethiopia, estimating the plant to be between 610,000 and 1,000,000 years old – outdating Homo sapiens.
But in the case of El Salvador, which will host Producer & Roaster Forum on 26 & 27 March 2026, varieties we traditionally associate with Africa have transformed the coffee sector.
You may also like our guide to El Salvador coffee production.
A history of coffee varieties in El Salvador
Bourbon has long played a role in El Salvador’s coffee sector. Today, it’s believed to account for some 60% of the country’s coffee production. A natural mutation of the Typica variety, it’s a tall plant with relatively low yields but high-quality potential.
Native to Yemen, according to World Coffee Research, Bourbon, was introduced to Bourbon Island (now La Réunion) by French missionaries in the early 1700s. By the mid-1800s, Bourbon had travelled to El Salvador, where it adapted to the volcanic soil and temperate climate.
Here, the variety underwent further natural selection and intentional breeding – resulting in distinctly Salvadoran coffees.
“Bourbon is one of the most important varieties we grow in El Salvador, as well as the Pacas variety, which is a natural mutation of Bourbon,” says Maria Pacas, a fifth-generation coffee producer at Café Pacas, a Cup of Excellence-winning farm in Santa Ana, western El Salvador. “My great-grandfather actually discovered the Pacas variety.”
The story is that around 1949, the Pacas family discovered a natural mutation of Bourbon on one of their farms. This mutation, which they named Pacas, was shorter in stature, allowing for denser planting and easier harvesting. Genetic studies by the Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) confirmed that Pacas is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon.
Other iconically Salvadoran coffees are Pacamara, a coffee with large-sized beans that often dominates Cup of Excellence (CoE) competitions, and Bernadina, also discovered by the Pacas family.
“We sent a sample to a genetic testing lab in Italy,” Maria explains. “The results show it shares 30% of its DNA with a variety native to the Agaro region of Ethiopia. So, despite being discovered and grown primarily in El Salvador, it has African roots.”
Exclusive African varieties in El Salvador
The Bourbon variety represents the historical and genetic foundation of the Salvadoran coffee industry. Its preservation has defined the country’s reputation for balanced and sweet cup profiles. However, the recent introduction of traditional African varieties is reshaping the country’s coffee sector, as producers seek to differentiate and bolster farm resilience.
“El Salvador will always be known for Bourbon and Pacamara, but more producers are experimenting with new varieties,” says Diego Baraona, another fifth-generation coffee producer at the CoE-winning Los Pirineos in Usulután, southeastern El Salvador.
SL28 is perhaps the most prominent. Originally developed by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in Kenya during the 1930s, it’s prized for its blackcurrant-like acidity and drought resistance. Salvadoran producers began planting SL28 in the early 2000s, led by pioneering farmers like Aida Battle. Beyond El Salvador, it also grows in other Central American countries, such as Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
“Around 2017, my father got hold of some SL28, Gesha, and Sudan Rume seeds. He conducted some trials, and the results were promising, so we started germinating more seeds,” Diego explains. “Harvest volumes began to increase, but each variety behaved differently, making it a trial-and-error process. One might need more shade cover, while the other requires more windshield because it’s fragile.”
The introduction of Gesha and Sudan Rume, also both of African origin, is even more recent than SL28. But planting is steadily spreading as specialty coffee producers recognise the potential for return on investment.
“Gesha is very prominent here; it’s become part of high-end marketing, like with Panama,” Diego adds. “In the western area of Santana, for example, they grow high-quality Gesha, as well as SL28.”
Transforming El Salvador’s coffee marketing
With rich volcanic soils, ideal terroir, and stellar farming practices, El Salvador has established itself as a “boutique” specialty coffee origin, attracting interest from roasters worldwide. The introduction of new African varieties, including Gesha and Sudan Rume, has undoubtedly supported these efforts.
Gesha originates from the Gesha region of Ethiopia, while Sudan Rume is an ancient landrace variety believed to have been first cultivated on South Sudan’s Boma plateau.
“We have a research and experiment garden with over 90 different varieties, and we sell nine varieties commercially,” Maria explains. “As part of our Incunables range, which includes very high-quality, exclusive coffees, we sell Gesha, Sudan Rume, SL28, Bernadina, Moka, and an heirloom variety.”
Other events and competitions will continue to reinforce El Salvador’s positioning as a high-end origin. While Salvadoran Gesha may not command the staggering prices that its Panamanian counterpart can, it’s appearing more often at CoE competitions. Nine Geshas were available at the 2025 auction, with two scoring over 90 points.
“Another variety we’re growing more of each year is Pink Bourbon, which is likely to be an Ethiopian landrace,” Diego says. “It’s resistant to pests and diseases and is a highly productive plant.”
Limitations to growth and innovation
In time, newer varieties are likely to further solidify El Salvador’s reputation for excellence and innovation, but production limitations pose challenges.
“SL28 and Gesha are very popular in El Salvador now,” Maria says. “There are many producers who grow these varieties, but not on a very large scale. It’s difficult, even impossible, to reach high production levels with these coffees.
“The challenge with some of these African varieties in El Salvador is the way that they adapt to our weather conditions compared to their native countries,” she adds. “In the case of Sudan Rume and the heirloom variety, they tend to ripen very early in the harvest season, which runs from around October through March or April. We sometimes have late rains in the year, which damages the cherries if they ripen early, so we lose some of the harvest.”
El Salvador can’t compete as a high-volume origin, but consistent high-quality and innovation have built a strong foundation for the country’s coffee sector to thrive. Events like PRF El Salvador will continue to build on this reputation.
“It’s become a necessity in specialty coffee marketing to receive higher prices and think outside of the box,” Diego concludes. “You need to have a balance of good quality volume coffees, like 84 and 85-point Bourbons and Pacamaras, and then you can invest in high-end lots that elevate your marketing and increase brand awareness.
“I like the saying that those coffees are the desserts; Pacamaras and Bourbons are the main dish, while Gesha and Pink Bourbons are the sweet treat.”
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on whether El Salvador can leverage Pacamara like Panama leveraged Gesha.
Perfect Daily Grind
Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!
Source link