Origin guideCentral America
El Salvador Salvadoran speciality coffee
Don’t be fooled by El Salvador’s small size. It was once the 4th largest coffee producer worldwide and continues to produce high-quality lots. The country is known for its great cupping varieties, such as Bourbon and Pacamara.
The field notes
El Salvador at a glance
- Harvest
October – March
- Production
About 590,000 60 kg bags (2025/26)
- Main regions
Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range · Central Belt · Chichontepec · Cacahuatique Mountain Range · Tecapa-Chichontepec Mountain Range
- Common varietals
Bourbon · Pacas · Pacamara · Caturra · Catuaí
Production figures: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service estimates for 2025/26, published July 2026.
When is it harvested, and how is it processed? See our guide to coffee harvesting and processing.
Chapter 01The story
History of coffee in El Salvador
Coffee arrived in El Salvador in the 1880s and soon became a major wealth generator for the country’s elite rulers. Indigo, the plant that was used to dye cloth that iconic blue, had long been the main export crop for both El Salvador and Guatemala. However, in the 1880s, as new, cheaper, man-made dyes became available, the country’s indigo export business gradually disappeared.
As coffee supplanted indigo as the country’s biggest export crop, the small, landholding elite who possessed large swathes of land benefited. These elites were almost all deeply connected to politics, including the president of El Salvador himself, General Tomás Regalado, who at one point owned more than 6,000 hectares. Politicians had a habit of using their office (and the military) to force peasants to cede their land to cronies and even to work as poorly paid or unpaid forced labour on large estates.
The landed elite invested heavily in infrastructure – roads and mills – that enabled El Salvador’s coffee industry to flourish. However, it was not until many years later, when land was redistributed to landless farmers, that the majority of the population was able to benefit from those investments.
By the 1920s, 90% of El Salvador’s exports were coffee, and by the 1970s, El Salvador was the world’s 4th largest coffee producer. This accolade is made even more impressive when considering El Salvador’s diminutive size. Unfortunately, El Salvador’s standing as an agricultural powerhouse was decimated by the full-fledged civil war that lasted from 1979 to 1992.
One outcome of the country’s civil war was significant land reform that broke up many of the large estates and redistributed land to landless workers. Today, 95% of El Salvador’s coffee growers cultivate coffee on fewer than 20 hectares. Estate sizes for single owners are capped at 245 hectares.
Chapter 02Varieties
Big is best
Two beloved, frequently high-scoring varieties — Pacas and Pacamara — originated in El Salvador. Pacas, a naturally occurring mutation of Bourbon, was discovered by Fernando Alberto Pacas Figueroa on a section of his farm “San Rafael” in western El Salvador in 1949. Pacas is a dwarf variety, and its trees are much smaller than other varieties traditionally grown in El Salvador, such as Typica or Bourbon. Thanks to their small size, Pacas trees can be planted closer together and thus increase the yield per hectare. They also stand up well to strong winds, which are common in the country’s higher elevations.
Pacamara, a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogype, was developed in the laboratories of the now-defunct Instituto Salvadoreño para la Investigación del Café (ISIC), led by geneticist Angel Cabrera. Though the variety had been overlooked for some time in comparison to other, newer disease-resistant and more productive varieties, it has made a major comeback for quality-driven producers in the last decade. Top Pacamara lots usually place in top spots during the Cup of Excellence competition every year.
Unlike many other Central American countries, approximately 60% of El Salvador’s rootstock is Bourbon. Bourbon originated in Ethiopia and was later taken to Yemen for cultivation. In the 1700s, French missionaries carried seeds to Bourbon Island (present-day La Réunion). Keeping its island name, Bourbon was introduced to Brazil in the 1860s, and its clean, bright profile helped spread the variety across Latin America. Due to its susceptibility to coffee leaf rust (CLR), Bourbon has fallen out of favour with some producers, but its renowned profile has lived on in many hybrid varieties.
While the high prevalence of Bourbon once made El Salvador among the most sought-after coffee-producing origins, its predominance presented a challenge during the coffee leaf rust crisis of the early 2010s. The susceptibility of the Bourbon plant to the disease was aggravated by ageing rootstock and decades of under-investment due to low prices and farm abandonment. Coffee export revenue in the country dropped 20% between 2011 and 2013.
Chapter 03Today
Coffee in El Salvador today
El Salvador’s long history as a major coffee producer continues to positively affect coffee production in El Salvador today. Unlike other countries, where speciality coffee production has required a great deal of additional investment and training, El Salvador already has a broad and skilled speciality coffee workforce. Farming traditions run deep, and many Salvadoran farmers are extremely passionate about coffee production and continuously strive to improve their crop.
Though coffee output in the country has been declining for over two decades – exacerbated by the leaf rust crisis – the approach to coffee production has changed from volume-driven to quality-driven. A new generation of coffee producers has sprouted around the country with a new vision and approach to production. Many of this generation are experimenting with processing and varietals.
Taste this origin
