Coffee has traditionally brought El Salvador more than half its export income. In the late 19th century, presidents backed the seizure of smallholder and communal land to expand it.
In 1949 a dwarf natural mutation of Bourbon was found on a farm owned by the Pacas family in Santa Ana. It became the Pacas variety. Crossing it with the giant-bean Maragogipe produced Pacamara, which often wins the country's Cup of Excellence.
As of 2002, over 90% of Salvadoran coffee was grown under shade, and around 80% of the country's forest was tied to shade coffee farms.
What the record says
- Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon found in 1949 on a Pacas family farm in Santa Ana, El Salvador.2
- The Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) began selecting Pacas in 1960. The plant is dwarf because of a single-gene mutation and is very susceptible to leaf rust.2
- Pacamara is a cross of Pacas and Maragogipe developed by ISIC. Its beans are very large, and it often dominates El Salvador's Cup of Excellence.3
- Coffee has traditionally made up more than half of El Salvador's export revenue, peaking at over $615 million in 1980.1
- Green coffee output fell from 175,000 tons in 1979 to 141,000 tons in 1986 during the civil war.1
- As of 2002, over 90% of Salvadoran coffee grew in shade plantations, and around 80% of the country's forest was associated with them.1
- The coffee elite is often called the 'Fourteen Families', but several hundred families is closer to the truth.1
The 1932 massacre (La Matanza) is often linked to the coffee economy, but no opened source covered it, so it is left out. The Pacamara release year was not given by World Coffee Research. Harvest months were not sourced.
- Coffee production in El Salvador · Wikipedia in the bibliography
- Pacas · World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties in the bibliography
- Pacamara · World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties in the bibliography
