El Salvador Las Mercedes Pacamara Anaerobic Natural

El Salvador Las Mercedes Pacamara, crafted through an anaerobic natural process, bursts to life with electrifying character in every sip. This coffee makes no ordinary cup; it’s dazzlingly clean, intensely sweet, and layered with captivating herbal intrigue and a vivid flash of brightness.

The renowned Pacamara variety and process combination shines here, unfolding in a dynamic cascade of fresh lime, ripe strawberry, and juicy sweet citrus. A luxuriously full body carries deeper tones of tart cranberry and warm nutmeg, creating a beautifully balanced profile. The finish? Long, memorable, and endlessly inviting—leaving you chasing the next sip.

What is the Pacamara varietal?

Named after the Pacas Family in El Salvador, the Pacamara varietal is a hybrid of the Maragogipe and the Pacas varietals created by the Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research in 1958, but put into use with the general producer populous in the 1980s. With the Maragogipe varietal known as the giant elephant bean, Pacamara beans are also larger in size, leading to their nickname of The King Bean of Central America. 

Pacas beans were a natural mutation of the Bourbon varietal, and have trees that are shorter and more compact. The build of the tree makes it less susceptible to weather wear, adapting to harsher conditions and resistant disease more than other plants. The Maragogipe is a mutation of the Typica varietal, and has trees that grow large and tall. 

Pacamara beans usually feature intense aromas that are more complex, creamy textures that have medium bodies, and slight acidity with fruitier undertones. 

What is the Anaerobic Natural process?

The Anaerobic Natural Process consists of fermenting coffee without oxygen, and is well-known as the process used to ferment wine. After the coffee cherries are harvested and cleaned, they go into fermentation barrels. Next, they are left for 90 hours, or until all of the air bubbles are gone. The coffee cherries are then taken out of the barrel and, depending on the weather, are dried on raised beds for 30-45 days.

What do Anaerobic Natural processed coffees usually taste like?

These coffees tend to be described as “funky” and “unique.” Just like wine, these coffees are forcibly fermented in a controlled environment. Producers can control temperature and pH levels, and really bring out distinctive, strong flavors naturally present in the coffee cherries.

How should I brew this coffee?

Anaerobic Natural coffees can be a bit trickier to dial in as espresso - we recommend brewing as a pourover! Any pourover device will work, but our favorite detailed cup comes from a pourover made with a Hario V60 brewer.

The Hario V60 drippers utilize a traditional style of Japanese ceramics with a 400 year history. These brewers are practical and beautiful, and the spiral ridges and lack of flow restriction really allow for pourovers with delicate bodies to really shine. We recommend brewing at a 14.5 to 1 ratio, with a total brew time between three minutes and four minutes. Water should be about 204°F, and your coffee should be ground medium fine (425 to 600 microns).

For a more extensive brew guide, please check out our Hario V60 brewing guide.

From the award-winning, family-owned, and women-led Finca Las Mercedes, nestled in Cerro El Tigre, El Salvador—crafting exceptional coffee since 1886.

Tecapa 2019- 1 st place - Pacamara Washed
Coffee Review - Nov. 2008 - 92 points
Cup of Excellence 2006 - 1st Place
Cup of Excellence 2009 - 6th Place
Best of Origin 2016 - Top 10

As part of Klatch Coffee’s direct trade partnership, 25 cents of every pound of this coffee sold goes to support community sports programs and medical clinics in the Las Mercedes community. Finca Las Mercedes is a beautiful coffee farm with owners dedicated to care for their community, their workers, and the environment with the same care that they invest into their coffee. The Ortiz family provides healthcare, food, and clothing to those in the community that are in need. Las Mercedes is committed to ecological care, making efforts to preserve natural wildlife, to maintain compliance with our certifications in the way that the mill’s by-products are disposed of, and to avoid contamination. In the last few years, the Ortiz family has prioritized preservation by planting native trees.

Las Mercedes represents the maximum expression of a great coffee that has always been cared for with dedication and perseverance for five generations in the Ortiz family. Only mature cherries with perfect ripeness are allowed. The cherries are subjected to screening before pulping to eliminate twigs, leaves, and other foreign material; also to separate the floaters from the bulk.

The coffee is processed right after being picked, it is sent directly to the wash ditches and the pulp is completely removed. Anaerobic Natural Process consists of fermenting coffee without oxygen, and is well-known as the process used to ferment wine. After the coffee cherries are harvested and cleaned, they go into the fermentation barrels. Next, they are left for 90 hours, or until all of the air bubbles are gone. The coffee cherries are then taken out of the barrel and, depending on the weather, are dried on raised beds for 30-45 days.