Gualvador Pacas Natural

Gualvador Estate, founded in 1908, straddles the border between Guatemala and El Salvador. A cairn, a landmark made of stacked stones, marks the spot between the two countries. Owner Jaime Rios’ own history epitomizes that of the farm. Born in El Salvador, Jaime has spent most of his life living in Guatemala. As a 3^rd-generation coffee farmer, his passion for coffee unites both countries at Gualvador Estate.

Nuevo Oriente is among the oldest growing regions in Guatemala. At Gualvador Estate, coffee grows in the shade of Inga trees. The estate sits at the foot of the picturesque El Chingo volcano, which is visible from nearly any spot on the farm. In addition to being a breathtaking sight, the volcano’s previous eruptions have deposited nutrients in the soil, making it an ideal location for farming.

Cherry is selectively hand harvested and laid to sun dry on patios. As cherry dries, workers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying and remove any damaged beans by hand.

It is evident in the cup that Jaime Rios Canana places the utmost care into processing his coffee. This coffee in this lot was processing using traditional Natural processing techniques. Jaime calls the processing method he used ‘winey’ process in order to differentiate his small-scale processing from the larger-scale Natural processing that is common throughout Brazil.

Pacas is named for the farm where the variety was first discovered. The Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador identified Pacas, a natural mutation of Bourbon, in 1949. The Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) further selected for Pacas in the 1960s. Like Caturra and Villa Sarchi, Pacas has a single-gene mutation that causes smaller plant size. Smaller-sized trees enable producers to place trees closer together and increase potential yields. The Pacas variety is widely grown in El Salvador, where it accounts for approximately 25% of total coffee production, and in Honduras, where IHCAFE introduced the variety in 1974.