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Country profile

El Salvador coffee

El Salvador's coffee grows on volcanic slopes such as Apaneca–Ilamatepec, from about 400 to 2,000 m, and is picked from October to March.

Bourbon and Pacas are common, along with the large-beaned Pacamara. Importers describe washed lots with fruit, hazelnut and sweet notes; Pacamara and experimental lots can taste quite different.

PACIFIC OCEAN GUATEMALAHONDURASNICARAGUA Apaneca–Ilamatepec Alotepec–Metapán / Chalatenango Tecapa–Chinameca
El SalvadorA detail from The Coffee Origins

At a glance

JFMAMJJASOND

  • Main harvest
  • Edge month, a margin we add: picking may start early or run late
 meterssea level5001,0001,5002,0002,5002,0004001,310–6,560 ft
Harvest
Oct–MarSucafina's and Mercanta's calendar. Café Imports gives November–April; high farms may continue into April.Calendar from Sucafina, Mercanta and Sucafina's 2026 handbook, checked October 2026. Compared with Café Imports.
Altitude
400–2,000 m (1,310–6,560 ft)Combined published growing bands: Sucafina 400–1,600 m; Mercanta's Alotepec–Metapán coffee-growing zone 1,000–2,000 m; not the country's highest or lowest farms.Band from Sucafina's 2026 handbook and Mercanta.
Production
542,000 60 kg bags (2026/27 forecast)USDA Foreign Agricultural Service forecast, published July 2026.
Varieties
Bourbon, Pacas, Pacamara, Catuai
Processing
Washed, Natural, HoneyThe usual methods; individual lots vary (see the lots below).
Regions
Apaneca–Ilamatepec, Alotepec–Metapán / Chalatenango, Tecapa–Chinameca
Often described as
fruit, hazelnut, sweet

See El Salvador on the map, and compare it →

How its coffees are described

Importers usually describe El Salvador's coffees as fruit, hazelnut, sweet. A washed Apaneca–Ilamatepec example; Pacamara and experimental lots can differ. These are tendencies, not a promise about a particular bag.

Roasters' words

Roasters described 22 single-origin lots from El Salvador in our catalog sample (320 lots from 38 specialty roasters, recorded January–March 2026); these are the notes they used most. Each opens in the Flavor Bloom with an exercise to train your nose on it.

Why two counts: the Flavor Bloom counts the 272 of those 320 lots that are single origins and name a tasting note, leaving out blends, co-ferments and descriptions that name no note. El Salvador's 22 are among them; the other one of its 23 lots isn't.

All 23 lots, as roasters described them (winter 2026) · 22 single-origin lots with tasting notes are counted above

Lots are seasonal: this is a record of how roasters described these coffees in early 2026, not a list of what's in stock.

LotRoasterProcessRoastRoaster's notes
Las Brumas, Washed PacamaraDrop Coffee RoastersWashedLightapricot, orange, cinnamon, plum
Los Andes, Washed Bourbon, El SalvadorDrop Coffee RoastersWashedLightred apple, almond cake, lime zest
Finca Majahual, El Salvador, Three Process Tasting Set – FilterFive ElephantWashedLightearl grey, red apple, blood orange, white grape
Montecarlos, El SalvadorGeorge Howell CoffeeWashedLightmilk chocolate, orange, pecan
El Salvador ChelazosNorth Star Coffee RoastersWashedLightstewed plum, brown sugar, blood orange
El Salvador Finca Margarita PacamaraNorth Star Coffee RoastersWashedLightapple butter, green grape, honey
El Salvador - Loma La Gloria - Unicorn NaturalBrandywine Coffee RoastersNaturalLightapricot, caramel, strawberry
Pacamara Yellow & RedChromatic CoffeeNaturalLightgrapefruit, hibiscus, lemon, strawberry
El Salvador - Carlos PolaDa MatteoNaturalLightchocolate truffle, ripe cherries, sultana raisin and apricot
Las Brumas, Natural Gesha, El SalvadorDrop Coffee RoastersNaturalLightpeach, lime juice
Las Brumas, Natural PacamaraDrop Coffee RoastersNaturalLightblackberry, dried cranberry
El Salvador Eric Landaverde Gesha NaturalNorth Star Coffee RoastersNaturalLightstrawberry & cream, rose wine
La Primavera SL28 NaturalPT's Coffee Roasting Co.NaturalLightmilk chocolate, red grape, pecan
El SalvadorCuvee CoffeeNaturalMediumhoney, citrus
El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Red PacamaraHas Bean CoffeeNaturalMediumorange, black grape, golden syrup
Montecarlos Medium, El SalvadorGeorge Howell CoffeeWashedMedium—
El Salvador: Finca San José, Red BourbonHas Bean CoffeeWashedMediummilk chocolate, biscuit, marshmallow
Elefante Dry & Wet ProcessChromatic CoffeeWashed and natural blendMedium-lightberry, caramel, floral
El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Centroamericano H1Has Bean CoffeeWashedMedium-darkmilk chocolate, dried apple, cardamom
El Salvador: Finca Nejapa, Los VientosHas Bean CoffeeWashedMedium-darkbrown sugar, plum, dark chocolate
El Salvador: Finca Nejapa - RomaHas Bean CoffeeWashedMedium-darkdark chocolate, green apple, dulce de leche
El Salvador: Finca San José, Elefante, WashedHas Bean CoffeeWashedMedium-darklime zest, bourbon biscuit, white grape
El Salvador: Finca Argentina, IcatuHas Bean CoffeeNaturalMedium-darkplum, caramel, raisin

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Brew it

Single origins show their character best brewed clean. The Brew Guide starts you on a V60; if the cup comes out sour or bitter, Fix My Coffee finds the one change to make. Brewing Constellations shows how other brewers change the cup.

The nearest country pages

Honduras · Guatemala · Nicaragua · Mexico

Sources