El Salvador Miravalles Pacamara

Pacamara is a hybrid cultivar of Pacas (natural mutation of Bourbon), and Maragogype. They're perhaps most well known for their large size, however this lot ranges in size from somethign similar to standard Bourbon (around 15/16") up to the larger end of Pacamara (around 19/64"). It comes from the Miravalles farm in Ahuachapan, a 120 manzanas farm that is planted in many different varieties, including a small amount of Pacamara. Finca Miravalles is a family affair. It's owned by husband and wife Luis Duarte and Tete Chacón, and much of the management is handled by their son, Luis Jr, and Chico, the on-site manager of 15 years. The farm is located in Apaneca, Ahuachapan, not too far from the Santa Ana volcano. It used to be two separate farms, Miravalles belonging to Tete's family, Santa Maria to Luis's. They were both raised on these neighboring farms, family ownership going back some 150 years. Sometime after marrying, they put in an offer on Miravalles, which was all but abandoned at the time, and joined with Santa Maria under the Miravalles name. They have been renovating the farm ever since, keeping much of the original Bourbon and Pacas cultivars, and planting several other varieties, including H1 and F1 hybrids, Catimor, Pacamara, Caturra, and Gesha. They've done an amazing job segregating the cultivars in separate plots, and go to great lenghts to harvest and process separately too. Miravalles is perched on the verdant slopes of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain region, and spans an altitude range of about 1250 to 1550 meters above sea level. Check out our video tour of the Miravalles farm, and in-depth look at their wet process method in action at their mill.