Back in 2020, before the world stopped spinning, we traveled to El Salvador to work with Café Pacas at their vast coffee farms. Situated on the slopes of the Cerro Verde Volcano, they grow, harvest, and export premium coffee varieties including Bourbon, Pacamara, and an exclusive geisha hybrid named Bernadina that is found nowhere else in the world.

A multi-generational coffee family, Café Pacas is not only an award-winning Central-American exporter, they're also passionate advocates for coffee workers and the industry as a whole.

They invited us to come stay on their farm, where seasonal pickers and their families work during the 6 month harvest season, to document a harvest and experience up close how their people-first approach to sustainable coffee cultivation is at the core of their brand.   

One of the highlights of our trip was learning about their Bernadina coffee. Discovered by farm manager Ruperto Bernadino, this exclusive varietal is found nowhere else in the world.

Part Ethiopian geisha, part El Salvadorian special sauce, it is so highly regarded in the coffee world that 1lb of green coffee sells for as much as $68 (vs approx $1/lb for regular coffee).

Thankfully US coffee lovers will soon be able to try it for themselves thanks to our friends over at Proud Mary. Stay tuned!

While we created this work to help tell Café Pacas' story, for us, this is a passion project.  

After spending only 5 days on their farms, we left with a profound respect for the love and dedication on display by this wonderful community of famers and seasonal workers who commit their lives to producing some of the world's finest coffee.

We believe deeply in telling these kinds of stories and will remember this trip always.