Cacahuatique
Coffee from Cacahuatique, El Salvador: the Morazán highlands around Perquín and Ciudad Barrios, at 500–1,663 m, with chocolate, caramel, citrus and spice.
What is Cacahuatique coffee?
Coffee from the Cacahuatique range in north-eastern El Salvador, in the highlands of Morazán around Perquín, Arambala and Osicala, and Ciudad Barrios in San Miguel. A small region with about 4% of the country's coffee, grown under shade at 500 to 1,663 metres, it is protected by a denomination of origin that describes chocolate, caramel, citrus and spice, a creamy body and medium citric acidity.
At a glance
2026- Species
- Arabica
- Altitude
- 500–1,663 m (CSC, 2016); denomination of origin from 900 m
- Harvest
- October to March nationally (CSC)
- Production
- About 4% of El Salvador's coffee (FIAES)
- Area under coffee
- 4,815 ha, 3.6% of the coffee area (CSC, 2016)
- Typical cup
- Chocolate, caramel, citrus and spice aroma; creamy body; medium citric acidity; chocolate and spice flavour (denomination of origin).
- Protected name
- Denomination of origin Café Cacahuatique, from 900 m
Other figures describe 2026 and come from the sources at the end of this page. Updated once a year.
Cacahuatique is El Salvador’s north-eastern coffee range, in the highlands of Morazán around Perquín, Arambala and Osicala, with Ciudad Barrios in San Miguel. It is one of the smallest of the country’s six coffee regions, and its denomination of origin describes a chocolatey, spiced cup with a creamy body.
The short version
- About 4% of El Salvador’s coffee, on some 4,800 hectares.
- 500–1,663 metres under shade; the denomination starts at 900 m.
- Chocolate, caramel, citrus and spice, with a creamy body.
- Morazán and northern San Miguel.
- Harvest October to March.
What does Cacahuatique coffee taste like?
Chocolatey and spiced, by the official description. The denomination of origin Café Cacahuatique, registered with El Salvador’s Centro Nacional de Registros and owned by the state, describes aromas of chocolate, caramel, citrus and spices, a creamy body, citric acidity of medium intensity, and flavours of chocolate and spice, Marcasur reports. Perfect Daily Grind Español names Morazán, with Chalatenango, as one of El Salvador’s newer coffee regions, whose fertile soils produce Cup of Excellence winners.
Where is it grown?
The denomination covers coffee above 900 metres in Yamabal, Delicias de Concepción, Yoloaiquín, Osicala, Gualococti, San Simón, Perquín, San Fernando, Arambala, Joateca and Guatajiagua, in Morazán, and in Ciudad Barrios and San Antonio del Mosco, in San Miguel. The Consejo Salvadoreño del Café (CSC) put the region’s coffee at 500 to 1,663 metres in 2016, all of it under shade. Nationally, Bourbon and Pacas made up 62% and 31% of El Salvador’s coffee in 2016; the harvest runs from October to March.
How much coffee does it grow?
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Area, 2016 | 4,815 ha (3.6% of the national coffee area) | CSC, via ICO |
| Share of production | 4% | FIAES, via El Diario de Hoy |
Cacahuatique is the second-smallest of the six regions by area, ahead only of Alotepec-Metapán. El Salvador harvested more than 4 million quintales a year between 1980 and 1993, the agriculture ministry says, and the six regions held about 170,569 manzanas of coffee in 2022-23, the CSC found.
Cacahuatique and other Salvadoran origins
- Coffee in El Salvador: the whole country, its six ranges and its history.
- Tecapa-Chinameca: the larger range to the south.
- Alotepeque-Metapán: the other northern range, in Chalatenango.
Questions & answers
What does Cacahuatique coffee taste like?
Its denomination of origin describes aromas of chocolate, caramel, citrus and spices, a creamy body, citric acidity of medium intensity, and flavours of chocolate and spice.
Where is Cacahuatique?
In north-eastern El Salvador. The denomination covers Yamabal, Delicias de Concepción, Yoloaiquín, Osicala, Gualococti, San Simón, Perquín, San Fernando, Arambala, Joateca and Guatajiagua in Morazán, and Ciudad Barrios and San Antonio del Mosco in San Miguel.
How much coffee does Cacahuatique grow?
About 4% of El Salvador's coffee, on 4,815 hectares in 2016, the second-smallest of the six regions after Alotepec-Metapán.
How high is Cacahuatique coffee grown?
From 500 to 1,663 metres, according to the Consejo Salvadoreño del Café's 2016 figures; the denomination of origin applies from 900 metres.
Sources
- Recuperar la producción cafetalera es rescatar el patrimonio de El Salvador. Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería
- El parque cafetalero es más pequeño de lo registrado, en 29,400 manzanas. Diario El Mundo
- Denominaciones de Origen: zonas cafetaleras de El Salvador. Marcasur
- El Salvador (presentation to the International Coffee Council, 2016). International Coffee Organization
- Productores luchan para mantener cultivo de café en Jujutla. El Diario de Hoy
- Guía de origen: así es el café de El Salvador. Perfect Daily Grind Español