El Salvador - Experimental Hybrid Selection Transparency Report
Catisic is a cross of Red Caturra and Timor Hybrid that carries resistance to coffee leaf rust. The parent Catimor material was developed in Portugal in 1959 and brought to El Salvador in 1978 through the Instituto Salvadoreño de Investigaciones del Café. Local pedigree selection by ISIC and PROMECAFE produced the Catisic line, later advanced and field-tested by geneticist Ángel Cabrera — the same breeder behind Pacamara. The plant is compact and short-internoded, high-yielding, and rust-resistant, traditionally planted at lower and middle elevations. It remains a minor variety in El Salvador, grown by relatively few producers.
That rarity is part of what makes this lot interesting. Catisic is typically a workhorse rather than a showpiece, most often cupping caramel, chocolate, citrus, apple, and dried fruit. Grown here between 1,250 and 1,550 meters in volcanic soil, with cool nights slowing cherry maturation, picked selectively at peak ripeness and processed with real attention to detail, it shows what careful work can pull from a variety usually valued for agronomy over flavor: clean sweetness, gentle fruit, cocoa depth, and honest balance.
Pola's broader program is built on regenerative agriculture, water-conscious processing, and transparent quality work. More than twenty experimental cultivars and hybrids are planted across Finca Las Brisas, making the farm both a producing estate and a living research platform — a place where the question of what farmers will grow next is being answered in the field.
COFFEE INFORMATION
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Origin: |
El Salvador |
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Variety: |
Experimental hybrid selection (Catisic) |
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Process: |
Natural |
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Factory: |
n/a |
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Region: |
Apaneca Illamatepec-Juayúa |
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Farmer: |
Carlos Pola |
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Farm: |
Finca Las Brisas |
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Drying Practices: |
Raised African Beds |
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Elevation (MASL): |
1,250-1,550 |
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Origin Cup Score: |
87 |
