Colombia Villamaria Pink Bourbon Natural Nº 352

Jamaica, Villamaría’s processing station, was built in a place that just made sense, the climate and altitude are perfect for drying natural coffees. The vast space available meant they could finally produce high quality naturals at a scale that hadn’t really been possible before. As the project grew, roasters around the world started committing year after year, and nearby communities began to see the advantages of selling whole cherry to La Aurora, Jamaica’s buying and delivery point. Instead of processing parchment themselves and selling to local mills. Selling cherry like this isn’t common in Colombia, but it’s standard practice in many other coffee producing countries, and it quickly proved its value.

Communities such as Villarazo, La Batea and Corozal have all felt the impact. More and more producers now deliver to La Aurora, a farm managed by Rubiel Orrego. Trust didn’t come overnight though, many farmers had previously been promised better prices and full crop purchases by large institutions, promises that were never fulfilled. Understandably, people were cautious at first. What changed things was consistency. Being present every harvest and continuing to buy helped show that this was a long term commitment. Producers benefit from better prices and less labour by selling cherry rather than processed parchment, and as roasters continue to support the project, demand for their harvest keeps growing.

Villamaría sits in Colombia’s Caldas department, close to Manizales, an area rich in water sources and natural resources. The Jamaica drying station is located in Chinchiná at 1,300 masl, about 500 metres lower than the farms supplying it. The warmer conditions here are better suited to honey and natural processing, and today the station represents the harvests of around 30 – 50 coffee producing families in the surrounding area.

Jamaica focuses on washed, honey and natural lots, using Nuna dehydrators and mechanical dryers to carefully manage humidity and temperature throughout drying. As of this natural pink bourbon lot, fresh cherry arrives at La Aurora, where it’s floated, sorted and rested for 24 hours. The following day it’s moved to Jamaica for another 48 hours of fermentation in cherry, then dried on greenhouse beds for roughly 15 days before finishing in mechanical dryers for 3 - 4 days.