Region: Chinchiná, Caldas
N.B. Regarding the discount: unfortunately the vacuum packaging on this lot was compromised and by the time we came around to releasing it the green had started to show some signs of fading/age. It's still a lovely coffee expressing good varietal and processing typicity, not an accurate representation however of what it could have otherwise been.
Villamaría's processing station, Jamaica, was chosen due to its perfect climate and altitude for the drying of naturally processed coffee. Alongside this, the large space available meant that producing high-quality naturals at scale was a possibility not available before.
As the project gained speed, roasters worldwide began to buy long-term from Villamaría, and neighbouring communities were able to see the merits of selling cherry to La Aurora, the delivery and buying point for Jamaica, instead of parchment to a nearby trilladora. The sale of whole cherries to a processing station is a method uncommon in Colombia but seen in many other coffee-producing countries.
We can see that the communities including Villarazo, La Batea and Corozal have been positively affected by the existence of Jamaica. Today, we see a continued increase of producers delivering their cherry to La Aurora, which is also a contributing farm managed by Rubiel Orrego. Like many coffee producers in Colombia, producers of Villamaría had historically been promised higher prices and the purchase of a farmer's entire crop by large institutions in the past. Having never delivered on this promise, understandably faith in new ventures had greatly diminished amongst producers.
La Batea means the valley in English and is an area of Villamaria where its incredibly steep hills provide a unique microclimate. Here, cold air currents swoop down from the snowy mountains of Santa Isabel and Volcan Nevado del Ruiz, improving air quality, circulation, and pollination, whilst cooling the air temperature that surrounds the growing cherries!
