Villamaria Red Association - Colombia

Sweet Plum, Chocolate, Toffee

Producer: Villamaria
Country: Colombia
Region: Caldas
Variety: Castillo, Caturra
Process: Washed

In late 2024 our Head of Coffee, David, travelled to Colombia with Raw Material (who imported this coffee) to take part in a weeklong course covering coffee production from farm planning through to sending the final product out to the world. The week was a mix of classroom and practical work on the farm, all of which was alongside local producers, including Andreas who is the managing director of Villamaría and son of the owner.

The work of Raw Material in Colombia, alongside producing coffees from their farm at El Feníx itself, is to work where there are gaps in current support structures, in areas that are important to the local communities whilst maximising their impact by understanding their capabilities. Having seen their work first hand David was keen to point out that the mission statement does sound quite lofty but the evidence of Raw Material’s impact is very tangible when spending time with the producers. Raw Material have worked with Villamaría for several years, and with each year the quality of production increases whilst focusing on increasing the quality of life for those so often left behind in coffee production – the people who actually produce it.

 Villamaría is a municipality in the department of Caldas, a few kilometres from the city of Manizales. Villamaría’s washing station, “Jamaica”, is located in Chinchiná, Caldas. The station represents the harvests of 30 to 50 producing families, from the surrounding area of Villarazo; these farms sit above the level of the washing station, which is about 500 metres lower at 1300m.a.s.l. The station can process washed, honey and natural lots, with this mixed lot of Castillo and Caturra varietals being processed as washed to create a beautifully balanced cup.

The careful processing has produced a coffee that has lots of sweetness, great mouthfeel, and crisp acidity. When brewing as a espresso the combination of chocolate and sweet caramel notes, alongside the fuller body, was really reminiscent of a mars bar (if it's a milk-based espresso drink then it's like a Mars Ice Cream!). As a filter you're going to get more of the stone fruit, in both sweetness and acidity, like plum or even nectarine. 

Grind: If you need your coffee ground, select on the dropdown. Let us know in the "Special Instructions" if there is any other specific brew method you need the coffee ground for.