Villamaría coffee (Colombia) 250g

A sweet and fruity natural process coffee, grown by a collection of family farms in the region of Caldas, Colombia. Recommended for filter.

Flavour notes: Lychee, cassis and brown sugar
Producer: Red Association of Villamaría
Location: Caldas, Colombia
Process: Natural
Variety: Naranjal, Castillo, Variedad Colombia
Size: 250 g

This particular batch of coffee is from the Villarazo sub region of Villamaría, which is home to 25 members of the Red Association of Villamaría Cooperative.

The gateway that enables these farmers to sell their coffee on an international market is a central processing station called ‘Jamaica’ that was partly funded by Raw Material Coffee Importers, a not-for-profit coffee importer who invest profits into infrastructure projects at origin.

The farmers themselves can increase the portion of their farm devoted to coffee knowing that there is a secure and profitable market and this is having a positive impact on the local communities. We are extremely proud to be a part of this project and maintain a long-term relationship with these producers.

Keep your coffee sealed in the bag and store in a cool dry place away from sunlight. Use within 3 months.

Tate Collective's Open Call invited 16-25 year olds to create artworks for our coffee labels. Each entry was inspired by Coffee by Tate's values of quality, community and gender equality. This label, Ode to Kuna, was designed by Rosie Woollard.

About our producers

The central ‘Jamaica’ processing station currently represents the coffee of 30 to 50 coffee producing families in the area of Villamaria.

The station itself sits below the farms at 1300masl where the hotter temperatures of a lower altitude are better suited to drying coffee in the Honey and Natural processing method. The Natural processing of coffee involves first floating the coffee cherry in tank to sort them and then resting them in a fermentation process for 48 hours. They are then taken to the drying beds in a greenhouse where they are dried for 15 days and the drying is finished off in a mechanical drying for 3-4 days before the cherry fruit is removed.

Like many in Colombia, coffee producers in Villamaria had historically been promised higher prices by large institutions and they were suspicious of this new processing station. However, the consistency of the station in committing to long term contracts year after year has helped those who were hesitant, and the success of the station has spread through word of mouth throughout the region.

• Size 250 g