About This Coffee
Finca Villa Lara, located in Guaduas, Cundinamarca, Colombia, is a coffee farm founded by Jonathan Lara, a retired Vermont special education teacher, and his Colombian wife, Beatriz Gomez. After purchasing an abandoned farm in 2010 they initially intended to create a small recreational farm but shifted focus toward coffee cultivation with guidance from the National Federation of Coffee Growers. What began as a project to produce "good quality coffee" evolved into a dedication to high-quality micro-lots, reflecting Jonathan and Beatriz's shared passion for detail and excellence.
Villa Lara emphasizes social and environmental sustainability alongside coffee production. The farm meets or exceeds all Colombian labor and environmental standards, ensuring excellent living conditions for workers and maintaining over a third of the land in conservation. With 6,000 trees planted for shade and wildlife habitat, Villa Lara promotes biodiversity while protecting water resources. Their approach embodies a commitment to community responsibility, offering workers opportunities for personal growth and producing quality coffee as a result of their holistic approach.
Extended Fermentation Coffee Process
In the traditional washed process for coffee beans, the ripe and freshly picked coffee cherries are immediately pulped and left to ferment for a short time, making it easier to remove mucilage from the beans. Then the beans are washed and dried.
With extended fermentation, the beans are often soaked for more than a day. In this case, 36 hours. The process requires careful monitoring to avoid overfermentation. The extra fermentation time can encourage complex, winey, and unusual flavor notes to develop in the coffee.
History of Colombian Coffee
As with many coffee origins, it is believed that coffee was first brought to Colombia by priests, arriving, perhaps, within a decade or two after coffee first came to the Americas via the Caribbean in the first half of the 17th century. It was likely a garden crop grown for local consumption and barter for decades. Unlike other coffee regions, we have the story of a priest named Francisco Romero, who could be called the father of commercial coffee cultivation in Colombia. The folkloric tale goes that in the early 1800s, Father Francisco, hearing confessions in the northeastern town of Salazar de la Palmas, assigned planting coffee to his parishioners as penance for their sins. The Archbishop of Colombia heard about this and ordered all priests to adopt the practice. Commercial production of coffee expanded quickly, moving into regions where the growing conditions were ideal.
Growing Coffee in Colombia
Even though it’s been 4,000 years, the soil resulting from the last major eruption of Tolima is still considered “young soil,” filled with nutrients that are no longer found at the same levels in old soil. There is a long list of elements on offer in volcanic soil that are fading or absent in other soils, such as high levels of potassium and nitrogen. Also present is something called “Boron,” which arrived from outer space a long time ago, and is important to cell walls, the creation of enzymes, and the production of flowers and fruit, meaning Boron contributes to yield. Beyond the nutrients, the structure of volcanic soil is also beneficial to coffee growing. It can soak up and hold moisture while, at the same time, facilitating good drainage so water doesn’t pool, which is not good for coffee plant roots. Coffee plants like to take a drink, then take a break. Also, volcanic soils are usually found on an incline, which also helps with drainage.
Country: Colombia
Region: Guaduas, Cundinamarca
Farm: Jonathan Lara Parke & Beatriz Gomez Cala
Elevation: 1650 MASL
Variety: Tabi, Castillo
Processing: 36 Hour Fermentation, Washed
Tasting notes: Heavy-bodied and balanced with flavors of caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla, cherry, and plum.