Colombia Villa Lara 36HR Fermentation

Tasting Notes: Cherry, Caramel, Milk Chocolate, Plum, Vanilla

Roast: light/Medium

Varietal: Tabi, Castillo

Process: 36HR Fermentation Washed

Producer: Jonathan Lara Parke & Beatriz Gomez Cala

Finca Villa Lara

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 microlots, 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.

Colombian Coffee History

Coffee arrived in Colombia through Jesuit priests in the late 18th century, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that it became a significant industry, with the first exports recorded in 1808. The industry found its footing in 1927 with the creation of the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC), which worked to elevate the reputation of Colombian coffee. In 1958, the FNC launched the iconic “Juan Valdez” campaign, establishing Colombian coffee as a unique, high-quality product in global markets. The FNC also introduced a national coffee fund, channeling resources into research, technical support, and varietal improvements to support the industry’s growth.