Balboa · Risaralda · Colombia
Our Story
Jessica's story
I'm Jessica Villegas, a Colombian with a heart split in two: a father from Antioquia, a mother from Boyacá — both, without exception, coffee lovers. I grew up watching a ritual that never changed: my dad waking my mom every morning with a cup of coffee. A simple gesture, so everyday it seemed invisible, yet it was really the language they used to tell each other they were loved.
That is where my own fascination with coffee was born. For me it is not just a drink — it is a complete ritual: choosing the shop, smelling the beans before deciding, bringing them home, picking the brewing method, serving it, smelling it again, and savoring every sip as if it were the first. Every cup is a pause to be grateful for the present moment.
In 2019 I moved to Medellín, very close to the town where my dad was born. Without planning it, that move brought me even closer to the coffee culture I already carried in my blood.
In 2024, my dad passed away. And in the middle of that grief, I decided to do what I have always known how to do with pain: turn it into something with purpose. I became a certified barista — not just to learn, but as part of my healing process.
And so, in 2025, CORA was born. Not as just another business, but as a dream, a passion and, above all, a tribute. Every bean we roast, every cup we serve, carries a piece of that story: a father who woke his wife with a coffee every morning, and a daughter who decided to keep that ritual alive, forever.
Coffee that beats with love.
Colombia
The land: Balboa, Risaralda
Balboa is part of the Coffee Cultural Landscape, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, and rose to prominence with the coffee boom of the early 20th century — a crop that remains the backbone of its economy to this day, alongside sugarcane, plantain, beans and corn. Today, 800 coffee-growing families cultivate coffee across the municipality's 23 rural districts. Its geography even shaped the architecture of its houses, turned into spectacular lookouts over the coffee landscape, and hiking through the farms is one of visitors' favorite activities. Every April the town celebrates the Coffee Cultural Landscape festival, marking the anniversary of its founding, with town criers, cultural gatherings, sports tournaments, birdwatching circuits and ecological walks.
The farm: Vereda Chuscal
Municipality of Balboa, Risaralda, Colombia · 4.93256° N, 75.97761° W
The grower: Fernain "Eché"
Fernain de Jesús Hernández, born in La Celia, Risaralda, spent years coming and going across the country, working vast coffee and cotton plantations. In his town he is known as "Eché" — a nickname given with affection by those who share his charismatic personality.
A lover of the land, of coffee, of plantain — a believer in everything good, useful and true in his world — together with his beloved wife María Idalba Vélez he set out with one firm dream: to own their own farm. They bought their land in Balboa, Risaralda, and there began the adventure of growing the fruit of their love: coffee.
Honoring their ancestors, they took on the journey of becoming coffee growers of excellence. Today they keep working with perseverance and hard-earned wisdom to bring their coffee to its best version.
Today we enjoy the first edition of Eché Café: a single-origin coffee, cleanly grown, with the love the land demands, to give its very best fruit.
The Founders
Jessica Andrea Villegas
Co-founder & CEO
Founder & CEO of CORA. A psychologist specialized in consumer psychology, with over 15 years leading customer experience and digital transformation strategies in Colombia's financial sector. With that same passion for understanding people and building memorable experiences, Jessica founded CORA — a project born from love for the Colombian land and the desire to share the richness of our coffee with the world.
Her vision combines the strategic rigor and human perspective she has developed over years leading teams and innovation processes, with deep respect for the campesino hands that make every cup possible. Under her leadership, CORA seeks to connect Colombia's coffee tradition with an authentic, sustainable value proposition that stays close to the consumer.
For Jessica, CORA is the materialization of a personal purpose: honoring the origin, caring for every detail of the process, and bringing Colombia's best coffee to those looking for more than a beverage — a story, a land and a passion.
Carlos Carrero
Growth & Operations
A digital growth strategist with extensive experience in performance marketing for international ecommerce brands. Carlos has led acquisition and paid-media strategies that connect brands with their audiences in profitable, measurable ways, combining data analysis with a deep understanding of the digital consumer.
At CORA he leads growth and operations: from commercial strategy and digital channels to the logistics that bring every bag of coffee to the customer's door. His mission is for the story behind every bean to travel further and further — without losing the artisanal care along the way.
For Carlos, CORA is the opportunity to put years of digital marketing experience at the service of something with roots: Colombian coffee and the families who grow it.
Camila Villegas
Brand Design & Identity
A publicist with complementary training in design, communication and digital marketing, Camila is the creative mind behind CORA's visual identity. With experience in customer experience and a solid track record in design and advertising, she combines aesthetic sensibility with a customer-centered strategic eye.
Self-taught, versatile and detail-oriented, Camila believes every creative project is an investment of time, effort and authenticity. Her work at CORA brings the brand to life: from label and packaging design to building a visual identity that reflects the origin, warmth and tradition of Colombian coffee.