Carnival Curiosities - Efraín Gómez, Colombia - Cherry - Kiwi - Popping Candy

Efraín Gómez

Finca Los Naranjos, San José de Albán, Nariño, Colombia

If you ever find yourself travelling through the mountains of Nariño, you'll notice something special. The roads wind through deep green valleys, birds sing from the trees, and coffee grows wherever the mountains reach towards the clouds.

This is where you'll find Finca Los Naranjos, the home of coffee farmer Efraín Gómez.

The farm takes its name from the orange trees that grow alongside the coffee, filling the air with the sweet smell of blossom when they flower. Here, surrounded by rich volcanic soil and cool mountain air, Efraín carefully looks after every coffee tree, knowing that great coffee can never be hurried.

For this special lot, Efraín chose to grow Geisha, one of the world's most treasured coffee varieties. After the cherries were picked by hand at their sweetest, they were carefully fermented using an anaerobic process. This means the cherries rested in sealed tanks before being washed and dried, helping to unlock even more of the coffee's beautiful fruit flavours while keeping the delicate character that Geisha is famous for.

When Efraín believed his coffee was ready, he entered it into La Mejor Taza de Nariño 2025, a competition that celebrates the very best coffees grown across the region. Judges tasted hundreds of coffees without knowing who had produced them, and Efraín's stood proudly among the finest, earning its place in the international auction.

Every cup tells the story of the mountains where it was grown, the careful hands that picked each cherry, and the patience it takes to create something truly special.

We feel incredibly lucky to share Efraín's coffee with you and hope that, with every sip, you'll discover a little piece of Nariño and the care that went into every single bean.

The Story of La Mejor Taza de Nariño

Every year, coffee growers from across the mountains of Nariño choose the very best coffee from their harvest and bring it together for La Mejor Taza de Nariño – The Best Cup of Nariño.

Over several days, each coffee is tasted by expert judges before the highest scoring lots are offered at a live auction to roasters from around the world.

This year, Juan travelled to Colombia to cup the finalist coffees and take part in the auction. Surrounded by the farmers who had grown them, we were lucky enough to secure three beautiful Geisha lots to bring home to Carnival.

Each coffee tells the story of a family, a farm and a year of hard work. We're honoured to share them with you.