Farmer

José Ignacio Gómez inherited Finca El Paraíso from his father, Pastor Ezequiel Gómez, who took over the land from José’s uncle, Franco López. The farm sits in Vereda El Naranjal nearthe town of Buesaco, in Colombia’s Nariño department, and has been producing coffee since the late 20th century. It was among the first farms in the region to plant varieties like Caturra and Bourbon Rosa alongside the more traditional Typica. José grew up learning from his father, developing a strong palate and an intuitive feel for quality. Today he cultivates six and a half hectares of coffee alongside orange trees, lemon trees, and avocados, a mixed landscape that contributes to the biodiversity and natural balance reflected in the cup. The name “El Paraíso” comes from exactly this feeling: the peaceful hillsides, the sense that things here are in equilibrium. Every harvest, José picks with his family and a trained team of workers, bringing the cherries to his own micro wet mill on the farm. A few years ago, he built a custom solar dryer nearby: three tiers of raised beds under a translucent roof, oriented to catch the farm’s natural crosswinds. Coffee starts on the lowest tier and moves upward as it dries, a simple system that regulates temperature and airflow without any machinery. His childhood friend Carlos Alberto manages the entire drying cycle with meticulous care. José also co-founded the Cooperativa de Cafés Especiales de Nariño with other quality-focused producers in the region, helping members find a market for their best lots.

Region

Nariño sits in the far southwest of Colombia, where the country’s three Andean mountain ranges converge before continuing south into Ecuador. It is one of the highest coffee-growing regions in the world, with farms around Buesaco reaching up to 1,900 meters. The soil is young and volcanic, enriched by minerals from the nearby Galeras volcano, and the average temperature hovers around 18 to 19 °C year-round. What makes Nariño unusual is its proximity to the equator. At these latitudes, coffee can grow at extreme altitudes where it would normally fail, and the result is an exceptionally slow maturation that produces dense, flavour-concentrated beans. The temperature swings between warm days and cool nights further sharpen the acidity and sweetness. Coffee has been part of Buesaco’s economy and culture since the 18th century, and the municipality is the largest coffee producer in northern Nariño. Despite a difficult history marked by conflict and geographic isolation, the region’s farmers have turned Nariño into one of Colombia’s most respected origins for specialty coffee.

Variety

Typica is one of the founding varieties of all modern Arabica coffee, a direct descendant of the plants first brought from Ethiopia to Yemen and eventually to the Americas. It is tall, elegant, low-yielding, and increasingly rare on commercial farms because more productive and disease-resistant cultivars have replaced it across most of Latin America.

Process

This lot is a natural process, meaning the cherries are dried whole with the fruit still intact around the seed. After hand-picking at peak ripeness, the cherries are placed on the lowest tier of José’s shaded solar dryer, where cooler temperatures and reduced light exposure slow the drying and allow the fruit sugars to ferment gently around the bean. That controlled, extended contact between fruit and seed is where the sweetness and the subtle funky edge come from. As the cherries dry, they move gradually upward through the three tiers until they reach the target moisture content. From there, the coffee is transferred to the bodega for reposo, a resting period during which the flavours stabilize and the final cup profile settles into focus. It is a patient process, and the balance between fruit intensity and clean structure in this cup is a direct result of how carefully José and Carlos Alberto manage every stage.