La Victoria colombia

It’s true that I normally only have eyes for Inza, when it comes to Colombia, but then I tasted what Efren Diaz had created in Narino and had to make an exception. Tablón de Gómez is a municipality in western Nariño located between the bustling coffee towns of La Union to the north and Buesaco to the south. This lot comes from the community of La Victoria, deep in Tablón close to the border of the Putumayo department. For years, the avocado was the star agricultural product of the area, until that all changed when the guerrilla forces, poppy, and coca entered the region. This caused many years of instability and violence that forced a large portion of the local families to flee to the capitals. Years later, once the conflicts were controlled, the farmers returned and all dedicated themselves to planting coffee. Sunlight, rain cycles and soils with high organic matter created a fertile ecosystem for coffee cultivation here.

Despite adversity, the residents of the area have not forgotten their ancestral customs, such as the carnival of "Los Blancos y Negros", a carnival that is celebrated every January. It tells the history of Colombia, the indigenous traditions, the slavery and the victory of independence from Spain. The La Victoria community is part of the protected area of the indigenous community of Aponte, with approximately 5,000 inhabitants of the Inga ethnic group from the Quechua. Their community has its own language and has special regulations imposed by its community, under the command of the indigenous governor and the indigenous guard. Community members or day laborers are hired during the harvest season, while Efren maintains his own farm throughout the year. Cherry is processed for defects, depulped and dried on-site. Parchment coffee is loaded onto a mule for transport or driven to the nearest dry mill. In this iconic area where tradition and ancestral knowledge coexist with new modernization, the natural result is a coffee of exceptional quality.

Efren Diaz has produced a classic profile that displays the greatness of Narino. At 2,000 masl, His farm is planted with Colombia, Caturra, and Castillo varietals which helps make this a quintessential Colombia offering that’s complete in structure. Like an ever-echoing, freshly struck gong, it’s the sweetness that saturates this experience. For Efren’s coffee, this looks like sheer curtains of cantaloupe that ornately outline apricot and yellow cherry spiraling into a caramel quicksand. With a movement like satiny syrup, a whisper of lemongrass, and a generous dusting of cocoa, we’re led beyond the cascading caramel to the comforts of a frangipane galette and fresh cream that allows us to gather ourselves for a moment. Sturdy and dynamic, La Victoria will reverberate with sweetness, endlessly.

Photos by Red Fox

La Victoria colombia

  • Origin - Colombia

  • Region - Nariño

  • Province - Nariño

  • District - El Tablón de Gómez

  • Village - La Victoria

  • Farm - El Naranjo

  • Producer - Efren Diaz

  • Altitude - 2000 masl

  • Varietals - Colombia, Caturra, Castillo