Four Barrel Coffee

For Rwandans, the road to recovery is paved with coffee. Coffee is the nation’s most important crop, but structural problems—like antiquated tools and land erosion—have undermined production. Enter Cotecaga Wet Mill, a collective that united 1,750 smallholder farmers in 2006 to pool resources for processing and export. This year’s harvest shows the true potential of coffee from the region, with an impressive complexity. In the hands of Four Barrel Coffee, the result is juicy lime acidity that complements flavors of toasted walnut and black cherry, a deep, syrupy sweetness, and a soft marzipan finish.

We feature truly small-batch, seasonal coffees. So there might not be any left. But that's a good thing! Only big corporate factories have the same stuff all year round.

You have to admire the perfectionist streak of Luis Alejandro Ortega, a second-generation coffee grower in Colombia’s San Agustin. Rather than accept the status quo, Ortega is constantly working to improve his (already stellar) harvest. He grows only the Caturra variety, pays his workers a higher-than-average wage, and invests in equipment--like the raised drying beds that finished this wet-processed and fermented lot. The extra effort shows up in the cup: roasted by San Francisco’s Four Barrel Coffee, you’ll find bright, snappy notes of nectarine, orange zest and graham cracker.

We feature truly small-batch, seasonal coffees. So there might not be any left. But that's a good thing! Only big corporate factories have the same stuff all year round.

One sip of this brew and you’ll understand that great things come in small packages. This particular batch of coffee originates from just three small lots farmed by producers Eliecer Guatin, Marino Ortega, and Leonel San Pablo. They hail from San Agustin, Colombia, a town blessed by rich land and diverse producers. Four Barrel Coffee’s roasting philosophy is humble as well, favoring individual, experienced artisans in lieu of complicated machinery. It’s no surprise that this coffee is wonderfully balanced: apple-cider acidity is complimented by notes of honey and caramel, then finishes with a taste of graham crackers and pears.

We feature truly small-batch, seasonal coffees. So there might not be any left. But that's a good thing! Only big corporate factories have the same stuff all year round.