Four Barrel Coffee

Big things come in small packages, but what about small regions? When Four Barrel Coffee went to Gera Woreda, Ethiopia, they found a wealth of flavor that had previously been obscured by bad infrastructure. Thanks to the help of a nonprofit, the 240 small farmers of Yukro Cooperative now enjoy a shared washing station, better transport, and more direct payment than ever before. This new infrastructure means they can now ‘wet process’ their crops, leading to more flavorful coffees that yield bigger profits. In this brew, tropical fruit aromas lead into a luscious cup that is sweet like palm sugar. It finishes clean and dry.

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.

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.