FOUR BARREL COFFEE

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.

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.