February 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Brewing Better Coffee At Home!
Four Barrel is hosting classes on brewing better coffee at home. Instruction will be focused on general concepts like importance of grind and temperature, as well as implementing tools like pourover kettles and scales to improve brewing techniques. These principles will be demonstrated on French Press, Chemex, Clever, and Hario V60 brewing devices.
Space is limited to 10 people, so drop by the...
A few words from Tal
Jeremy and I have been in Kenya the last ten days, cupping through the auctions, touching base with producers, establishing new relationships, and narrowing down our sights on a handful of special gems to bring back home to you.
It has shaped up to be an unusual main harvest here as a result of changing weather. Abnormally heavy rains in December of 09’ washed away flowers of what would be a...
3 tags
Rwanda Rushashi Duhingekawa
The Rwanda Rushashi is a favorite at our Front Bar.
This coffee is hand picked and sorted by a 70 member women’s group called Duhingekawa (meaning literally, “women’s coffee”) a subgroup of the 1700 member Abakundakawa cooperative that mills this coffee at the Rushashi washing station. Abakundakawa’s production is a fair trade certified, USAID project to improve the quality of life in Rwanda,...
1 tag
Decaf Sumatra Sidikalang
We’re pleased to introduce a new single-origin decaf offering on our shelves. Say hello to Decaf Sumatra Sidikalang. Chocolate, molasses and rum in the cup. Sweet and balanced.
Sidikalang is a city and district immediately to the west of Lake Toba, the massive crater lake in North Sumatra. While it is near Lintong, Dolok Sanggul and other growing areas, Sidikalang coffees have a...
1 tag
New Arrivals: Ethiopia Wollega Leka Wato & Darra...
Over the last two weeks we’ve quietly introduced Darra Bonko and Wollega Leka Wato in our cafe. The Darra Bonko’s silky mouthfeel and the Leka Wato’s brilliant acidity are both stunning additions to the menu at the Front Bar.
Ethiopia Wollega Leka Wato
Producer: Ato Jote, owner of Leka Wato
Process: Washed
Location: East Wollega, Nekempti (West Ethiopia)
Elevation: 1750...
November 2010
1 post
1 tag
New Arrivals: Sulawesi Toraja Sapan & Colombia...
Our coffee offerings have changed greatly over the last few weeks. We are at a point in the season where our efforts in Colombia and Sulawesi are bearing tangible results in the café.
The Colombia Andino is the result of relationship building in Bruselas, a town in the Huila region of Southern Colombia. Over the last several months, we have been able to offer an array of distinct single-farmer...
September 2010
2 posts
Recent Arrivals
Amazing coffees just keep coming! This week we have three new coffees available: Costa Rica Cafetín 1900, Ethiopia Walena Suke Quto, and Kenya Tegu.
Cafetín is a micro-mill in the town of San Martin, Costa Rica. While Tim O’Brien was a Peace Corps volunteer based in San Martín, he fell in love with the town and its people. He returned to build a micro-mill there in 2004 to increase quality...
Upcoming Brew Class
On Monday, September 6, Four Barrel will host a class on brewing better coffee at home. Instruction will be focused on general concepts like importance of grind and temperature, as well as implementing tools like pourover kettles and scales to improve brewing techniques. These principles will be demonstrated on French Press, Chemex, Clever, and Hario V60 brewing devices.
Space is limited to 10...
August 2010
2 posts
Recent Arrivals
One of our fresh arrivals is the Costa Rica San Juanillo Don Jose. This coffee is produced by Don Jose’s son, Sixtolman Sanchez, in the West Valley of San Juanillo de Naranjo. One-hundred percent Caturra is cultivated at 1600 meters above sea level, and this particular lot is processed using the pulped-natural method. After the cherry is pulped off the seed, rather than being fermented and washed...
New Coffee: Colombia El Jordan Peaberry Reserve
Our next Colombian microlot comes from a familiar name at Four Barrel, El Jordan. We have offered several different coffees from El Jordan in the past, and this lot is an all peaberry reserve lot.
The name El Jordan does not refer to a single farm, but rather it is the name of a collaboration involving members of the APCEJOR and ACEDGA producer associations in the Gaitania de Plana province of...
July 2010
4 posts
Friendo Blendo and seasonality
Seasonality is a buzzword that has gotten a lot of circulation in the coffee world recently. All of our single origin offerings fresh crop arrivals, and we strive to serve coffees only at their peak. We can’t claim to be trailblazers in this arena, because seasonality is nothing new. The simple fact about coffee is that it is more vibrant and flavorful when the green coffee is fresh, and...
June 2010
4 posts
Some new coffees
We’ve had some new coffees hit the shelves and the front bar over the last week.
The Panama Duncan Estate Reserve is a pristine microlot from Ricardo Koyner, whose family has been producing coffee in Boquete for four generations. His carefully tended organic coffee farm, Kotowa, faces south in Volcancillo de Boquete de Chiriqui in northern Panama. Kotowa is the poster child of organic...
What you are tasting
To someone encountering our coffees for the first time, it can be daunting to confront shelves of coffees from different parts of the world. The array of flavor descriptions we use to describe each coffee begs the question: What makes these coffees taste the way they do?
Our whole approach to coffee relies on the uniqueness of single origin coffees. “Single origin” is a broad term to differentiate...
Coffee lab at Local: Mission Eatery, June 30
Our friends at Local: Mission have asked us to present a coffee brewing workshop on June 30th.
Take a look:
http://www.localmissioneatery.com/labs
New Colombian microlot: Rodrigo Romero
We have a new Colombian microlot on the shelves and at the Front Bar this week.
Just like our last Colombian microlot, the David Burbano, we feel this coffee exemplifies what Colombian microlots are all about. The Rodrigo Romero microlot presents a very distinct cup profile, owing to the fact that Mr. Romero cultivates coffee on only 4 hectares of his farm, La Esmerelda. Meyer lemon, dark...
May 2010
1 post
New post! New coffees!
It’s been a while since we’ve posted changes to the Four Barrel blog, but here we are! We’ll be posting more and more in the near future - promise.
We have been going through a lot of new coffees, and the seasonality of coffees really keeps us on our toes. Our green sourcing program is busy year-‘round, finding the best coffees possible. Our customers may have noticed that...
February 2010
1 post
One Barrel
Four Barrel is excited to offer our café customers service at our new front bar. Tuesday through Sunday, from 9:00am to 4:00pm, the front bar offers a selection of coffees and single origin espresso. The menu changes daily as our seasonal selection of coffees change.
The front bar is unique in that each coffee on the menu is available as cup-at-a-time drip OR espresso. This presents a unique...
January 2010
1 post
Costa Rica Cafetin ‘Wee Berry’
Costa Rica Cafetin ‘Wee Berry’
Photo: Amber Fox
Affectionately dubbed the ‘wee berry’, these beans are exceptionally small (12 screen). These tiny beans are normally what is sent to national consumption, and paid a very low price. These small beans are hypothesized to be the product of a mutation (similar to how peaberries form), or as the result of a lack of nutrients, sun, genetics, or even...
December 2009
6 posts
Watcha shorter one, for your viewing pleasure.
WatchClassy!
Thank you to Barry Jenkins for these great videos!
Costa Rica 'Wee Berry'
Today we sample roasted and cupped another exciting upcoming coffee offering: a ‘wee berry’ from Costa Rica.
This special project is Tim O’Brien’s idea, (of Cafetin in Costa Rica), and involves sorting out the very smallest of the small beans, and keeping them as a separate minimicro-lot.
Turns out those little beans that are usually discarded are absolutely delicious!...
Easy Way to Set the Grind on a Hario Skerton
The Hario Skerton mill is quickly becoming a favorite of coffee professionals. It’s imported from Japan, and consequently, there are no instructions in English. The included literature informs the user that the ceramic burrs are washable, and also gives grind adjustment instructions.
We’ve come up with an way to adjust the grind setting for each brewing method, without using coffee....
4 tags
Grounds For Health Auction Lots
Four Barrel is very excited to announce the three special Grounds for Health auction coffees are now available for the holiday season!
Finca Kilimanjaro
Finca Los Alpes
Finca Mauritania
These three special coffees from El Salvador were donated by Aida Battle to the inaugural Grounds For Health auction, and were the top auction lots. Overall, the auction raised close to $100, 000, all of which...
November 2009
1 post
“Is there life before coffee?”
– Dave H 