Four Barrel Coffee

Four Barrel Coffee is an independent, locally owned roastery and cafe operator based in San Francisco, California. The company directly sources nearly all of the coffee it roasts—for both its own cafes and wholesale partners—from producers in Latin America, Indonesia, and East Africa, with staff spending significant time each year visiting farms and cooperatives at origin. Four Barrel describes its sourcing philosophy as relationship-driven, aiming to improve quality of life for producers throughout the supply chain, including support for community projects such as a schoolhouse built with an Ethiopian cooperative. The roastery operates on a vintage 1957 German roasting machine, emphasizing human oversight over automated systems. Their stated roasting style prioritizes the intrinsic qualities of each coffee: cleanness, sweetness, acidity, and complexity. In addition to its roastery, Four Barrel operates a pair of cafes and holds a partnership in The Mill, a San Francisco café collaboration.