A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
Our copy of Midnight Marauders was given to us by a regular customer when we first opened and has been a Little Tandem turntable staple ever since. Released 30 years ago this month (November 9 to be precise), Midnight Marauders is now considered one of the best and most influential hip hop records of all time. Marauders was the A Tribe Called Quest’s third and most successful record to date going certified platinum in its first year and peaking at No 8 on the Billboard charts. Coming off the commercial and critical success of Low End Theory the group felt pressure to deliver something even better. Much of the record was conceived in the basement of Phife Dawg’s grandmother where Q-Tip had a key and would work on the group’s legendary beats. The group did not cave under the pressure to deliver. Instead they released what most considered to be their best album to date (though not by all - Rolling Stone trashed the record upon its release but then placed it at #201 on its list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Classic!) When searching for records to feature in this club I will often look back to see if any favorites are coming up on a big anniversary. This is the first time that we have ever nailed the anniversary year AND the month. So, put it on quick while the dates still align! Close your eyes, try to get back into your 1993 mindset (if you’ve got one), smile and enjoy. Happy Anniversary, Marauders.
Canoguitas - Huehuetenango, Guatemala
Are you ready for the Canoguitas? We get this delightfully sweet coffee from our impoting parters at Collaborative Coffee Source, whose in-country coffee source is primarily Zelcafe, the organization that owns and operates the Bella Vista wet mill in Antigua. Canoguitas comes from Txo’l Witz (shoal wits) meaning ‘between hills’ in Mam, the indigenous language, and is used to indicate where the producers are located in Huehuetenango - a mountainous region of western Guatemala. While coffees from Antigua tend to be more nutty with a honey sweetness, the coffees from Huehuetenango excite us because they are often more complex and fruit forward with the apricot notes of the Conoguitas being a perfect example.