Abner Jay - The True Story of Abner Jay
Another Little Tandem staple from way back in the day. This album was originally given to me by my good friend and coffee expert Dillon Edwards back when were both honing our coffee skills at Blue Bottle Coffee. Dillon had 2 copies for some reason and gave me his extra. In return I gave him my extra copy of Louis’ Hello Dolly. I think I got the better end of the deal for this record is a true masterpiece. Full of stories, life lessons, and heavy themes like “Cocaine”, “Vietnam” and “The Reason Young People Use Drugs”, one or 2 copies of this record belong in every collection.
Hunapu - Antigua, Guatemala
At the base of Vulcan D’agua, the volcano which the indigenous Mayans of Guatemala call Hunapu, sits the beneficio Bella Vista. Bella Vista is a wet and dry mill run by agronomist Luis Pedro Zelaya. Luis Pedro has been working for years with small producers who own 1-4 hectare farms around Antigua between 1500 and 1800 masl to produce a coffee called Hunapu. This is a truly awesome project: Luis Pedro started the program to help increase the infrastructure for small farmers to raise the quality of their coffees and to build a program of reward for quality. The lot that we selected this year is a blend of Caturra, Catuai, Pache, and Bourbon and is balanced and sweet with notes of honey and grape candy. We are so stoked to be supporting this project again this year!