Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange
“Blues Explosion!” - Jon Spencer
Look, I could go on and on about the greatness of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and especially this album, Orange. I could gush about the time my friends and I saw them in New Haven in 1997 (still in the top 10 shows I’ve ever seen).. But what good would it do? Who am I? Why, I ask, would you trust a lowly coffee merchant with such information? If you really want to know how good the Blues Explosion is, you should probably hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. I’m talking about Jon Spencer himself. When Spencer poses the question - “Who’s the greatest blues singer in the country?” You stop to think, hmmmmm, who could it be? Within a split second you get your answer - “Blues Explosion!” And sure, I could tell you that the Blues Explosion are number one here in Portland, Maine. Everyone knows that. But, a real authority on the matter, like Jon Spencer for instance would have you also know that the Blues Explosion is “Number one in Philadelphia, Number one in D.C, Number one in Chicago, Number one in Detroit, Number one in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver...New York City, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, (and) Jackson Mississippi.” You understand what I’m saying? Play the blues, punk!
Busambo - Kayanza, Burundi
This is our first year buying from the producers of Busambo Hill and the Umoco Washing Station, located in the Burundi coffee hub of Kayanza. Umuco Station processes cherry from several hundred nearby smallholder farmers, most of whom grow coffee in their gardens and deliver to the station on foot. Cherries are fermented twice — first wet for 12 hours, then dry in cement tanks for another 12 — and finished for 20-25 days on raised beds. In the cup, we get a darker profile of baking spice and deep caramelized sweetness brightened by tangy dried fruit and citrus.
