Overview
Spending months on the road touring your third LP, you'd be needing some caffeine too. New York-based eclectic multi-instrumentalist St. Vincent has released her own signature coffee blend, following the release of her self-titled album in February. Collaborating with Chicago-formed coffee roasters Intelligentsia, St Vincent's blend is called 'Bring Me Your Mugs' (named for her tune 'Bring Me Your Loves', appearing on St. Vincent). Intelligentsia approached Annie Clark after learning she was a significant coffee enthusiast, having worked with artists Wilco and Anticon on previous limited editions.
"I love coffee. I sometimes get excited at night thinking of the coffee I’ll get to drink in the morning. Coffee is reason to wake up," said Clark on coffee news website Sprudge. "There are other reasons, of course. But coffee is the incentive, at the very least. I love Intelligentsia coffee. I have stood at their counter waiting for my order, like a fan waiting for a show. Eager. Expectant. So when my favorite coffee shop approached me about collaborating on a signature coffee, I was thrilled."
Clark's blend originates from Costa Rica, with beans from Intelligentsia's Flecha Roja project, produced by Coopedota Cooperative on El Mango Farm. "This vibrant, sugary coffee is marked by flavors of poached pear, rosewater, and yellow plum," say the roasters. Intelligentsia sent a series of samples to Clark on her Digital Witness global tour, with Flecha Roja winning the eventual thumbs up from the artist.
St. Vincent joins a list of notables with their own blends: LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy famously repped his Brooklyn roots after teaming up with Blue Bottle founder James Freeman for 'House of Good'. Bonnie Prince Bill joined forces with Kona Rose Coffee for the chocolately, tobacco-like 'Bonny Billy Blend'. David Lynch even has his own organic signature blend and Leonardo DiCaprio's organic Fair Trade line of 'green' beans from coffee roaster La Colombe Torrefaction raises funds for the actor's sustainability-focused charity. Then there came the ill-fated Kiss Coffeehouse, developed by the glam rockers and churning out their own blends. Unfortunately Kiss fans preferred Red Bull to coffee, so the cafe was forced to stop rocking and rolling all night.
You can pick up a bag of 'Bring Me Your Mugs' in store at Intelligentsia if you happen to be in the US or the closer to home can have the beans delivered to their door via St. Vincent's website (available in the next few days).