Introducing Meddle

Introducing Meddle

Meddle Coffee Bar

 

DMC is proud to announce the opening of our new location, Meddle! We are super excited to have the world's first Psychedelegance coffee shop! The grand opening date will be Friday, October 21st at 6:00am! 

Below is a brief story of DMC, Meddle's hours and location. Thank you all so much for being a part of this magical Family, we couldn't have done it without the support!! 


Conceptually, Dark Matter resembles a rock 'n roll band, with each location representing "albums".Using this philosophy, Star Lounge Coffee Bar was our freshman album, a break through that continues to energize the Chicago coffee scene. We rapidly gained accolades for our community driven movement with quality as the core focus. Soon after came our roastery, "The Mothership - Intergalactic Headquarters" a hub for experimentation and continual education. An innovative and rule breaking sophomore record, structured around four different roasting machines to profile coffee in ways that had not been approached yet. The headquarters also added new staff in our cosmic army, increasing our fuel for the masses, energizing and creating a new portion of the material universe that is here to stay.

Having successfully conquered the "sophomore slump", we decided to take the time and create another experience outside of our Humboldt Park/Ukrainian Village comfort zone. We took our ideas to the long established neighborhood of Lakeview to open the infamous "Osmium Coffee Bar." (Video recap.) Osmium quickly grabbed the attention of the north side of the city with it's oozing chocolate walls, and thirdeyes watching over the chrome and blue soaked environment. This third location further identified each individual store with unique but extreme differences in design and neighborhood feel, avoiding any replication between locations.

Which brings us to Meddle Coffee Bar, our first downtown shop. After countless sessions with the beyond talented muralist, Jason Brammer, we coined our image for Meddle as "Psychedelegance". With purple swirling floors, white subway tile with black grout,datura trumpets ripping out of the bricks, a coffee jungle coming to life, and purple neon so alive it brings flashbacks to the forefront of your brain, Meddle brings our counter culture spirit to the West Loop neighborhood.


Meddle Coffee Bar
601 West Jackson Blvd
Chicago IL 60661
Hours of Operation
Mon - Fri 6:00am - 6:00pm 
Saturday & Sunday 8:00am - 3:00pm 

 

 

October 19, 2016 — Kyle Hodges
Supercollider Event Series

Supercollider Event Series

The first series of events are announced! Make sure to register for either event and are 21+ to attend!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016 6:00 - 9:00pm
Star Lounge Coffee Bar 2521 W Chicago, IL
Admission: Free! (Must be 21+ w/valid ID) RSVP HERE
Celebrating Fernet Branca with cask conditioned coffee, and other fun Fernet Branca inspired beverages.
Special Guests: Charlie Benante (Drummer for Anthrax) 
Music: DJ sets from Ben Fasman, Mike Miczek
Thursday, September 8, 7:00pm - 2:00am 
Estereo 2450 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Special Guest DJ: Announced on Thursday, Sept 8th!! 
Music: DJ sets from Supreme Court, Ben Fasman, Twinpeaks DJs
Dark Matter Coffee & Estereo are teaming to celebrate the late summer nights, delicious Blu Breezy cocktails and hot vinyl from some of your favorite DJs.

Join us on Thursday, September 8th starting 7pm, with sets from Supreme Court, Ben Fasman and Twinpeaks DJs warming up the night. The headliner will be announced sometime on Thursday. Trust us this will NOT be one to miss!!

Special thanks and consideration Bangtel for providing hospitality!
*This event happens rain or shine. Everyone who attends must be 21+, with a valid ID.

Friday, September 9, 2016 6:00 - 11:00pm 

Dark Matter Coffee, Pipeworks and Sauce & Bread present a night of beer, music and mayhem! Who throws a better party than the fine folks at DMC? The answer is NO ONE! 

We teamed up with some of best buddies to throw the ultimate SURPRISE party. A surprise? YES! We are only going to tell you the details of the party, but not the location of the party. Sounds confusing, but it's really simple. All you need to do it purchase the ticket, show up at The Mothership starting at 6:00pm and we will take care of getting you there. But what is this party all about? Glad you asked, details are below. One last thing though, these tickets WILL SELL OUT, so make sure that you are getting them before they are gone. 

What do you get for your hard earned money? 

- A pig roast from Sauce & Bread Kitchen with all the fixings

- Beers, Beers, and Beers from Pipeworks and Mikkeller. We are making sure that there are some really special treats included

- A limited coffee bomber from DMC 

- A vinyl copy of the Brain Tentacles & Wild Jesus split EP

- A DMC snifter

- A Brain Tentacles & Wild Jesus show with some special guests! 

That's a lot of cool shit, so make sure to grab those tickets before they are gone! Once you have bought your tickets, just show up by 6:00pm at The Mothership (738 N Western Ave) on Friday, September 9th. We will have buses that take everyone to the event. The same buses will also bring guests back to The Mothership once the party is over at 11:45pm. (Guests are not required to stay the entire time and can leave at their own discretion.) 

Special thanks and consideration to Experimental Sound Studios and Bangtel for sound and hospitality! 

*This event happens rain or shine. There will be no refunds for missed rides or if you are unable to attend. Please purchase accordingly. Everyone who attends must be 21+, with a valid ID. No refunds for anyone who isn't 21 and purchases a ticket.  

Unicorn Blood, now with MORE MAGIC!

Unicorn Blood, now with MORE MAGIC!

Today is the day we can proudly report our coffee portfolio consists entirely (aside from decaf) of Central American coffees we have purchased through our friends. Our money is transferred directly form our bank account to their bank accounts - no middle men are taking a slice of the pie! Companies our size and larger rarely, if ever, can claim this. 


The monsooned Malabar coffee has been a part of the DMC portfolio since the emergence of our roasting program.  These beans behave uniquely in espresso and the monsooning process has yet to be imitated successfully anywhere else in the world. Though Malabar was fussy, giving this coffee the proper care insured a beautiful full bodied shot,

Out of necessity, we only purchased coffees through importers and every batch had to be sifted through by hand to remove stones, twigs, bones and other debris. Acid driven coffees were even more alien to consumers then, than they are today, and for that reason, Malabar thrived in our shop not only in espresso or blends, but also as a "single origin" offering. This coffee, it seems, is the last reaming relic of that time for us and our philosophy has evolved  since then.

We were no longer depending on importers as we developed relationships with producers in El Salvador and later in Finca San Jeronimo. Debris became a far less common sight and product consistency was tighter than ever before. Now, we are lucky enough to have pristine, masterfully prepared coffees we can revolve around as a base coffee, alleviating our dependency on the Malabar's characteristics to produce a low acid, voluptuous, chocolaty espresso.

Our mixed lot is from Finca Santa Rosa, with processing done by Inaginsa from Honduras. (A gentleman and great friend of DMC, Willaim Dunaway and his family operate this company.) The key to these coffees as the base of Unicorn Blood is their cocoa nib character and complete lack of acidity. It pairs extremely well with the Catuai/Caturra (Guatemala) and together produces a subtle and sweet cherry nuance.

As an espresso, you will notice this cup to be far less jagged and rough around the edges. Unicorn Blood still holds up beautifully to milk, with Dutch cocoa, cherry and praline as dominant notes in the cup. This is an exciting time for DMC family and friends and we hope you enjoy your Unicorn Blood more than ever! 

Country: Honduras
Farm: Santa Rosa
Cultivar: Mixed
Process: Washed

Country: Guatemala 
Farm San Jeronimo Miramar
Cultivar: Catuai/Caturra Mix
Process: Washed

Country: Guatemala
Farm: San Jeronimo Miramar
Cultivar: Catimor
Process: Washed

Notes: Dutch Cocoa, Cherry, Praline

Maplewoodstock 2016, Our 9th ANNIVERSARY PARTY!!

Maplewoodstock 2016, Our 9th ANNIVERSARY PARTY!!

Maplewoodstock 2016

Come one, COME ALL to the 9th Anniversary party for Dark Matter Coffee!!

Maplewoodstock 2016 will happen on Saturday, July 9th from 12:00 - 8:00pm on Maplewood Street (between Iowa & Chicago Ave) 

We gathered a bunch of our music, beer and food friends to once again throw the best block party in Chicago, with ALL proceeds going to Hope For The Day!!! You read correctly, the food, music and beer are on DMC so that everyone's hard earned dollars can help make an impact through HFTD's amazing programs.

If you are unfamiliar with HFTD, they are a Chicago based non-profit that brings awareness to mental health and suicide prevention, both invaluable services that are greatly needed throughout the world. They provide resources, activities and help bring about legislative changes to not only people with mental illnesses but their friends and family who support them. DMC are proud partners with Hope For The Day and hope that you too will come and support their efforts. 

Speaking of party, have you looked at what is about to take place?? The music line-up, FOOD and THE DAMN BEER LIST?? It's all top notch and ready for you to come get down!! Now, there will be some rules put in place to make sure everyone is safe.

HOUSE RULES  

1.  If you plan to drink, you MUST HAVE A CURRENT ID stating that you are indeed 21+. No ID, no beer, NO EXCEPTIONS! 

2. This is a family friendly event, we encourage everyone to attend. There's even ice cream for the kids, thanks to Ruth & Phil's ice cream. (For BIG kids too!) 

3. Please bring extra water as the day will be hot. There will be some delicious water available, courtesy of our friends at Essentia Water but hey, more water won't hurt anyone! (Plus there are like plenty of places to deposit all that extra water, if you know what we mean ;) 

4. Food - We will have a large amount of FREE food from friends like Lockdown, Roots Pizza, Sauce & Bread Kitchen and Uncle Dougies. This food will be given out throughout the event, so please make sure to eat and also share with your fellow party people. 

5. No outside booze please! There will be plenty of beer for everyone so please, save the flasks and rare bombers of beer for after 8:00pm when our party ends. 

6. Finally, this is a block party celebrating our neighborhood. Which means the neighbors will be home. Don't worry, they are cool as sh*t and love having everyone over. That being said, please respect their space and stay within the parameters of the party. Only go in their lawn, patio, etc if you are invited. 

 

Breweries

Band of Bohemia

Central State Brewing

Dark Horse Brewing

Devil's Trumpet

Forbidden Root Fine Botanic Beers

Goose Island

Half Acre Beer

Local Option Brier

Marz Brewing

Mikkeller 

Off Color Brewing

Penrose Brewing 

Perennial Artisan Ales 

Pipeworks Brewing 

Revolution Brewing   

Rockwell Brewing

Scratch Brewing

Virtue Cider

3 Floyd's 

18th Street Brewery

Music 

Yakuza - HOOD INTERNET + SHOWYOUSUCK 

The Right Now - Black Bear Combo 

Wild Jesus & The Devil's Lettuce

J.A. Grimms & Blackknight - Ben Ezra

Buckingham Palace SVU - Malci & The Lobster Bisque  

DJ's

Tim Zawada (Star Creature Universal Vibes) - Chuck Wren (Jump Up Records)

Sonorama DJs (Sonorama Records) Twinpeaks DJs (Press Pot Recordings)

NOT Beer

Essentia Water 

KIND 

Lockdown

Roots Handmade Pizza

Phil & Ruth's Gourmet Ice Cream

Sauce & Bread Kitchen

Uncle Dougie's

June 24, 2016 — Kyle Hodges

Everybody Loves Sunshine

Art comes in many forms, is felt by many different walks of life but there is always one common thread connecting it all, how it touches the soul. While our business is coffee, there are multiple forms of art that constantly inspire us on a daily basis. Music is one of those, which seems obvious with our many themed releases over the years. Dusty Groove is a indie record store that shares these same passion and dedication to constantly bringing their customers unearthed and and classic gems of jazz, soul, funk and world music, to name just a few genres.

 

Dusty Groove is more than a record store, it is an institution when it comes to rare and collectable records. Starting as an online only store in 1996, the business kept expanding, from a converted apartment once used by a prostitute, it now holds down a sublime building in the heart of Wicker Park. Their catalog and offerings have also expanded, providing cds, vinyl and accessories from bargain prices to the highly valuable collector pieces. Rated as the #3 record store in the US by Rolling Stone, the shop has also received numerous accolades from Time Magazine, Wall Street Journey among many, many others. 

Dark Matter Coffee is proud to collaborate with Dusty Groove, a honored partner and gate keeper of all things funky. The collaboration blend, Everyone Loves Sunshine, is a tip-of-the-hat to the 1970's Soul Jazz era. Featuring coffees from Mexico's El Eden and Guatemala's Finca San Jeronimo Miramar, this blend is smooth, funky and delicious! Grab a bag today from their retail store or online at www.dustygroove.com 

 

July 26, 2015 — Accounting DMC

Dark Matter Coffee Fernet

Fernet, a blend of booze and botanicals, is the liquid equivalent of a sucker punch; a hit of bitter you don't see coming until your mouth is puckering and you're cursing the bartender who slid the glass across the rail. But once the sting goes away, you start to taste what's under the bitter: layers of black licorice, tobacco and saffron, with a hint of sweet before a menthol finish. And you realize: This stuff is good.

Upgrade that to great with the launch of Fernet-Dogma, a Midwestern twist on the traditionally Italian spirit. Bartenders Alex Renshaw, Clint Rogers and Brian Sturgulewski of The Dogma Group, the team behind the bar menus at spots like Presidio, Bordel and The Dawson, partnered with CH Distillery to create their own version, now on sale by the bottle ($38) and pour ($9) at CH (564 W. Randolph St., 312-707-8780).

"Most fernets on the market are similar, so we thought it would be cool to start with some of the traditional elements — lemon peel, chamomile, eucalyptus, saffron — but go a little different," Renshaw says. Inspired by the Italian custom of pairing fernet with espresso, "we ended up with a coffee fernet, using Dark Matter coffee and botanicals from Rare Tea Cellar in Ravenswood. It's all local."

To help the coffee flavor pop, they rested the spirit in Four Roses bourbon barrels for a month before bottling.

"Dark Matter works really well because their coffee has this chocolatey quality, which is a nice back note to that initial bitterness of the fernet," Sturgulewski says. "The master distiller at CH worked really hard on it to make sure it was balanced; that you don't taste it and say, 'Wow, this is incredibly bitter!' and there's nothing else going on. It's complex."

Drink Fernet-Dogma straight, or add it to cocktails; Bordel (1721 W. Division St., 773-227-8600) has a drink on the menu using pisco, coconut liqueur, lime juice and "a little bit of the fernet," Renshaw says.

"It's seductive," Sturgulewski adds.

*This article originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune, July 20, 2015 written by Marissa Conrad

mconrad@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marissa_conrad

July 22, 2015 — Accounting DMC

Dark Matter Coffee Hangs With Its Favorite Lollapalooza Artists

Lollapalooza asked our Minister of Propaganda, Kyle Hodges, what bands he would want to hangout with and where he would take them. 

DO312′S TASTEMAKER GUIDES: DARK MATTER COFFEE

In partnership with our friends at Do312, we’ve asked several of Chicago’s tastemaker-types to put their own unique spin on the typical city guide. Leading up to this year’s fest, we’ll be showcasing different lists of local spots – tailored to this year’s Lolla lineup. We’ve already caught up with Eric Strom of GlitterGuts and Dom Brown from Porn and Chicken, now we check in with Kyle Hodges from Dark Matter Coffee.

WAR ON DRUGS: BEACHWOOD INN
Beachwood Inn is a small bar with no bullshit. You get a beer, a shot and chill out. This is the kind of dive bar that is inviting without being just a complete dump. Like your dad’s old basement bar, you feel at home.

MS MR: CHICAGO MUSIC EXCHANGE
Stacked with some of the most sought after instruments and gear in the country, this is a mecca for any musician. Chances are that some of these bands will be playing instruments from CME, as they are supplier of those hard-to-find items on technical riders.

LIGHT ‘EM UP: DARK MATTER COFFEE
Home to Chicago’s best coffee and the perfect stop to get the rust off from the night before. We would hit their HQ, The Mothership, for some secret blends, or a personal cupping session.

GLASS ANIMALS: CHESS RECORDING STUDIOS
The history of this place speaks volumes of how and why Chicago is important to the world of music. The building serves double duty, as the home of both Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation and Chess Records, the label that helped put Chicago Blues, R&B and Soul on the map.

CHET FAKER: GARFIELD PARK OBSERVATORY
Everyone needs a break from touring, who doesn’t like nature and the beauty that it beholds? With both indoor and outdoor flower gardens and a lake, it’s easy to push aside any stress. If we are lucky there will be someone throwing a BBQ or picnic that we can hijack.

A recovering record store owner/employee, this Indianapolis native has called Chicago home for the last several years. Now the Minister of Propaganda at Dark Matter Coffee, Kyle Hodges oversees the curation of DMC’s music & art collaborations, partnerships and brand development. When not gorging himself on coffee & donuts, you can find him digging at record stores for a first pressing, still sealed copy of INXS ‘Kick LP’.