Another Side with Leo Nocentelli

'At just fourteen, LEO NOCENTELLI was backing up Otis Redding. Soon after, he was playing on hits for Lee Dorsey, The Supremes, and The Temptations...

As a young man and original member of legendary funk group The Meters, Leo wrote the Grammy inducted classic "CISSY STRUT” and the Mardi Gras anthem "FIRE ON THE BAYOU,” but his greatest moment on record has gone totally unheard -- shelved and believed to be lost to the ages by all involved, including the artist himself. Until now.


Another Side, the album that inspired this collaboration, is a previously unreleased studio album recorded in New Orleans from 1970-72 and features Allen Toussaint, James Black and both George Porter Jr. & Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the archive where the album was stored and all seemed lost forever.
Over a decade later, collector Mike Nishita stumbles across the master tapes from the session at a Southern California swap meet, unearthing a hidden gem waiting to be discovered, and the rest is history...

 

 

For the blend, we've decided to pair two sides of a washed Guatemalan coffee (get it?), roasting one side to our typical light roast parameters and for the other side a bit heavier, caramelizing more of the sugars present in the bean. This darker component also matches the roastiness of the chicory, to further enhance that profile when brewing the two together. 

 

 

As an homage to his hometown of New Orleans and their coffee traditions, we have built this blend to pair well with roasted chicory root, a first for us. During times of economic crisis and coffee shortages, chicory root was roasted and blended with coffee to stretch the supply and has since become a staple in the coffee culture in Nola. 

This blend is a combination of two roast profiles on the following coffee:

Country: Guatemala
Farm: San Jeronimo Miramar
Cultivar: Sarchimor
Process: Washed
Notes: Cocoa, Toasted Almonds, Dried Fig