I used to buy coffee from this eccentric man about 15 years or so. He was a mad scientist, would ask you to sample his own roasted coffee then charge you for it, and preached the gospel of drinking coffee black, which I finally got around to doing (without sugar). Sometimes we would talk about music, but mostly coffee, roasting techniques, burr grinders and the proper way to brew a cup of coffee (never in a drip machine). The guy eventually just disappeared. We all joked he was some CIA operative, but that could be for another story. What I wanted to talk about today, was my relationship with coffee and records, and a few companies that not only make great coffee, but tie music in with it. Coffee is a huge part of my routine here at Flea Market Funk. Even as I am writing this, I am drinking some locally sourced Jersey City coffee (thanks Sam AM!) and listening to a record (which happens to be The Frightnrs debut on Daptone). It’s the process that I love for both the coffee and music: picking out the beans, grinding them, brewing them up, then the same for a record. Picking out the record, feeling it in your hand, smelling it (new or old), then dropping it on the turntable so you can hear the grooves.

Weekends for most people, are their relaxing time. For a DJ, you work most weekend nights. Get home late and then work again the next night. If you have time to get some sleep, then get your records together and get to your gig it’s a wash rinse repeat routine that has been going on for many years. Throw in an early morning gig on the Saturday or Sunday, and well, there isn’t much for anything else. However, whether it’s the weekend or during the week on your day off (or my day off in this case), I always like to brew up a French Press or Pour Over cup of good coffee. I have been buying Verve Coffee Roasters beans for years. Based out of Santa Cruz, CA, they have consistently provided me with some great medium roasts that fueled the Flea Market Funk fire on the daily. I don’t just dig their coffee, their merchandise and design is really on point. Many a morning has been spent writing and nodding my head to a record hopped up on Verve Coffee Roasters. Another company that I was introduced to last year, that has also become a familiar brew in the house is Dark Matter Coffee out of Chicago, IL. Run by the Hodges brother Kyle and Cam, they not only make a variety of delicious coffee, they do collaborations with musicians and DJs on roasts. Their RJD2 Dame Fortune roast is one of our faves. Linking up with everyone from The Descendents to Mastadon, with nods to John Coltrane (Giant Steps) and Guns ‘N Roses (A Warm November Rain), these cats are DJs and music heads and integrate their love of both coffee and records. We dig that.

We would love to hear your routine with coffee and records. Do you take a specific time to brew up a cup and then get lost in the music? Are you brewing up coffee for the road to go digging? What kind of music do you like to listen to when you are enjoying a hot cup of Joe? For years, we had this routine, DJ gig or not: brew up a French Press of coffee, put on a jazz record, read the paper or a book, and get caught up in the music. It has been going on for years, but now with kids, I’ve got to be a bit creative. I try to integrate it in with our routine as a family, expose them to different music while I make some coffee. Whatever you do, we would love to hear it. Hit us up here or on social media and use the hashtag #MyCoffeandRecords and let’s hear what we all have to say. Keep listening to good records and brewing that good coffee.

Keep Diggin’!