Originally posted February, 2013
Review by Art Gallery Dude
BENNINGTON — To make the comparison between coffee and art because it seems like the natural thing to do, or maybe not but who cares, Deadman's Reach is gritty like McNulty and strong like Barksdale, muscular like Stringer Bell and dank like Omar, raw like Bubbles yet robust like Daniels. In other words, it's devastating and sublime like characters from The Wire. Both come at you with fire and fury and make you want to mainline it.
Art Gallery Dude is way down in the hole of intense viewing because he missed The Wire when the show dropped in 2002. But 23 discs comprising all 5 seasons arrived last week, and here we go, bubba. Episode 10 of season 1, with Officer Greggs clinging to life after getting shot, was playing when the coffee arrived today. And thank god because Deadman's Reach is the perfect antidote to the coffee AGD drank last week ...
... it's billed as "the most expensive coffee in the world" at 75 bucks a pound. Thing is, expensive does not mean best taste. It's OK, but floral? Lemony? If you want floral and lemon notes in your coffee, sugar, why didn't you just order a cup of tea?
Not to mention, it doesn't really give you a good coffee buzz.
Deadman's Reach does ...
Fresh, moist beans
Fresh, moist beans that grind nicely
... buzzy and torquey but without an edge. This is world-class coffee, from Alaska. As an aside, "Raven's Brew" equates to Poe, who's from Baltimore, which is the locale for The Wire, and there's another beautiful coincidence, bubba.
AGD drank 2 cups at 2 o'clock just before the gallery became Grand Central Station over the next 160 minutes — when at least 50 customers came and went -- and he:
* told the story of the old marble bank turned art gallery at least 10 times.
* told the Brian Hewitt "cerveza, surfing, senorita" Dominican retirement story 5 times.
* talked to a tennis-loving writer from New York City about two of his projects — "Red Confetti" and "The Plagiarists" — for longer than should be allowed by law.
The torque from this new coffee helped AGD buzz right along.
Raven's Brew has a strong website that includes a page dedicated to Deadman's Reach [deadmansreach.com]. On that page you'll find fiction and poetry and history and mystery and art and animation and photography and just so much other cool shit.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm wired from great coffee and jonesing to go way back down that hole to see how Season 1 of this socio-economic cop drama ends.
About the Author
Art Gallery Dude is a dead newspaper reporter trying to reclaim his soul again in them thar hills of Vermont. You can find his blog here: incrediblekulk.blogspot.com.
