Tandem Coffee Roasters' The Good Thing #98: July 2024
I decided to let go of my Vinyl Me, Please membership, and while I wasn't trying to spend those funds (annual membership to VMP is $435 and expected to go up...) this opportunity serendipitously reached out.
The Good Thing costs $44.99 a month. The good folks at Tandem Coffee Roasters send participants one vinyl album and a 12oz/340gram bag of single origin coffee.
For my first month, I received Shin Joong Hyun – Beautiful Rivers And Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound Of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974 and a bag of Kamwangi Peaberry from Kirinyaga, Kenya.
Very pleased.
Truth be told and serendipity aside, I was a skosh hesitant about signing up. This was less about the $$$ and more directed toward packaging. How could Tandem ship the vinyl and coffee bag together safely? Two separate boxes seemed cost prohibitive, but only one box made me squeamish as I envisioned a coffee bag sliding around. I was delighted to discover Tandem has a box designed for this and the vinyl jacket arrived without blemish! How'd they do this? By placing the vinyl on top with thick packaging paper twisted around the coffee bag, thus creating a protective lift. The coffee is even secured to the box with small sticky tabs to prevent jostling!
Shin Joong Hyun's 2LP anthology is a deeply rewarding listen. This Light In The Attic release was first available back in 2011 (again in 2019) and for this repressing, a splashy splattering of blue and black color (sea green when spinning!) Hyun's musical prowess catalogs surf-rock, soul-jams and heavy psych, while his tumultuous story and wild set of circumstances are appropriately documented in the included booklet. His work as a guitarist, song-writer and arranger are sequenced to transport listeners to a period few Westerns had much, if any musical access. 
The coffee, which I prepared a few different ways (V60/Aeropress Go) was superb each time. Wonderful balance and mouthfeel...opening the bag was like a blast of late July blackberry or marionberry in picking!
This is a monthly splurge and I still have reservations about participating. However, quality and service aren't the issue. I'm more concerned about the carbon footprint. There's plenty of stellar coffee roasters in my own city and a decent record store.
But there's something undeniable about a monthly club.
...and Tandem has been doing this for almost eight years!
Purchased separately, this 2LP (currently $38 on LITA's website, plus shipping) and Tandem's Kamwangi Peaberry (no longer available, was $22, plus shipping) would cost $60 plus shipping from both sides.
Good work Tandem!
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