ANTHRAX’S CHARLIE BENANTE INTRODUCES LINE OF COFFEE, “BENANTE’S BLEND”
It’s been a long time coming, but unabashed coffee connoisseur, Anthrax’s Charlie Benante, has entered the world of entrepreneurship, announcing Benante’s Blend. The coffee will come in two different varieties: the Be All End All blend which is a dark roast with a real kick, and the Forever Metal blend, a milder coffee. Benante’s Blend will be available beginning today through Benante’s website.
“I grew up in a large Italian family and coffee was a daily staple in our home,” said Benante. “As a kid, I loved coffee so much, my mother said that at one point, she put some coffee in my bottle. For me, the taste of coffee is one of the greatest tastes that there is on earth, so I decided to create what was for me, the perfect cup of coffee.”
This is actually Benante’s second foray into the world of coffee. Years ago, he joined up with Dave Mustaine for a line of coffee and coffee products. “I’ve learned so much since then,” said Benante, “especially about selecting and blending the right beans, and how important roasting is.”
Benante hooked up with a company that specializes in coffee roasting. “I was pretty specific about the tastes I was looking for,” Benante explained. “I told them the type of coffee I wanted, what some of my favorite coffees were, and we built it from there. We combined beans from different regions, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Sumatra and Africa, and tweaked the amount of time the beans were roasted to get just the right taste. It was a process, I tested a lot of different blends, but it was a lot of fun.
“I love coffee so much,” Benante added, “if I could make it a cologne, I would wear it.”
In between coffee tastings, Benate has been recording the next Anthrax album due out later this year. The band kicks off leg one of its 2015-2016 global tour on April 24th. Dates are below.
APRIL
24 1stBank Center, Denver, CO*
25 Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City, SD*
27 Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA*
28 Adams Center, Missoula, MT*
29 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA*
MAY
1 Revolution Place, Grande Prairie, AB*
2 Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB*
3 Calgary Stampede Corral, Calgary, AB*
4 SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, SK*
6 Brandt Centre, Regina, SK*
7 Ralph Englestad Arena, Grand Forks, ND*
9 Northern Invasion Festival, Somerset Amphitheatre, Somerset, WI
10 WJJO MayDay MayLay, Alliant Energy Ctr. Memorial, Madison, WI
12 General Motors Centre, Oshawa, ON*
13 TD Place, Ottawa, ON*
14 Quebec Colisee Pepsi, Quebec City, QC*
15 CEPSUM Montreal, Montreal, QC*
17 Rock on the Range – Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, OH
18 Dow Events Center, Saginaw, MI*
19 Ford Center, Evansville, IN*
20 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL*
22 Tyson IBF Events Center, Sioux City, IA*
23 Rocklahoma/Prior Creek Music, Pryor, OK
24 Rockfest, AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
25 Baloonfest, Wet & Wild Water World, El Paso
27 Verizon Grand Prairie, Dallas, TX*
28 Bayou Music Center, Houston, TX*
30 Rockfest, Liberty Me. Park, Kansas City, MO
31 Outdoors at Pop’s, St. Louis, MO*
JUNE
2 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY*
* Volbeat dates
I’ve never smoked, I’ve never done drugs, I’ve never liked gambling all that much (probably because I suck at it) and although I love great beer (craft and imports) and the occasional shot of whiskey, tequila or, my favorite, Jagermeister, the ONLY thing I’d say that I’m addicted to is great coffee. I love it! I like the high end quality, not that cheap junk you can buy at any run if the mill grocery store, whose name brands we all know but I won’t mention. I’ve had Uncle Ted’s coffee, called Nuge Java, and it’s okay. I bought an extra bag that I’ll never open that I keep it on display over my bar at home. I’ll definitely check out Charlie’s coffee. The BE ALL END ALL sounds like it should be great. I’d like to try both varieties he’s selling. I could use some right now. It’s after 4am, I’ve been at work since 6pm yesterday and I’ll be at work until at least 9am today. I NEED COFFEE!
I’ll be getting the dark, shall we say, the stout blend. My Dad used to joke that you could stand a spoon up in the coffee my husband and I make. No level scoops when making our own coffee at home; our scoops look like a mountain. We will drink our Charlie Benante coffee out of our “Before Coffee” coffee mugs from Frankie!