Unpacking Coffee with Kandace and Ray: City of Saints

Photo by Needmore Designs.

This week’s episode of Unpacking Coffee checks in with the Bushwick, New York-based roastery City of Saints, which successfully grew within and out of the Pulley Collective to form a full-fledged roastery all its own, including a Loring S70 Peregrine Smart Roaster.

Since then, the company has developed its brand in part with vivid, utterly engaging box packaging featuring the street art of Dasic Fernandez and Mr. Nerds of the New York street art and graffiti nonprofit the Bushwick Collective. The artwork directly reflects that on the walls of the roastery, and Kandace and Ray note how such cohesive integration not only makes for original and vibrant packaging, but for a more connected community of artists, makers and doers.

The episode includes interviews with City of Saints Director of Operations Joe Palozzi, the Bushwick Collective’s Joe Ficalora and prominent Portland artist and organizer Matt Wagner.

Also, Ray raps a little bit.

Unpacking Coffee is a weekly show discovering new coffee roasters one episode at a time led by Kandace and Ray of the Portland-based studio Needmore Designs, which specializes in coffee, wine and lifestyle brands.