Speakeasy coffee.

• Author: Mangu-Ward, Katherine
• Position: Cartel del Cafe coffee packaged to look like illegal drug - Briefly Noted - Brief article

Receiving a shipment of product from Cartel del Cafe has a certain illicit appeal: Pulling aside the packaging reveals bulky white oblongs wrapped in faux duet tape, giving the initial illusion that the box may contain something a bit stronger than mere caffeine.

The bricks do contain an agricultural product from Nicaragua--coffee beans, not cocaine. Founder Noel Salinas says the drug-inflected branding is intentional. He hopes customers will take a minute to wonder, "What really is the difference between coffee and any other controlled substance that inevitably comes from the same earth?"

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