The Incredible Kulk: Vignettes from Vermont: Three Peckered Billy Goat

Come "Chalk It Up!" in Fiddlehead's Graffiti Vault
and be in "Chalk It Up 3!"

BENNINGTON -- What does a goat need 3 peckers for? Maybe he ... OH, HI THERE!

This arrived Saturday ...

... another blend from the fine folks at Raven's Brew up there in Ketchikan. Art Gallery Dude is a big fan of Raven's Brew having tried and reviewed Deadman's Reach 78 days ago and Resurrection 61 days ago. Both blends rank in AGD's pantheon of great coffee.

Now then, 67 days ago AGD reviewed Kicking Horse's Kick Ass from the fine folks way up in Invermere, British Columbia, Canada. Kick Ass joined the pantheon, too. Strong and bold.

Now here comes another exotic blend by Raven's Brew: Three Peckered Billy Goat ...

The raw beans are oily and when you open the package and take a big ol' honkin' whiff you appreciate the aroma of the dark roast. The front of the package says "Velvety mouthfeel, superb body. Uncanny high notes of fruity sweetness hover over a dry-chocolate base."

Then you taste it and love it. Bold and Excellent and worthy of the pantheon.

Great job, Raven's Brew, again.

But ...

But you read one side of the package (click to enlarge) ...

... and the story of the Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi is awfully familiar, and right away you remember reading the Kicking Horse website and writing about the same Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi:

"Legend says coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder named Kaldi. He noticed his goats became frisky after munching on some unusual red cherries. He tried it himself and, well, the rest is you-know-what."

You know what? That doesn't seem very kosher even if Kicking Horse and Raven's Brew are 1,027 miles away and operate as separate coffee entities. You almost wonder if Kicking Horse and Raven's Brew are owned by the same company. As a parallel, two huge but separate newspaper entities -- Journal Register Company and Media News Group -- were bought by a hedge fund and placed under an umbrella called Digital First Media. Now every property at each company operates under one ideology.

Not that that's happening with Kicking Horse and Raven's Brew. But you can understand if one reads the Raven's Brew goat story vis-a-vis Kicking Horse's goat story and then has a passing notion that they're operating under the same coffee umbrella. Probably not but Teh Google will provide more answers.

BTW, this also arrived Saturday ...

AGD is ready to start his engine.

PART II

During the winter, Fiddlehead's management does most of its buying for the spring and summer seasons. A ton of glass, ceramics, stoneware, prints, jewelry and other cool stuff has arrived on a regular basis for the last few weeks.

In the last few days these have arrived. Love something? Call (802) 447-1000. AGD will be uploading everything to Fiddlehead's website (www.getarbehappy.com) this week. Till he does the management has given him the go-ahead to offer some specials.

You choose: 10% off or free shipping till Sunday night. Email getartbehappy@gmail.com with the piece(s) you love and we'll ship them tomorrow.

Don't forget, Mother's Day is Sunday.