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, http://www.charliebenante.com/Store/
“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 24. 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
