Portrait Coffee and OutKast team up for Stankonia’s 25th anniversary

When OutKast released Stankonia, their groundbreaking fourth studio album, in 2000, Aaron Fender was still in elementary school. “But growing up, learning about Southern hip-hop and just the history of what hip-hop has meant to the city, you can’t start that conversation without talking about the imprint OutKast had on our city,” he says.

So when Portrait Coffee, which Fender co-founded, was offered the chance to collaborate with OutKast for Stankonia’s 25th anniversary, the team leapt at the opportunity. The result is Stankonia Coffee, set to release on October 28.

The roast Portrait concocted is a funky-fruity blend inspired by the spirit of the album. “Being Stankonia and with all the references and the imagery in the album, we wanted to have something that was reflective of the originality, and of the expressive flavor of the creativity of the record,” says Fender. “It was a really fun process.”

Photograph by Erin Fender

The collaboration came about earlier this year after a connection was made between OutKast and Portrait. In winter, OutKast asked Portrait to team up on a special coffee, and Portrait worked on it throughout the summer. The process allowed Fender and their head roaster, Marvin Duncan, to channel their creativity—starting with tasting 20 different coffees.

“Then we went through this process of sensory experience and talking about what we were hearing in the record and how can that be reflected in the coffee,” says Fender. They landed on a blend of two coffees: one from Unblended Coffee, located in Colombia, and a West African coffee from Sundog Trading. “These two coffees are some of our closest relationships and our favorite producing partners,” says Fender. “From there, we just dialed in the ratio of how much each coffee is present in the Stankonia blend.”

Photograph by Erin Fender

Coffee lovers can expect tasting notes of green apple and brown sugar, and vibrant packaging by artist Ali Adams. “We wanted to lean into the Afrofuturism that inspired Big Boi and André to make the album, as well as the duality of man,” says Fender. “Throughout the album there’s this contrasting image of who André is and who Big Boi is, and there’s a tension but also a connection there. So Ali wanted to get some of that imagery and symbolism in the bag as well.” The coffee will be sold by the bag in addition to limited-time merchandise like a tote bag and diner mug.

The release comes with a series of events, as well. On October 30, Portrait will host a community celebration with Stankonia-inspired visuals, drinks by Murrell Row Spirits, Honeysuckle Gelato, and Southern-inspired bites by chef Jamal Makanjuola. Over Halloween weekend—fittingly, Stankonia was released on Halloween—they’re teaming up for community giveback events, including the Stankonia25 Cascade Event at Cascade Skating Rink on October 30 and a tree planting event with Trees Atlanta at Tri-Cities High School (OutKast’s alma mater) on October 31.

Looking back, Fender sees a parallel between what OutKast accomplished with Stankonia and what he hopes to achieve with Portrait. “There is a timeless component to their music, whether it’s “Ms. Jackson,” “So Fresh, So Clean,” or “Gasoline Dreams”—these are all songs I grew up listening to, but they’re not aged at all,” he says. “It reflects what we’re trying to do, whether it’s coffee profiles or community engagement; I kind of hope that we’re able to have that same kind of presence or timeliness in the neighborhood.”

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