“Coffee Cantata”, also known as “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht” by Johann Sebastian Bach tells of an addiction to coffee, including lines like “If I couldn’t, three times a day, be allowed to drink my little cup of coffee, in my anguish I will turn into a shriveled-up roast goat”. A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. These details drove the branding concept for this mead which is a collaboration with a local coffee shop.

From the beginning, I had this idea of Bach’s head rising like steam from a coffee mug. I experimented with various graphical styles to accomplish the desired look and finally landed on a concept that looks like a bust of Bach made of vapor rising from a mug embellished with Bach’s official seal. The scene is framed with golden spirals and ferns which symbolize fascination and includes a background made of the song score on top of coffee bean textures. Silver textures shimmer brilliantly in the Bach-like vapor to make the label pop.