In a large, heavy bottom pot, cook the bacon over medium heat, working in batches to avoid crowding the pot. Cook just until lightly brown and starting to crisp (no black spots). Set aside to cool.
Add onion and garlic to the same pot and cook until soft and translucent (about 10 – 12 minutes), stirring occasionally. While the onion is cooking, cut bacon into 1 inch strips.
Return the bacon to pot and add brown sugar, brewed coffee, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup, stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer uncovered for 3 hours, stirring every once in a while to prevent sticking. Stir in 1/4 cup of water every 30 minutes. After 3 hours the mixture should be thicker and have a deep, rich brown color.
Let cool for 20 minutes then transfer to a food processor. Pulse several times for a chunkier jam or pulse many times for a smoother jam. If you want to enjoy the jam sans pastry, I would recommend finishing this recipe by seasoning with the ingredients mentioned below. No additional cooking needed. If you are continuing on to make the hand pies, follow all instructions below to remove some of the fat from the jam. This will keep your hand pies from being too greasy.
Transfer to small bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight or for several hours.
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and with a spoon, skim off most of the solidified fat found on top of the jam. Discard fat. Transfer jam to a small, heavy pot and season with several turns of black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon smoked paptrika, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice and red wine vinegar. Season to taste with additional tabasco sauce (for more heat) and red wine vinegar (for brighten flavors). Cook on low for an additional 30 – 45 minutes until most of the liquids have evaporated. Let cool before adding to hand pies.