A new coffee being sold and slurped in Guelph starting this weekend is a coffee with a cause.
Planet Bean will officially launch the new Gryphon blend coffee this Saturday at an event held at its Wyndham Street location from 10:30 to 12:30.
A joint venture between the University of Guelph and Planet Bean, the Gryphon blend has a strong social element, says Planet Bean's Bill Barrett.
The Gryphon coffee is a blend of Café Femenino beans from northern Peru. Café Femenino is a women's-only cooperative that sees women grow and sell their own coffee and keep the revenue it generates, empowering them and giving them more resources than they would traditionally have.
To maintain that connection, a portion of the sales generated by Gryphon blend will be used to fund women's athletic scholarships at the U of G.
"Ten years ago they asked us if we were interested in selling their coffee," said Barrett, who has visited Peru twice.
"The women control the whole supply chain. It's had a phenomenal impact on their lives. It's really an incredibly cool project."
Scott McRoberts, Director of Athletics at the U of G, said it's a great partnership.
"The proceeds are to support our ongoing commitment to growing female scholarship money for varsity athletes," McRoberts said.
"We're very proud to be working with a locally owned business who provides quality products and services and whose principles align with the Universities.
"We're committed to improving our student-athletes experience and through partnerships like this with leading local businesses we can continue to invest in our community and raise the profile of our programs," McRoberts said.
Gryphon blend will be sold by the cup and in bulk at Planet Bean's three main locations and it will be sold by the cup and bagged at the new kiosk opening on the U of G campus in the College of Business and Economics.
Barrett said it will be also sold by the bag at the U of G bookstore.
It is a dark blend, similar to Planet Bean's most popular Freedom Fighter grind.
