Indiana County Parks and Trails has partnered with Commonplace Coffee to release a collaborative coffee blend, Blue Spruce Park Blend, available online Tuesday March 21st and at Indiana Commonplace Coffee locations Thursday March 23rd :
Commonplace Coffee, headquartered in Pittsburgh, will donate a portion of retail and wholesale proceeds from coffee sales to Indiana County Parks and Trails, the nonprofit organization charged with operating Indiana’s 15 parks and trails.
This is the first time the two organizations have partnered to launch a donation coffee blend that will run for eight weeks until May 9.
According to a press release from Commonplace Coffee, funds raised from this project will be used to build an accessible path that will allow people of all abilities to reach the bird feeding site at Blue Spruce Park.
“I love to enjoy local Indiana parks and trails with family and friends,” said TJ Fairchild, founder of Commonplace Coffee. “A few years ago I found this magical place where you can feed the birds, and through this project I was able to meet Ray Winstead, who first trained the birds at Blue Spruce Park.”
Winstead, a former biology professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, began training the cubs to eat out of her hand in 2012 at Blue Spruce Park along the Getty Run Trail. What began as a personal project has quickly become a popular attraction at the park, where people can hand-feed curious chickadees, hummingbirds and tufted nuthatches looking for a good meal during the winter and early spring.
Blue Spruce Park Blend features a chick eating seeds from a human hand in a park.
“It was an honor to work together on this coffee joint,” said Fairchild. “It’s even more special, as Commonplace Coffee celebrates its 20th anniversary, to have the opportunity to give back to an organization that means so much to me personally.”
Commonplace Coffee will host a kick-off tasting event Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Lakeside Center in Blue Spruce Park. The event is free and open to the public, who can learn more about the coffee blend and taste samples before its official launch.
Those interested in learning more about the coffee or purchasing a 12-ounce bag for $18.50 can visit Indiana Commonplace Coffee locations in University Square or along Hospital Road or go online at commonplace coffee.com/coffees.
Blue Spruce Park Blend will also be available for purchase as a brewed drip coffee at all Commonplace locations on Friday, March 25th and Saturday, March 26th.