Company of Cooks releases Community Blend coffee

Company of Cooks has launched its Community Blend coffee as a collaboration between Union hand-roasted coffee and social enterprise Well Grounded.

Well Grounded is a specialty coffee training academy that helps unemployed Londoners into a career in the coffee industry.

The partnership will support communities involved in sourcing and serving the coffee.

Farmers and cooperatives in Jaén, Peru, where the coffee originally comes from, will be given a fair price via the Union Direct Trade sourcing initiative.

Meanwhile, those at Well Grounded will receive a donation for every kilogram of Community Blend sold, which is expected to amount to £75,000 in the first year.

The coffee itself has a natural sweetness and gentle acidity with notes of red berry jam, dark chocolate and walnut.

Community Blend will be crafted by Company of Cooks' baristas and offered to customers across its estate in London and the South East, which range from the Royal Opera House, the Southbank Centre to the Royal Academy of Arts.

The coffee will also be available in retail outlets including 240 Waitrose stores and all Company of Cooks sites.

Rob Fredrickson, managing director of Company of Cooks, said: "We're incredibly excited to have officially launched our Community Blend coffee. The collaboration with Union Hand-Roasted Coffee and Well Grounded is the perfect fit and to see the results of our shared vision come to life is wonderful."

Eve Wagg, chief executive and founder of Well Grounded, added: "Through this partnership we will be able to support an additional 100 people into work over the next three years. So, whether you're having your Community Blend coffee as a morning brew at Kew Gardens, or after a show at the Southbank Centre, or indeed at home, know that you are changing lives with every sip."

Company of Cooks is a long-term partner of Well Grounded, having provided over 3,000 work placement hours to Well Grounded trainees and employed 68 graduates to date.