A collaboration with a local independent coffee chain is bringing new flavors to the Baldwin Bean.
Transition Coordinator Eric Jankoski, who oversees the Bean, reached out to several local coffee companies to bring new beverage options to The Bean. He met with the owner of Yinz Coffee, and both decided it would be a good fit.
Yinz Coffee is a Pittsburgh-based, family-run business that opened in 2021. It has 11 locations in and around Pittsburgh.
“It is a company we enjoy and built to promote Pittsburgh,” owner Ken Zeff said.
Through the collaboration, the Bean is brewing espresso beans from Yinz Coffee.
“It is the same espresso beans they use in all of their coffee shops in and around Pittsburgh,” Jankoski said.
The Bean has purchased an espresso machine from Yinz Coffee, and they are now serving espresso at any time of the day, just like their lemonades.
The Bean currently still offers everything on its menu. But the espresso machine lets them expand the menu to include hot lattes, cappuccinos, and Americanos.
Zeff said he wanted to collaborate with the Bean because the Baldwin coffee shop uses the Partners model. Zeff has a son with special needs and appreciates Baldwin’s many inclusion efforts.
“The primary reason is to give kids the opportunity to get into the workplace and experience real life,” Zeff said.
Yinz Coffee employees have already taught Baldwin staff members involved with the Bean how to use the espresso machine. The Baldwin staff started teaching the students who work in the Bean so they would be able to serve the espresso.
Jankoski said that at first, students were a little nervous about the new machine, but they were eager to learn how to operate it.
There are a lot of new flavors and different milk types that customers are able to choose from. Freshman Danika Porter, who works in the Bean, said she is excited about the new machine.
“I think it goes well with the caramel flavoring I tried, and it’s good for coffee drinkers,” Porter said.
In the future, the Bean will have the option to potentially add some other drink options and also offer some different types of iced drinks.
“So far right now, we are going to start with those couple targeted small drinks, and see what we can do and build from there,” Jankoski said.
As part of the collaboration with Yinz Coffee, there will be some cross-branding. When customers purchase a beverage, it will be served in a Yinz Coffee cup.
Bean student workers may go on a field trip to the place where Yinz Coffee’s beans are roasted, and job shadowing opportunities might happen in the future. For now, the focus is on the new beverages and the collaboration.
“This is our team investing our own time to try to help the Baldwin Bean be as successful as possible, so that students who enjoy working there can learn and benefit,” Zeff said. ”We are honored to be part of that sort of exchange,”
Meanwhile, the Bean has also received a grant from the Baldwin-Whitehall Education Foundation for some redecorating.
“We will be ordering some new shelving and new signage,” Jankoski said.
