PITTSBURGH, PA (September 15, 2026) – Commonplace Coffee has partnered with Café Momentum Pittsburgh to release Full Potential Blend, a 10-week collaborative donation coffee blend, developed by Commonplace Kitchen’s Shadyside Manager, Erin Bertuzzi. This coffee officially hits Commonplace Coffee shelves today – Tuesday, September 15 – and will be available through November 2026. Commonplace Coffee will donate a portion of retail and wholesale proceeds from Full Potential Blend to Café Momentum. You can learn more about the coffee and purchase a 10oz bag (priced at $22.50) at all Commonplace Coffee locations,online at commonplacecoffee.com, and at Cafe Momentum.
Café Momentum’s Executive Director, Cheyenne Tyler, shares, "Full Potential Blend is more than great coffee—it's an investment in young people and what's possible when a community comes together. We're proud to partner with Commonplace Coffee to help our interns build the skills, confidence, and opportunities they deserve."
Full Potential Blend is the fourth staff-developed blend in Commonplace’s history. Staff-developed blends create an opportunity for members of the Commonplace team who do not typically select or design coffees to lead that process. Commonplace Kitchen’s Shadyside Manager Erin contributed her culinary expertise to this project and chose to partner with Café Momentum Pittsburgh to support their mission of transforming the lives of young people by equipping our communities’ justice-involved youth with life skills, education, and employment opportunities to help them achieve their full potential.
Erin shares, “I hope others make the choice to take chances. Take a chance signing up for something at work even if you think you wouldn't normally ‘qualify,’ like I did in submitting an application to make the 2026 staff blend. Take the chance to talk to someone new, try new food, or visit a new place. Take a chance on giving others kindness and opportunities when you are able. As cliché as it is, taking chances is what we must do to reveal our own and others' full potential.”
Erin’s vision for this blend was an approachable coffee that pairs perfectly with one of her favorite items from the Commonplace Kitchen – our signature sticky buns. The base of the blend is a natural process Red Catuai from Yuki Minami in Brazil, alongside a washed process Bourbon from Bukeye Washing Station – a remarkably bright coffee from Muramvya, Gitega in Burundi that adds complexity without overshadowing the rest of the blend. The centerpiece of this blend is a unique cinnamon co-ferment from Sebastian Ramirez at Finca El Placer in Colombia, a vibrant and flavorful coffee that solidifies the baking spice and sweetness of the blend. Together, these coffees create a warm and approachable profile featuring notes of baking spices, candied orange, and honey.
Vikki Harris, Commonplace Coffee’s Head of Coffee and a close collaborator on the development of Full Potential Blend Blend, shares, “[The process] for creating this blend with Erin was pretty seamless! Erin had a clear vision for what qualities she wanted to see in a custom blend, as well as an openness to some less 'traditional' components (both of which made my role in this blend's creation much easier). Erin's goal for the profile of the blend was to embody a baked good: sticky buns, honey, vanilla, and sweet baking spices. Really vivid, sweet baking spice notes are not incredibly common in my experience tasting coffee, so this actually posed a pretty surprising challenge! I am so happy that we were able to pull it off.”
Café Momentum plans to include this blend as part numerous upcoming events, including their charity dinner at Churchview Farms on September 26, their Pumpkin Brunch at Café Momentum on October 25, and the Champions Brunch slated for early November, which is a very special collaborative event with Commonplace Coffee's founder, TJ Fairchild.
To learn more about Café Momentum and learn how to visit their restaurant space and/or donate, visit cafemomentum.org/restaurant/pittsburgh/.
