This coffee collaboration began brewing in the early stages of the pandemic as we discussed ways we could continue to engage with our community while our cafes remained closed to the public. The partnership felt natural from the very beginning. In the words of Commonplace Coffee founder TJ Fairchild, “We, as a staff, love the parks. We have individual times there, and we have communal times there. We are honored to be able to support a beautiful part of the Pittsburgh community.” Commonplace’s goal is to honor and take inspiration from the Conservancy’s work, with each blend’s tasting notes inspired by the unique attributes of each park.

The initial collaborative blend, Frick Park, released in fall of 2020, and the series will continue through the final release in fall of 2022. Each collaborative blend is offered for an 8-week period, and 25% of proceeds from bag sales are donated to the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to support their mission of restoring Pittsburgh’s parks to excellence.