Community Coffee facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Coffee roasting |
| Founded | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States (1919) |
| Founder | Norman "Cap" Saurage |
| Products |
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Community Coffee is a company that roasts and sells coffee. It is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the United States. In 2005, it was the biggest family-owned coffee company in the U.S. It controlled a large part of the coffee market in South Louisiana and Baton Rouge. The company also had 850 employees at that time. Community Coffee sells its products across the Southeastern United States.
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How Community Coffee Started
Community Coffee began in 1919. A man named Norman "Cap" Saurage started it. He owned two grocery stores in downtown Baton Rouge. Cap Saurage began trying out different coffee mixes. People really liked his coffee.
The demand for his coffee grew very quickly. By 1923, Saurage moved his coffee making to a converted barn. In 1924, he decided to leave his grocery business. He wanted to focus only on making coffee.
Fun Commercials with Muppets
In the late 1950s and 1960s, Jim Henson made commercials for Community Coffee. These commercials featured early Muppet characters. The characters were named Wilkins and Wontkins. Many of these ads were new versions of commercials made for another coffee company called Wilkins Coffee.
Where Coffee Beans Come From
Today, Community Coffee gets its coffee beans from other countries. They import beans from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. These beans arrive through ports in New Orleans and Houston.
Since 1988, the company has had a special program. People can collect UPC labels from Community Coffee products. These labels can then be used to get donations for schools in Louisiana.
In 2002, Community Coffee made a deal with a farming group in Rwanda. This group was called Abahuzamugambi. The deal was helped by an agricultural program called PEARL. Community Coffee agreed to buy Maraba coffee from them. This was the first time an African farming group directly sold coffee to an American coffee roaster.
Community Coffee Shops
In 1995, Community Coffee started opening its own coffee shops. These shops were mostly in Louisiana. The company also opened stores in Texas and Alabama. However, these stores in other states did not do as well. This was because of other big coffee chains like Starbucks and local brands.
In 2013, Community Coffee made its coffee shop business a separate company. This new company was named CC's Coffee House. This change was made to help the coffee shops grow outside of Louisiana. CC's Coffee House is still owned by the Saurage family.
See also
- Maraba Coffee
- PJ's Coffee
