Caribou Coffee Blend Honors Breast Cancer Awareness

For the 15th consecutive year, Caribou Coffee is brewing hope in October with its exclusive and expanded line of Amy’s Blend to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure and to honor former Caribou roastmaster Amy Erickson. In addition to offering Amy’s Blend coffee, tea, and new merchandise, Caribou Coffee is inviting its customers to honor their friends and family who have been touched by breast cancer by submitting a tribute to Amy’s Gardens. Tributes are scheduled for planting this October at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, and online at cariboucoffee.com.

A pioneer within Caribou Coffee, Amy helped revolutionize the way coffee is tasted and developed at Caribou, contributing to the stringent standards the company still uses today.

“Brewing Amy’s Blend and planting Amy’s Gardens are our way of honoring a friend who left a lasting impression on our company because of her passion for life and dedication to her craft,” says Chad Trewick, senior director of coffee and tea for Caribou and a friend of Amy.

Caribou Coffee created Amy’s Blend in 1995 to help Amy pay for medical bills while fighting breast cancer. Since her passing, this special blend has raised money for breast cancer research. This year, the company will donate 10 percent of all sales of Amy’s Blend coffee, tea, and merchandise, purchased online or in Caribou retail stores, to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with the goal of raising at least $200,000. Caribou will also donate $1 per bag sold in grocery retailers nationwide, with a goal of donating an additional $38,000 or more.

In October, Caribou Coffee fans can honor a loved one who has been touched by breast cancer by dedicating a pink tulip — Amy’s favorite flower — to be planted in Amy’s Gardens. Guests at Caribou coffeehouses can dedicate a bulb to their loved ones in the store, and visitors to cariboucoffee.com can submit a tribute to Amy’s Garden online and watch a virtual tulip bloom.

Caribou Coffee will create two commemorative gardens measuring nearly 9,000 square feet total. Garden dedications and planting events will be hosted in conjunction with Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Oct. 13 at the Mall of America and Oct. 26 at Shedd Aquarium.