The Schu rebrands its coffee

Gone is the Caribou branding of years past—a new logo and branding are in the works for the Schu. In the past few weeks, management for the student-run coffee shop has switched its coffee and espresso beans from Caribou coffee to Peace coffee.

According to the director of the Schu, senior Lauren Dohmen, an essential motto of the Schu is “Keep Campus Coffee’d and Caffeinated.” Another key element of the Schu is the “work hard play hard mindset,” which can be seen through its atmosphere. Dohmen noted that there is always fun music, and the staff make an effort to be friendly and upbeat. Dohmen and her team find the ideals backing Peace coffee to be aligned with their own locally-focused values.

“We wanted to become more of our own brand. As part of the CSB+SJU community, we take seriously uniqueness and tradition. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we are student-run,” Dohmen said.

Peace’s website expresses a similar sentiment to the Schu crew. The Peace website educational section states: “We invest in long-term relationships with many organizations close to our home that help make our community more vibrant and strong.”

The Peace mission statement also reads: “We’re here because we believe that coffee is more than just a commodity. We believe it is essential to weekends and workdays, brunches and bundt cakes, and everything in between. We also believe it’s essential to our farmer partners who attentively tend coffee trees from seed to harvest in hopes of making a good life for their family. We play fair, we play hard, and sometimes we just play because we believe that the most important thing we can do, besides making delicious coffee, is to enjoy the ride.” This coincides with the Schu’s own mission and belief that “Coffee is essential.”

Peace coffee is a brand and a blend local to Minnesota, with its primary roasting location in Minneapolis. While Peace may roast locally, they have a pension for working with farmers and co-ops from around the globe. The first shipment to IATP—what would become Peace coffee—came out of Chiapas, Mexico, in 1996.

“There’s an issue in the coffee community with farmers not being paid enough and Peace coffee had a really big impact on changing that,” Dohmen said.

Peace has also founded Cooperative Coffees, a coffee cooperative between all stages of the coffee brewing process that focuses on creating community. Peace focuses on small brews with big flavor.

“The Schu crew have recognized really good coffee flavor,” Dohmen said.

The main shift in the Schu’s products is found in coffee and espresso. Other drinks, such as smoothies, are still purchased through the Schu’s main distributor, Intermix. Intermix also distributes the Peace coffee products, which streamlines the acquisition process.

Ella Dohmen, operations manager at the Schu, spearheaded the switch to Peace coffee. Though not the primary reason for the switch, sustainability also played a role in the decision to change brands. Peace coffee is all ethically sourced and organic, which was a bonus when considering alternative beans with aligning ideals to the Schu.

“Schu staff really wanted to make an impact on and as students,” Lauren Dohmen said.

Now on the menu are Peace’s Twin Cities and Peru blends, which are served daily. All espresso drinks will also be made with Peace coffee blends. There will also be a Peace cold brew in the upcoming months—the very last menu option to change.