'East Haven Strong' Coffee Celebrates Diversity, Raises Funds

EAST HAVEN, CT — Saying their community blend series are "coffee for a cause," East Haven's cafe One World Roasters is debuting its ‘East Haven Strong Coffee Blend' with 20 percent of its proceeds from the blend going to the town’s beautification projects, "to help get East Haven ready for spring," co-owner Christine Ucich said.

Ucich, who was a member of the East Haven-based Shoreline Garden Club, said she had the idea to use the community blend to enhance the appearance of the town.

“I realized there’s many gardening and landscaping projects in East Haven that we as conscious businesses need to support," she said. "And who doesn’t want a more beautiful town?”

The North High Street organic coffee roastery and cafe is debuting the second coffee in their limited-batch community blends series on March 20. Successor to their Wintergreen Blend, which supported upkeep of the Shoreline Greenway Trail, the ‘East Haven Strong Coffee Blend’ salutes the town the local coffee shop calls home, she said.

“We think of it as 'coffee for a cause,' generally speaking, we’re a socially conscious business, and to the best of our ability, we want to use the influence we have to make a difference in the community around us," One World Roasters founder Eric Ciolino said.

For the East Haven Strong blend, Ciolino turned his focus to the environment in front of him—to both celebrate its rich culture and offer a helping hand in further beautifying the town, Ucich said.

“It’s something we haven’t done before; I’ve always wanted to create a special blend that would serve as a kind of love letter to the community,” Ciolino siad. “Many people think of East Haven as this uniform place, but really, it’s a very diverse city—there’s a lot of rich culture here and a warm community. I wanted to capture that frame of mind in this blend.”

Getting in an 'East Haven state of mind' while roasting and blending coffee

Ciolino said he was also inspired by "listening to some Frank Sinatra" by his infrared roaster. East Haven Strong is a blend of Brazilian coffee at an extra-dark Italian roast, supplemented with uniquely medium-roasted Honduran beans.

“Obviously, there is a significant Italian-American population in East Haven, but there is also a lot of Latin and Central American influence as well— I think the cultures all come through in the cup here," Ciolino said.

One World worked with East Haven Director of Economic Development Raymond Baldwin and Assistant Director of Administration Michelle Benivegna on the project.

"This is just another wonderful example of how good people step up in a time of need to unselfishly offer their services and support to the community they live and work in,” Baldwin said. “We’re proud to partner with Eric and Christine and appreciate everything they do for East Haven.”

Benivegna agreed.

“One World Roasters exemplifies a community partnership," Benivegna told Patch. "During these unprecedented times of COVID-19 which caused many businesses to struggle, Eric and Christine continued to grow their business by exploring creative ways remain viable and also to support their community. Their custom East Haven Strong Coffee blend is unique, fair trade and organic. East Haven is fortunate to have a business in town that strives to help improve the quality of life for the residents through generously donating a portion of the coffee’s proceeds to town beautification projects."

And East Haven Mayor Joseph A. Carfora told Patch the cafe's commitment to the town is "outstanding."

“I could not be more pleased that One World Roasters Coffee Shop is supporting our community," Carfora said. "We are working hard to make our town a place of choice and their commitment to our town beautification and their creative way to support to our community with a custom East Haven coffee blend is outstanding."

The coffee debuts on the first day of spring, March 20. It will host a coffee tasting March 27 with a roasting demonstration at 1:30 p.m. and while the event is free to attend, space is limited, so attendees are urged to reserve a spot on the business’s website here.