This Charlotte musician + roastery coffee collab has earned a national ranking
Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or an occasional visitor to your local Charlotte coffee shop, you’ll want to try the Josh Daniel’s Grateful Blend from Magnolia Coffee Co. Why? It just earned a ranking on Coffee Review. The blend tied for the third-highest ranking in a March 2021 rating of “Cause Coffees.”
Coffee Review, similar to Wine Spectator, conducts blind taste tests of coffee shared with readers through in-depth, monthly tasting reports. These reviews are meant not solely to rank the best-tasting coffees, but instead to educate coffee-drinkers and the coffee trade with a guide based on origins, issues, quality and character.
“We’re thrilled for the recognition,” said Magnolia Coffee Co. owner, Jay Gestwicki, in a statement. “We hope this broadens awareness for our mission. Great music and great coffee can support great causes.”
The Grateful Blend grew out of a partnership between Magnolia Coffee Co. and Josh Daniel, a Charlotte singer-songwriter who gained national recognition and a global audience after launching daily livestreams during the pandemic. In addition to his livestreams, he’s shared the stage with legendary musicians such as Levon Helm, Nanci Griffith, John Cowan of the Doobie Brothers and more.
Daniel never missed a livestream, even while balancing his music with visits to his son in the hospital, who has a rare genetic condition. Daniel, having reached his 365-day performance milestone on March 16, has raised more than $50,000 for the Craniofacial Children Foundation and Levine Children’s Hospital.
Magnolia regularly partners with nonprofits to develop coffees with a cause. When Gestwicki met Daniel at one of his shows, the two developed the nationally ranked collaboration. Now, 10% of Josh Daniel’s Grateful Blend sales are donated to Levine Children’s Hospital, where Daniel’s young son needed emergency surgery 14 days into the pandemic.
“I was listening to Josh’s shows and finding daily inspiration, so a lightbulb went off that I wanted to support this cause that was so important to him, too,” Gestwicki said.
Coffee Review described the Josh Daniel’s Grateful Blend as “A rich, resonant blend of Papua New Guinea and Colombia coffees with an appealing cocoa throughline nuanced by sweet herb undertones.” Want a taste? Order a bag of Grateful Blend online.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 12:35 PM.
