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Kahwa Coffee has seen its brand boom since 2008, when the husband-and-wife team of Raphael and Sarah Perrier founded the St. Petersburg-based java roasting enterprise. It boasts a dozen locations up and down the Gulf Coast, ranging from Sarasota to Bellair Bluffs, and it distributes to 650 restaurants and hotels.
One of Kahwa's biggest fans is Tampa Bay Rays slugger Evan Longoria, who recently sent the company a tweet asking if he could tour its facility and possibly brainstorm some ways to collaborate on a charitable campaign.
The result is Signature Series No. 3, a new blend that was personally curated by the Rays' All-Star third baseman (who wears No. 3 on the field). It will be sold at Tropicana Field, all Kahwa locations and online, and 100% of proceeds will go to charities, specifically Hurricane Irma relief efforts in Florida.
“Evan has been a long-time Kahwa customer and we were quite familiar with his interest in local charities,” Raphael Perrier says in a statement. “As we both call Tampa Bay home, we're incredibly excited to bring this project for the greater good to market.”
Longoria and Kahwa say they hope to raise at least $10,000 from sales of Signature Series No. 3. Longoria, whose favorite form of java is espresso, predicts his fellow coffee fanatics' taste buds will also benefit.
“After visiting Kahwa's roasting facility in St. Pete, I was impressed,” Longoria says in the statement. “They presented three options from a selection of beans, all delicious. The only difficult part was picking which one to go with. Together, with the team at Kahwa Coffee, we really nailed this blend, and I just know fans of good coffee are going to love it. I'm proud to put my name on it.”
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