Photo by John Larson
KATIE MCCAIN, LEFT, AND STEFANIE WILKIN HELPED SELECT THE 2010 RAINIERS BLEND.
The Tacoma Rainiers may not know who their starting shortstop or ace relief pitcher will be next spring, but one piece of their lineup was determined last month.
On Nov. 19, Masa Restaurant hosted a coffee tasting event to select the 2010 Rainiers Blend. Some season ticket holders and employees of corporate sponsors of the Tacoma Rainiers, such as Wells Fargo Bank and LaQuinta Inn, were invited to try out several blends and vote on the one that will be designated as the baseball team’s official coffee for next season.
Geoff Corkum, director of media development for the Rainiers, said as far as he knows they are the only professional sports team in the Northwest with their own coffee.
Ohana Harbor Coffee, based in Gig Harbor, was founded in 2006. It has been the official coffee supplier for the team for two years. Representatives of Ohana and Martin Henry Coffee Roasters were on hand to serve samples to guests and tabulate the scores in the voting.
Stephanie Schreiner-Sagle’s family owns three coffee farms, totaling 41 acres, in Hawaii. “Ohana” means family in the native Hawaiian language and it truly is a family business. She and her five siblings all work for Ohana Harbor. They oversee planting of the Kona coffee, harvesting and transporting it to Washington. The only aspect they do not do within the company is roasting, which Martin Henry does.
Other coffee blends originate in various countries. Four types were served at Masa, with a Kona/Mexican/Guatemalan blend coming in first in the voting. A 100 percent Kona came in second. Each of the other three types had at least 10 percent Kona.
The Rainiers Blend changes each year based on the response of those at the tasting event.
“We have different people with different tastes, so we get a wide range of feedback,” Schreiner-Sagle said. “We are finding more and more people developing a stronger interest in coffee. Some people do not realize how many different varieties there are until they have a chance to try many kinds.”
The 2010 Rainiers Blend is a licensed product. In addition to being served by the cup at Cheney Stadium, bags of the coffee beans will be for sale in the gift store at the stadium, at Harbor Greens in Gig Harbor and online at http://www.ohanaharborcoffee.com
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