Samantha Calimbahin
Ballpark Coffee's branding is a nod to the Texas Rangers, one of Pastor Kyev Tatum's favorite teams
Few things go together like baseball and a cup of coffee. Well, very few things do, actually — but the unlikely pairing spurred by an even unlikelier partnership is all part of an initiative to stimulate the economy on the east side of 76104, using the power of caffeine.
The initiative involves the launch of a new coffee brand called Ballpark Coffee, spearheaded by Kyev Tatum, pastor of the New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church. He's working with Texas A&M University's Center for Coffee Research and Education to produce each bag through College Station roaster What's the Buzz. Throwing a curveball into the mix is Rob Matwick — Texas Rangers executive vice president of business operations — who's lending his business acumen to help grow the initiative.
While Ballpark Coffee isn't directly affiliated with the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, its red and blue branding serves as a subtle nod to the home team. Ballpark Coffee officially launched in October during the Fort Worth Coffee Festival, which Tatum organized downtown to help draw attention to the brand.
Mind you, Ballpark Coffee isn't meant to be a business. It's the funding mechanism that will help launch a nonprofit Tatum's envisioning called the Inner-City Coffee Exchange — a coffee academy, if you will, meant to teach underserved members of the community about the science and business behind a cup of joe. Tatum says the hope is that residents on the east side of Interstate 35, particularly in 76104, will become inspired to join the coffee industry and help stimulate the economy in their neighborhood.
Or, as Tatum likes to say, make the community "better — not bitter."
"Not with charity or handout but with dignity and a hand up, that's what we want," he says.
So how exactly did a Fort Worth pastor, Texas Rangers executive, and A&M come together?
The partnership began a few months ago, when Tatum and Matwick met and later worked together during an event honoring pastor and civil rights advocate Floyd S. Moody back in August. They hit off well, which eventually led to Tatum inviting Matwick to a Texas A&M presentation about its coffee program.
"I'm thinking, 'Now why would I go to this?'" Matwick recalls. "But I tell Pastor sometimes, it must have been divine intervention because I had time on the calendar that day, and I said, 'You know what, I've really enjoyed getting to know Pastor Tatum. I'm just going to go see what this is about.'"
So Matwick went, becoming rather intrigued by the science behind coffee — and Tatum's idea to utilize it as a way to help build up his side of town.
Granted, neither Tatum nor Matwick consider themselves coffee aficionados. Tatum admits he doesn't even drink coffee (his wife does).
But he's driven by a desire to help his neighborhood, and Matwick just came along for the ride.
"If you spend more than five minutes with Pastor Tatum, it's hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm," Matwick says. "What he's trying to do to support his community, it's a cause we can all certainly get behind."
The mission of Ballpark Coffee aligns with the mission of A&M's Center for Coffee Research and Education, says assistant director Eric Brenner. Part of Brenner's day job is to work with coffee farmers around the globe, helping improve their agricultural practices while also ensuring they're getting paid appropriately. But the Center has also been looking for ways to plug in at home, and when the idea for the Inner-City Coffee Exchange came about, the Center was quick to jump onboard.
Brenner worked with Tatum to produce the coffee bags through College Station-based roaster What's the Buzz, so sales from the coffee benefit not only the Inner-City Coffee Exchange but also the farmers who are growing the beans.
"In all the world, [coffee] produces jobs for over 100 million people. It creates a lot of revenue," Brenner says. "One of the things that we discussed with Pastor Tatum is maybe there's a way we can infuse some of these coffee ideas into an inner-city community to help them grow."
Brenner also helped develop the plan of execution for the Inner-City Coffee Exchange. Next steps for the project include evaluating the coffee academy's future space (which will be at Tatum's church), conducting a community assessment to determine the neighborhood's needs, and of course, raising funds through the sale of more bags. The coffee is currently being sold at the Texas Christkindl Market at Choctaw Stadium — a vendor booth that Matwick helped secure — which will run through Dec. 23.
Another way to purchase coffee — or simply get involved — is to contact Tatum directly at 817-966-7625. He's looking to create a website for the Inner-City Coffee Exchange and find more opportunities to sell Ballpark Coffee as the project progresses.
"[Kids in the community] will become the best ones for [the academy]. They'll see something outside of working at McDonalds or working somewhere else. You can literally open a one-man bistro, and we can show you how," Tatum says. "We've got A&M, the Rangers, What's the Buzz coffee, the church — who else do you need? Come on, baby. Let's do this."
