By Matt Kyle | Assistant News Editor
Common Grounds introduced a new limited time latte last week to honor Judge Joy Reynolds, Baylor’s longtime bear mascot who passed away in July.
The latte, dubbed “Spirit of Joy,” was introduced Wednesday and will be available at the Student Union Building and Eighth Street locations until Sept. 9. The latte is honey and cinnamon flavored, inspired by some of Joy’s favorite things. Additionally, 15% of the proceeds from sales of the “Spirit of Joy” benefit the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat.
The sales will also benefit the habitat’s conservation mission of “providing excellent care for Baylor’s bears and serving the larger community by presenting unique educational experiences.”
The latte is available both hot and iced, with the honey and cinnamon flavors complementing each other. The added flavors are subtle but noticeable and the latte is sweet, but retains a bit of bitterness of the coffee. Overall, the “Spirit of Joy” is a nice limited addition to the Common Grounds menu.
Chris Henderson, director of operations for Common Grounds, said it was the staff’s idea to introduce a latte to honor Joy. She said Common Grounds is very intertwined with Baylor, with the owner being a graduate and many of the staff being students, so honoring Joy was a no-brainer.
“I wish I could take credit for it, but 100%, the staff wanted to do it,” Henderson said. “It was easy to say yes to.”
Henderson said the “Spirit of Joy” latte has been popular since being introduced, with it being the highest-selling drink the first two days it was on sale. Henderson also said the latte can be ordered after Sept. 9 — just ask for a honey and cinnamon latte.
Dakota Farquhar-Caddell, associate director of student activities, said Common Grounds reached out to him a few weeks ago with the idea of honoring Joy through coffee.
“They reached out and said, ‘Hey, we love the bears, would there be an interesting collaboration in a way where we honor Joy? And are we able to give back to the stewardship, education, conservation mission of the habitat?” Farquhar-Caddell said. “So we talked a little bit about favorite things Joy liked and what they wanted to make on the menu, and then it just kind of went on from there.”
Farquhar-Caddell said Joy, like most bears, loved honey. He said cinnamon was used as a scent-based enrichment with Joy. Trainers would sprinkle cinnamon dust around the habitat and Joy would use her nose to explore and find the smells.
Farquhar-Caddell said the donations to the bear habitat will directly fund the daily care of Lady, and go towards the education and conservation efforts of the habitat.
Las Vegas senior Sam Lebow, co-lead bear trainer, said he loves coffee and enjoyed the latte as it contained a piece of Joy.
“You get the coffee flavor while also enjoying the things Joy loved,” Lebow said. “It mixes my love of Joy and my love of coffee together. Joy was one of the big reasons that I came to Baylor. So fast forward two and a half years, I’ve gone from knowing her as the spirit of Baylor and then transitioning that into being able to care for her as her primary caregiver. There’s a lot of emotion wrapped up in it.”
