Hawks Blend coffee swoops into region

UND-licensed coffee blend has smooth taste with notes of chocolate and caramel

Hawks drink coffee.

That is, the Fighting Hawks of the University of North Dakota can now sip on their own joe after the Athletics department teamed up with Bully Brew Coffee to develop a unique UND blend.

The coffee is aptly named Hawks Blend.

The idea dawned on Kyle Doperalski, associate athletic director for external operations, this summer when he sought ways to engage Fighting Hawks fans in a time when the pandemic upended the seasons of most collegiate sports.

“I was thinking about different ways to connect our brand and our fans,” Doperalski said. “What better way to do that than an officially licensed consumable product? And, I thought of an officially licensed coffee and partnering with a local small business, especially one that rallies around UND.”

Bully Brew Coffee is owned by Sandra Luck, who not only supports UND, but also teaches marketing here. For Luck, concocting a special blend for the Fighting Hawks was a thrilling prospect. For UND, it was a propitious partnership, given that Bully Brew is more than just a coffee house. It is the sole roastery in the region, roasting, processing and supplying beans to an assortment of shops in North Dakota and surrounding states.

Hawks Blend is now available by the cup to order in Bully Brew in Grand Forks and Fargo as well as in several other coffee shops throughout North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. Sixteen-ounce bags, with design elements of campus and Grand Forks, will be available in stores this weekend.  They can also be bought in store or online for $19.99 with a small portion of the revenue streaming to UND under licensing agreements.

Online orders can be shipped anywhere in the world and will start their journeys to customers this weekend. Through the first 72 hours of going on sale, orders came from 22 different states and Washington D.C.

“Because Hawks Blend is roasted in Grand Forks, when people buy it, it’s going to be completely different than a name brand coffee that has been ground and sitting on the shelves for an extended amount of time,” Doperalski said.

Aside from its freshness, the UND-sanctioned coffee arouses with its smooth flavor infused with notes of chocolate and caramel.

“I like coffee that’s smooth on your tongue and has a very refreshing taste,” Luck said. “That’s pretty exciting when we can find that profile. And, that’s exactly what Hawks Blend is.

“It is a wonderful taste. It’s nothing like what we already sell or that anyone else sells. It’s something that we’ve created that’s completely different.”

What went into the creation of Hawks Blend, however, is something of a secret. Given its name, it is no surprise that beans from several countries combined in Bully Brew’s drum roaster to generate the blend. But the exact ingredients are kept under wraps.

“We don’t give out our secrets,” Luck said. “This is kind of like a chef creating their own dish. If they have a secret sauce that they put in, they don’t share that with other people.”

What is not a secret is that Luck and her staff had three top contenders – three different blends – vying for the designation of Hawks Blend after starting out with roughly double that number of options. In late October, UND President Andrew Armacost, Provost Debbie Storrs and Football Coach Bubba Schweigert sampled the three versions to pick the one to carry UND’s brand.

“They all chose the same coffee, which, honestly, we all thought was the best coffee,” Luck said.

Doperalski said, “We see it as a win-win-win from a University standpoint, to partner with a small business with UND ties and to provide a unique opportunity for our fans to connect with our brand.  This is a great way for university fans and alumni show support for both the university and a locally owned small business while enjoying a fun and unique way.”