ORONO — Coffee Hound Coffee Co. and the University of Maine have officially licensed a new co-branded coffee: the Maine Black Bears Nitro-Infused Caramel and Cream Coffee. This is the first and only officially licensed “ready to drink” nitro-infused coffee of the Maine Black Bears and is now available for purchase from Freshies at 12 Main Road in Milford. 

Roasted locally in the heart of Maine by Coffee Hound, a veteran-founded and woman-owned company in Brewer, this “ready to drink” coffee will soon be distributed statewide by Central Distributors, a Lewiston-based, family-owned distributor founded in 1934. 

“We are thrilled to be partners with the University of Maine to license and showcase this brand with our other ‘ready to drink’ nitro-infused coffee beverages that will be distributed throughout the state of Maine by Central Distributors,” said Jen Litteral, president of Coffee Hound. 

Coffee Hound has been mass producing their cold brew coffee line since 2019 in partnership with Geaghan’s Brewery, which distributes it in kegs and barrels. Coffee Hound now offers three flavor lines of nitro-infused coffee in cans: a traditional nitro with cream and sugar, a latte with maple syrup and cream and now the officially licensed Maine Black Bear coffee with a touch of caramel and cream. 

“We are very excited about the opportunity to add ‘Maine Black Bear’ nitro-infused ready-to-drink to our line-up of cold coffees at the Milford Freshies location. We are committed to delivering new and innovative food and drink options to our valued customers at our Freshies locations. We are privileged to support the University of Maine Black Bears and another local Maine business, Coffee Hound,” said Katie Foster, executive manager of operations for R.H. Foster Energy, LLC, which owns and operates Freshies where the coffee is now available. 

As Maine’s only public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution, the University of Maine advances learning and discovery through excellence and innovation. Founded in 1865 in Orono, UMaine is the state’s land, sea and space grant university with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Our students come from all over the world and work with faculty conducting fieldwork around the globe — from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic. Located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation with UMaine Machias located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation, UMaine’s statewide mission is to foster an environment that creates tomorrow’s leaders. As the state’s flagship institution, UMaine offers nearly 200 degree programs through which students can earn bachelor’s, master’s, professional master’s and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates. For more information about UMaine and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu/about/quick-facts and machias.edu/about-umm/umm-facts. 

Established in 2013 we are veteran-founded and women-owned. Dedicated to Maine’s craftsmanship, we focus on sourcing from small farms around the world and roasting in small batches to create a craft coffee experience. Our roastery is located in Brewer and we produce coffee to over 300 locations in Maine including 17 Hannaford locations. We have three licensed cafe locations, two at Sunday River Ski Resort and one in Bar Harbor. We have been mass producing our cold brew coffee in partnership with Geaghan’s Brewery since 2019 which Geaghan’s distributes in kegs and barrels. And now with our co-packer Snapchill we have a line of 3 ‘ready to drink’ nitro-infused coffee drinks including the officially licensed Maine Black Bears caramel and cream. For more go www.coffeehoundcoffeeco.com.

Freshies is owned and operated by a locally owned, Maine-based business, R. H. Foster Energy, LLC. R. H. Foster is privileged to celebrate the third generation of Foster family members working in the business and to employ over 500 Mainers across the state. R. H. Foster owns and operates 23 Freshies® convenience stores and delis throughout northern, northeast, and central Maine, as well as Freshies Wood Fired Pizza truck, Tri-City Pizza, and Bangor Bakery Oven Bakery in Bangor. Additionally, the company has seven energy companies located in Hampden, Ellsworth, Machias, Lincoln, Penobscot, Dennysville, and Beals, that deliver heating fuels and provide services to residential customers and commercial companies. For more go www.freshiesdeli.com.

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