Birch Bark Coffee Co., an Ottawa-based Ojibway-owned company, recently partnered with one of Canada’s most iconic ice cream brands to create a new flavor that’s whole and whole.
Chapman’s Cold Brew coffee-flavored ice cream hits shelves this month.
“I’ve tried a lot of ice cream and when I tried this ice cream it was like a wow factor…we just finished the tub of it,” said Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow, founder of Birch Bark Coffee.
Marsolais-Nahwegahbow of Whitefish River First Nation, about 70 kilometers west of Sudbury, founded the company in 2018. The name Birch Bark is a nod to its community on Birch Island.
Initially driven primarily by e-commerce, Birch Bark Coffee is now available in stores like Costco and through partnerships with Compass Canada, Sodexo Canada and Aramark – the top food suppliers in Canada.
“I now have a great responsibility as a mentor, but also as a voice for all of our communities,” said Marsolais-Nahwegahbow.
The company works to improve the quality of drinking water in Indigenous communities across Canada, and donates one water purification system to an Indigenous family for every 100 bags of coffee sold and one for every 50 bags sold directly through their online store.
Part of the new product line
This is Chapman’s first collaboration with another company since its inception in 1973.
As Chapman’s celebrates their 50th anniversary, they create a “super premium” line of products.
Ashley David Chapman, Chapman’s chief operating officer, said partnering with Birch Bark was an easy decision after tasting the coffee.
“Mark and I just became friends during the pandemic,” Chapman said.
While creating the super-premium line of products, he thought, “How cool would it be to make something with birch bark?”
According to Marsolais-Nahwegahb, this coffee ice cream is the first of its kind because it’s made using cold brew instead of freeze-dried instant coffee crystals, which are typically used to make coffee-flavored ice cream.
A portion of the proceeds from the ice goes to Birch Bark’s initiatives to improve drinking water quality in indigenous communities.
Shawn Adler, Executive Chef and owner of Pow Wow Café in Toronto and Flying Chestnut Kitchen in Eugenia, Ontario, ran the Chapman’s staff cafeteria for about five years. In his two restaurants he serves birch bark coffee.
“I’m looking forward to trying the ice cream and I’m sure we will incorporate it into our menus,” said Adler.
