An ice cream parlor in Silver Spring, Maryland is now selling a marijuana-infused coffee to go with its frozen treats. Moorenko’s Ice Cream has just added Flower Power Coffee to its menu. The new coffee contains the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) in the brew. But the beverage has little or no THC, so the only buzz it packs is from caffeine.
Susan Soorenko is the owner of Moorenko’s. She believes that her shop is the first in the Washington, D.C. area selling the new product.
“As far as I know, we are the only people selling Flower Power in the D.C. area at this point,” said Soorenko. “I didn’t know that there was a hunger for this side of what can be derived from those plants and I think it’s thrilling.”
Despite the novelty, Soorenko said her shop isn’t making a big deal about their new offering.
“It’s not flashy; there aren’t leaves painted on the windows,” she recently told local media. “This is just one more thing we offer if you want it.”
Soorenko said that she wanted to add something new and different to the menu, and found the reported health benefits of CBD exciting. She noted that CBD can relieve anxiety, seizures, and pain, while also working as an effective sleep aid.
But she was also concerned about the message her shop might be sending with the new offering.
“We’re a family place and I didn’t want anyone to think we were acting as a dispensary,” she said.
So before she took the plunge and added Flower Power, she gauged the reaction of her customers in an online poll. She learned that most of those who responded were interested, and not offended.
Soorenko also decided to try the coffee herself.
“I don’t usually drink coffee because it makes me jittery but this didn’t make me jittery,” she said. “And I did sleep really well that night.”
Soorenko said that the new product gives her the opportunity to expose her core business to a new market.
“It’s not only offering something that has the potential for being good for you,” she said, “but it brings a whole new set of people into our shop and introduces them to our ice cream, which is our primary driving force.”
Moorenko’s sells a cup of Flower Power Costa Rican blend for $5.95. Packages of the coffee to brew at home cost $15. Customers must be at least 18 to purchase the coffee
Also Brewed in NYC
The Flower Power Coffee Company was founded by Leighton Knowles, a chef with a passion for the medical benefits of cannabis. The firm of self-proclaimed modern-day hippies strives to “provide coffees and edibles that will enhance the life experience of health-conscious consumers through the use of legal, non-mind altering infusions.”
Flower Power is based in Queens, New York. Retail stores in the NYC area are also adding the company’s products to their menus. The Brooklyn coffee shop Caffeine Underground sells Flower Power, as well as a line of CBD edibles.
Ian Ford, the owner of Caffeine Underground, recently told High Times that his Bushwick customers have reacted positively to the new products.
“They’ve become quite popular in the neighborhood, and we have regular customers who find it helps them work, study, relax, and even reduce their arthritis pain.”
