Dolly Parton’s latest business venture is hitting coffee cups across the country just weeks after the country music icon’s death and more than four decades after she first dreamed of creating the brand.
Dolly Parton Projects and Estate Drama
Parton’s Cup of Ambition coffee launched nationwide Sept. 29, National Coffee Day, in partnership with family-owned Community Coffee. Inspired by her 1980 hit “9 to 5,” the coffee line was more than 40 years in the making.
“This is just one of those dreams that’s taken a little longer than I thought it might, but we’ve got it and it’s working,” Parton said in June while visiting Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, according to the company’s announcement. “I can’t wait for you to try it.”
Leading up to the product rollout, Parton filmed three promotional spots in July to bring her vision to life. In the debut commercial released Sept. 29, Parton strums her signature jeweled pink guitar and sips from a matching Cup of Ambition mug as her iconic anthem “9 to 5” plays. The ad gives fans another posthumous glimpse of the singer, whose career spanned music, film, television, business and philanthropy.
The coffee debuted earlier this year at Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop before expanding nationwide. The collection includes light, medium and dark roasts, with ground coffee available now and K-Cup pods available for preorder.
It is being sold through online and through major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart.
Community Coffee, which has been making coffee for more than a century, said the partnership grew from a shared appreciation for family, community and quality. Third-generation owner Donna Saurage said Parton’s warmth and commitment to family helped bring the project together.
The brand is also tied to one of Parton’s longtime philanthropic efforts. Every cup of Cup of Ambition coffee supports Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides books to young children. Community Coffee will also serve as an anchor funding partner for the Imagination Library in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.
The launch comes as Parton’s estate faces a separate legal dispute involving her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who served as her longtime head of security.
Seaver, the son of Parton’s sister Cassie, announced Parton’s death in a video posted to her social media accounts. He had worked as her head of security for more than two decades before being dismissed in September. Parton’s business entity, She’s Alive, later sued Seaver and sought a restraining order, accusing him of making threats and attempting to extract money from the estate.
A Tennessee judge granted a temporary restraining order against Seaver and his private security company. The estate alleged that Seaver made threatening statements toward Parton’s staff, business partners and advisers. Seaver denied the allegations, saying his comments were taken out of context and calling the lawsuit a “publicity stunt.”
The dispute comes as Parton’s business empire transitions following her death. Her holdings include Dollywood, her music catalog and other entertainment and hospitality ventures. The legal fight with Seaver is separate from the continued rollout of Cup of Ambition, which Community Coffee says it plans to carry on in Parton’s memory and according to the vision she helped develop.
For fans, the coffee offers another tangible piece of Parton’s legacy, one that she had spent years imagining and was able to help bring to market before her death.
Parton died Aug. 25 in Nashville at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
