Miami Heat Star Jimmy Butler's Big Face Coffee Wins Celebrity Taste Test
![Apr 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) shoots past Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second quarter of a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports Apr 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) shoots past Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the second quarter of a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2401,h_1350,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_heat/01j5cjy5a87zxtz218qd.jpg)
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler's Big Face Coffee won a taste-testing contest sponsored by The New York Times earlier this month.
The Times rated celebrity coffees, which included java from actors Sofia Vergara and Tom Hanks. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani even had a coffee entered in the contest.
Big Face Coffee was rated a perfect 5 out of 5 by taste-testers. Hanks' coffee was rated 2.3 and Vergara's coffee at 1.3.
Big Face costs $30 for an 8.8 ounce bag.
When the players stayed in the NBA bubble during the Covid-shortened season of 2020, Butler brewed coffee in his hotel room. He sold it to Heat teammates for a whopping $20 a cup. After the pandemic slowed the following year, Big Face Coffee was created. Big Face also produces clothing.
Times food reporter Priya Krishna wrote she "would have joined the 2020 NBA bubble just to enjoy this coffee regularly."
Butler tried to partner with teammate Bam Adebayo. According to Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report, Adebayo was offered the right to buy into the company for $2.5 million. There is no mention of how much of the company Adebayo would receive for the money.
Big Face is opening a coffee shop in the Miami Design District within the next month. Butler plans to work some shifts.
"Most of these coffees were forgettable, with some providing only a vague connection to the star behind them," Krishna said. "Coffee may be an everyday habit, but making a truly memorable brew is a highly technical process. Perhaps this is a business best left to experts. And Jimmy Butler."
Scott Salomon is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at sas@southfloridamedianetwork.com.