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Back to the Land, Forward in Time
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Back to the Land, Forward in Time
Biodiversity, organic coffee, and the art of creating with care
September has a way of turning quietly on the Mendocino Coast. The light shifts, the gardens offer their last abundance, and the first edge of autumn asks us to notice what we have grown, both in the ground and in our lives.
This season, we are thinking about the relationships that hold everything together: people and place, farmer and roaster, tradition and everyday life. Biodiversity is part of that larger picture. It is the living foundation behind good coffee, and one of the things Thanksgiving Coffee is committed to protecting.
Original Roastary on Noyo Harbor circa 1970's, With Paul and Panda
A Living Mendocino Inheritance
Thanksgiving Coffee was born from the Mendocino Coast world. Our story is connected to Fort Bragg's working harbor, the Mendocino art scene, environmental activism, and the back-to-the-land ethos.
From the beginning, coffee here has meant more than a product. It has offered a way to remain connected to place, to people, and to a life shaped by purpose.
Much of what once sounded "alternative" has become part of how many of us are trying to live today. We want to know where our food comes from. We care about soil and water. We value independent makers and the knowledge carried within their work.
Coffee as Part of a Living System
Biodiversity is one of the threads tying these values together. Coffee doesn't grow in isolation. A biodiverse coffee farm can include shade trees, birds, insects and other pollinators, microorganisms, ground cover and neighboring plant species - all interacting with the coffee crop and the soil and water that sustain it. Coffee grown organically within a diverse landscape develops as part of a living system - carrying the influence of climate, elevation, soil, variety, and the knowledge of the people who tend it.
From Industry Change to Habitat Protection
Thanksgiving Coffee began making the relationship between coffee and habitat visible decades ago. In 1994, we introduced one of the first shade grown coffee lines, connecting customer choice with the protection of tropical forest habitat. Learn more about shade-grown coffee.
In 2015, we joined the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s Bird Friendly program. This certification brings organic agriculture and forest canopy protection together, recognizing coffee farms that provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
That history continues to shape how we understand biodiversity today. It is a living foundation of the landscape and an essential part of coffee quality and our responsibility. When farms maintain diverse vegetation, forest canopy, and healthy soil, they create conditions in which coffee, wildlife, and farming communities can thrive together.
A Resilient Coffee System Is a Human System
Every cup passes through many hands. Farmers bring an intimate knowledge of their land. Cooperative leaders build shared stability. Cuppers develop their palates through years of practice. Roasters respond to the qualities each coffee brings. Designers, production teams, retailers, and customers carry it forward from there.
This is where biodiversity and justice meet. Fair compensation supports farmers in caring for their farms, remaining connected to their land, and passing knowledge from one generation to the next.
Putting Knowledge in Farmers’ Hands
Original Cupping Lab project, Nicaragua
Thanksgiving Coffee put this belief into practice in Nicaragua. In 1999, Paul Katzeff proposed placing professional coffee tasting tools directly in the hands of producer cooperatives. With support from USAID, Thanksgiving Coffee helped nine cooperatives build cupping labs owned by farmers in 2000 and trained farmers to evaluate coffee using the same standards as buyers. The farmers could taste, understand, and demonstrate the quality of their own coffee, strengthening their ability to improve it and negotiate its value.
We see ecological responsibility and fairness as complementary goals. They are the same root system, revealed in different forms.
Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup™.
Mendocino Vienna: A Taste of Place
Mendocino Vienna blends organic coffees from Central America, South America, and Indonesia. Each coffee is shaped by its own landscape and farming traditions.
Careful roasting brings these coffees into balance. The result is bold but sweet, with notes of nuts and dark chocolate and a natural sweetness that lingers. This dark roast still allows the blend’s character to come through.
The beans travel from three continents, but the blend itself was shaped here on the Mendocino Coast. Many of our customers first discovered it in Mendocino and have kept returning to it over the years.
One longtime customer, Joe Massucco of Seattle, first tasted Mendocino Vienna while visiting the coast. He describes it as dark and flavorful without tasting burnt, and as a welcome companion to the morning paper.
Bringing These Values To Your Cup
The choices we make as coffee drinkers can support a more resilient and biodiverse coffee system.
- Look for meaningful certifications. Learn what Organic, Fair Trade, and Smithsonian Bird Friendly certifications tell you about how a coffee was grown or traded. Shade, biodiversity, farming practices, and economic relationships all matter beyond the cup.
- Learn where your coffee comes from. Origin is more than a flavor descriptor. It represents farmers, communities, landscapes, and generations of knowledge.
- Support companies that maintain lasting producer relationships. Relationships built over time can create greater transparency, shared knowledge, and a deeper understanding of quality.
- Learn one story behind the coffee you buy. Knowing something about the people and places behind your coffee can change your relationship with it.
Ready to Begin That Journey?
Start with this month’s featured coffee, Mendocino Vienna. Discover how organic coffees from three continents and more than fifty years of Mendocino Coast roasting experience come together in one enduring blend.
None of this has to be perfect. It simply has to become part of your practice, repeated with care.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
As the fall equinox approaches, we are giving thanks for the harvest, for the people who grow and cultivate our food, and for the relationships that make all of it possible.
The back to the land movement taught us to pay attention. The arts taught us to imagine. Biodiversity reminds us that everything is connected.
At Thanksgiving Coffee, this is living history. It continues through how we source, roast, and share coffee. It also lives within the community that continues to grow around it.
Explore Mendocino Vienna and experience what it means to cultivate coffee, community, and a more thoughtful way of living.
Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup™.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does biodiversity mean in coffee farming?
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life found within and around a coffee farm. This can include coffee plants, shade trees, food crops, native vegetation, birds, pollinators, insects, fungi, and microorganisms in the soil.
These living elements interact with one another. Together, they can help maintain healthy soil, protect water, support natural pest control, and make a farm more resilient to environmental change. Coffee is one crop within this larger community of life.
How is shade grown coffee good for biodiversity?
Shade grown coffee is cultivated beneath a canopy of trees rather than in a cleared field exposed to full sun. When that canopy includes a variety of tree species and layers of vegetation, it can provide food, shelter, and migratory pathways for birds, insects, and other wildlife.
Shade trees can also help regulate temperature, retain moisture, reduce soil erosion, and return organic matter to the ground. However, “shade grown” by itself is not always a regulated claim. Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification provides additional assurance because participating farms must be certified organic and meet specific standards for forest canopy, vegetation, and habitat protection.
What is the difference between Organic, Fair Trade, and Bird Friendly coffee?
Each certification looks at a different part of the coffee system.
Organic certification focuses on farming and processing practices. Certified organic coffee must meet verified standards governing how it is grown and handled. These standards restrict most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers while supporting soil and water health, ecological balance, and biodiversity.
Fair Trade certification focuses on people and trade. It establishes social, economic, and environmental standards for participating producers and businesses. Depending on the certifying system, this can include price protections, additional community premiums, labor standards, and support for democratic producer organizations.
Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification focuses on habitat. Bird Friendly farms must first meet organic certification requirements. They must also maintain specific levels of shade, forest structure, and plant diversity that provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
A coffee can carry more than one certification. Organic addresses how the coffee is cultivated. Fair Trade addresses how it moves through economic and social relationships. Bird Friendly adds verified habitat requirements. Together, they give coffee drinkers a fuller understanding of what their coffee supports.
About The Author
Lavender Grace Kent, Head of Brand Narrative & Culture
Lavender Grace documents Thanksgiving Coffee’s history, producer relationships, environmental commitments, and continuing work at the intersection of coffee, culture, and biodiversity.
Stay in touch - we like to stay connected
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![Brewing Possibility: Our 2024 Impact Report]()
Our 2024 Impact Report
At Thanksgiving Coffee, every roast begins with a question: What really matters?
In 2024, we found answers by listening—to farmers, to customers, to our team, and to the land. The result is the most honest and grounded Impact Report (pdf) yet: a reflection of where we’ve been and where we’re headed next.
As we simplify our product line to focus on what we do best, we’re holding tight to the relationships and regenerative values that have always defined our work. That means sourcing from smallholder cooperatives, supporting ecological resilience, and roasting every bean with care and intention.
“Coffee, when done right, Is A Relationship.”
In 2024, we listened more deeply than ever:
⭐ 88.9% of our green coffee was Certified Organic
⭐ $91,529 donated to causes we care about
⭐ Verified health and income gains from clean energy investments in Uganda
⭐ Roasting with purpose for 52 years and countingOur Ongoing Commitments
We remain committed to being ethically sourced and artisan roasted, maintaining over 88% of our coffees certified Organic, and guiding all purchases by our Purchasing for a Healthier Planet criteria. (This criteria was established in 1995 and is still going strong.)
While we're retiring many of our Cause Coffees this year, a few important ones will remain and their impact continues. From restoring pollinator habitat to protecting migratory bird forests, your daily cup still fuels change where it’s needed most.
Biodiversity loss is one of the most urgent challenges of our time, and we’re proud to stand with the growers, ecologists, and educators who are working to reverse it—one forest, one garden, one farm at a time.
Past Impact Reports
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Brewing Possibility: Our 2024 Impact Report
read more
Our 2024 Impact Report
At Thanksgiving Coffee, every roast begins with a question: What really matters?
In 2024, we found answers by listening—to farmers, to customers, to our team, and to the land. The result is the most honest and grounded Impact Report (pdf) yet: a reflection of where we’ve been and where we’re headed next.
As we simplify our product line to focus on what we do best, we’re holding tight to the relationships and regenerative values that have always defined our work. That means sourcing from smallholder cooperatives, supporting ecological resilience, and roasting every bean with care and intention.
“Coffee, when done right, Is A Relationship.”
In 2024, we listened more deeply than ever:
⭐ 88.9% of our green coffee was Certified Organic
⭐ $91,529 donated to causes we care about
⭐ Verified health and income gains from clean energy investments in Uganda
⭐ Roasting with purpose for 52 years and counting
Our Ongoing Commitments
We remain committed to being ethically sourced and artisan roasted, maintaining over 88% of our coffees certified Organic, and guiding all purchases by our Purchasing for a Healthier Planet criteria. (This criteria was established in 1995 and is still going strong.)
While we're retiring many of our Cause Coffees this year, a few important ones will remain and their impact continues. From restoring pollinator habitat to protecting migratory bird forests, your daily cup still fuels change where it’s needed most.
Biodiversity loss is one of the most urgent challenges of our time, and we’re proud to stand with the growers, ecologists, and educators who are working to reverse it—one forest, one garden, one farm at a time.
Past Impact Reports
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company