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Beyond The Bean: Buzzing with Biodiversity
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Beyond The Bean: Buzzing with Biodiversity
Your morning coffee can be more than just a boost—it can drive positive change. With our Smithsonian Bird Friendly® certification and our Bee Bold Alliance initiative, we're turning your daily coffee ritual into a force for good. Here's how we're making waves in the world of sustainable agriculture while serving up exceptional coffee.
Butterfly on coffee leaf, Soppexxcca Coop, Nicaragua
Cultivating Natural Ecosystems
Our coffee farming goes beyond conventional methods. We nurture complete ecosystems where coffee plants thrive alongside native flora and fauna. A single coffee tree can support over 100 insect species, enhancing biodiversity on our farms.
coffee beans ripening in the understory of the forest canopy
Our Environmental Commitments
Our commitment to biodiversity is reflected in two key initiatives:
AT ORIGIN
Smithsonian Bird Friendly ® Certification: This certification is literally the environmental gold standard in the sustainable coffee industry. As holders of the Smithsonian Bird Friendly® certification since 2015, we adhere to the most comprehensive, science-based standards in the coffee industry. This certification requires:
- Multiple layers of native tree canopy providing crucial wildlife habitat
- USDA Organic certification as a foundation, ensuring chemical-free farming
- Regular third-party inspections verifying our environmental impact
- Documented support of migratory birds and local biodiversity
Did you know? A single coffee tree on a certified farm can support over 100 distinct insect species!
AT HOME
The Bee Bold Alliance: This is our initiative to restore biodiversity and support local food security through pollinator protection. The vision is to create a regenerative ecology network in our community for comprehensive pollinator protection. Here are the key principles guiding our path forward:
- Protecting the Soil: We're working toward eliminating harmful pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides from our farming practices. This transition aims to create healthier environments for pollinators while maintaining productive coffee cultivation.
- Watershed Stewardship: Our growing commitment includes developing better water conservation practices, reducing fertilizer usage, and implementing responsible waste management systems.
- Fostering Pollinator Forage: We're exploring ways to integrate more flowering plants throughout our local farms, aiming to provide year-round nutrition that supports healthy pollinator populations.
- Honoring Indigenous Wisdom: We're beginning to build relationships with Native/First Nation peoples in our growing regions, seeking to learn from their traditional knowledge and collaborate on sustainable solutions for the future.
We're reaching out to neighboring farms and communities, inviting them to join us in protecting pollinators. This initiative is beginning to form, and we believe that together, we can create meaningful change.
The Impact of Your Coffee Choice
We believe in the power of collective action. Here are ways you can participate in this journey:
-
Choose coffee that aligns with your environmental values
-
Cultivate native wildflowers in your garden or community spaces
-
Consider natural pest management practices
-
Create undisturbed areas in your garden to provide natural habitats
-
Learn about pollinator-friendly plants suitable for your local ecosystem
Moving Forward Together
We're at an exciting point in our environmental journey, where your choice of coffee can help shape future agricultural practices. Our Bird Friendly® certified coffee demonstrates our established commitment to environmental stewardship, while our developing Bee Bold Coffee initiative shows where we're heading. By choosing these products, you're not just selecting quality coffee—you're supporting the evolution of sustainable and pollinator-friendly agriculture.
Join us on this journey toward biodiversity conservation through sustainable agriculture. Your support through choosing our Bird Friendly® certified coffee and Bee Bold Coffee helps create positive environmental change, one cup at a time.
Lavender Grace is the Sustainable Ecology Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Recommended Reading
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![Women Brew the Future | Flor de Jinotega]()
The Just Cup of Her Hands
There are hands behind every coffee harvest.
Hands that plant seedlings beneath shade trees.
Hands that sort cherries at dusk.
Hands that manage homes, finances, children, and crops.
Hands that rarely make the headlines.This March, during Women’s History Month, we honor the women who quite literally brew the future.
Our featured coffee is Flor de Jinotega, grown by the women and families of the SOPPEXCCA Cooperative in Nicaragua. This single origin is available in 5lb format for foodservice and serious home brewers, this coffee represents something steady and powerful: economic dignity rooted in community.
This is shade-grown Nicaraguan coffee cultivated under diverse canopy trees. Those trees do more than protect flavor. They provide winter habitat for migratory songbirds and preserve soil integrity for future generations.
We have long believed that quality of life and quality of coffee go hand in hand. When farmers thrive, flavor deepens.
Origin: Jinotega, Nicaragua
Producer: SOPPEXCCA Cooperative
Growing Method: Shade-grown
Roast: MediumFlavor Profile
Cocoa warmth
Soft citrus brightness
Balanced sweetness
A grounded, elegant finish
Women In Coffee Farming:
Recognizing The Unpaid Work
Across Latin America, women perform critical agricultural labor while also carrying the majority of unpaid household work. Historically, much of that contribution has not been financially recognized.
SOPPEXCCA has worked intentionally to change this dynamic.
Through Fairtrade premiums and internal cooperative programs, they invest in:
- Women’s leadership roles within the cooperative
- Access to land titles
- Financial literacy training
- Micro-loan opportunities
- Educational advancement for children
This is not symbolic empowerment. It is structural empowerment.
And when women gain economic agency, farms become more resilient. Environmental stewardship strengthens. Communities stabilize.
That alignment between social justice and ecological care reflects the very heart of our founding philosophy.
Recipe: Cardamom Rose Coffee Cake
Made with Flor de Jinotega
This cake mirrors the coffee’s balance with floral lift, warm spice, grounded sweetness.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup brewed Flor de Jinotega (cooled)
½ cup yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp crushed cardamom
1 tbsp culinary rosewater
½ cup olive oil
Pinch sea saltMethod
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8–9 inch pan.Whisk eggs and sugar until slightly lightened. Add olive oil, yogurt, cooled coffee, and rosewater.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cardamom, and salt. Fold into wet ingredients gently, just until combined.
Pour into pan and bake 35–40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Rest 10 minutes before removing.
Optional Finish
Drizzle with a light almond glaze or scatter sliced almonds before baking for a subtle crunch.Serve warm with a fresh cup of Flor de Jinotega. The cocoa and citrus notes carry the spice beautifully.
Spring Equinox & Renewal
March 20 marks the Spring Equinox — a moment of balance between light and dark.
There is something fitting about pairing that moment with a coffee grown under shade canopy, where light filters through branches in measured generosity.
Women in coffee farming embody that balance daily, production and protection, leadership and care, labor and love.
All Blends: Brewing Community Together
While Flor de Jinotega is our March spotlight, we also invite you to explore our full collection of coffee blends:
Each roast represents long-term partnership and artisanal roasting rooted in Mendocino’s coastal legacy.
Flor de Jinotega is currently available in 5lb format — ideal for cafés, offices, restaurants, and serious home brewers who believe coffee should carry meaning.
Why It Matters
More than 125 million people globally depend on coffee farming for their livelihood. When we center women in that equation, we strengthen the entire system.
This is what we mean when we say we are brewing a movement of justice, sustainability, and hope
Women brew the future.
We simply help tell the story.👉 Brew With Us
• Shop Flor de Jinotega (5lb)
• Explore all Thanksgiving Coffee blends
• Share your brew on Instagram during Women’s History Month
• Tag us for a chance to be featuredBecause every just cup begins in someone’s hands.
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Women Brew the Future | Flor de Jinotega
read more -
![A Just Cup: The Story Behind the First Environmental Committee in Specialty Coffee]()
In the early years of specialty coffee, before “sustainability” was a familiar word, a handful of roasters and importers began to ask for more of the coffee trade. What if quality wasn’t just in the cup, but in the care behind it? What if environmental responsibility and economic fairness were part of the definition of great coffee?
A Just Cup: The Story Behind the First Environmental Committee in Specialty Coffee
This is the story of how those questions led to the creation of the first Environmental Committee within the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) - and how one small roaster on the Mendocino Coast helped spark that shift. Thanksgiving Coffee Company's co-founder Paul Katzeff was among those early voices. His journey began with a simple desire to source flavorful beans and quickly evolved into something much deeper.
Paul Katzeff in the early days with original coffee roaster
From Flavor to Justice: Nicaragua, 1985
In 1985, Paul traveled to Nicaragua at the request of a nurse who had returned from the war zone with a sample of coffee and a plea: support small-scale farmers by helping them sell their crop. At the time, Paul was President of the newly formed SCAA and still searching for “the perfect cup.”
But once he arrived in the mountains, what he witnessed changed him forever: families living without electricity or clean water, cooking in smoke-filled homes, doing their best to survive. “Coffee flavor was no longer my obsession,” Paul later said. “I came home and changed our motto from ‘In Search of the Perfect Cup’ to ‘Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup.’”
What began as a sourcing trip became a calling.
Women cooking in Nicaragua Photo by Paul Katzeff
Roasting Coffee, Nicaragua style, 1985
Elder Grinding Coffee - photo by Paul Katzeff
Paul Playing Ball, Nicagarua 1985
Rewriting the Rules of Trade
After President Reagan imposed an embargo on Nicaragua, Paul rerouted coffee shipments through Canada, where a Fair Trade roaster helped him finish the coffee and legally import it to the U.S. He then launched one of the first cause-driven blends: Café por la Paz (Coffee for Peace), donating 25 cents from every bag to support farming cooperatives in Nicaragua.
These weren’t marketing strategies. They were moral commitments, rooted in firsthand experience and a belief that business could be a tool for justice.
“We didn’t call it sustainability,” Paul recalls. “We just did the work.”
From Observation to Action
Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Thanksgiving Coffee took concrete environmental action.
- We financed the planting of 75,000 shade trees in Ethiopia through Trees for the Future.
- We converted our delivery fleet to biodiesel, the first commercial fleet in California to do so.
- Our team paid attention to soil health, biodiversity, and forest preservation before there were certifications that would then require it.
The company soon began receiving awards and recognition for our work.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Delivery Van circa 1990's
Solidaridad Coop, Shade Grown Song Bird Coffee Farmers - Nicaragua 1996 photo by Paul Katzeff
Beyond Organics: A New Framework
In 1996, Paul presented a groundbreaking green coffee buying framework at the first Sustainability and Coffee Conference hosted by the Smithsonian. Called “Beyond Organics,” the system recognized a range of environmental and social practices: shade-grown coffee, indigenous land stewardship, cooperative participation, biodiversity protection, and more.
The idea was simple: not all progress looks the same, but every step matters.
Read Original Green Buying Criteria here
Building a Committee with a Conscience
As more members of the SCAA began asking hard questions, Paul and a handful of allies proposed forming the first Environmental Committee. It was an uphill battle.
“There was resistance,” Paul admits. “Many in the industry believed a trade association wasn’t the place for politics or activism. But we weren’t pushing politics. We were elevating values.”
That committee—eventually renamed the Sustainability Committee—brought structure, credibility, and accountability to the growing movement. It evaluated certifications, supported origin-based initiatives, and helped small brands tell honest, impactful stories.
2000: A Defining Year
When Paul chaired the SCAA’s 12th Annual Conference in San Francisco, he centered the event around three themes: Quality, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility. It marked a turning point.
During his keynote, he challenged the industry to consider the human cost of low coffee prices. He announced a USAID grant to build cupping labs in Nicaragua, giving farmers tools to taste, evaluate, and price their own coffee for the first time.
The message was clear: coffee is about people.
Paul with a Campasino and connecting with the children of Nicaragua
What We Built Together
Since then, the specialty coffee industry has changed. Terms like fair trade, carbon-neutral, and regenerative are more common. But behind those terms are decades of work from small companies like ours.
Thanksgiving Coffee:
- Supported origin cooperatives through financial transparency
- Donated to reforestation and clean water initiatives
- Converted our delivery fleet to biofuel
- Featured farmers on our packaging before it was common practice
- Advocated for certifications with rigor, not shortcuts
Why This Story Matters
As the coffee industry continues to face global challenges such as climate change, greenwashing, and pricing instability - it helps to remember where the values came from.
We share this story to honor the path we’ve walked with our partners, our customers, and our peers. We’re still learning. We’re still evolving. And we’re still committed to using coffee as a tool for possibility.
Shop the Coffees That Carry This Legacy
Paul’s Blend – Founders’ Legacy Roast
A bold, meaningful medium-dark roast named for our co-founder, honoring 50+ years of leadership in coffee and justice.Or Try the Origin Masters
These small-lot coffees are from pioneering cooperatives including: UCA Miraflor and CECOCAFEN
the co-architects of the world’s first farmer-owned cupping labs.Sold outSold outSold out
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Stay in touch - we like to stay connected
A Just Cup: The Story Behind the First Environmental Committee in Specialty Coffee
read more
![Learn](<a%20href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Contra_commandas_1987.jpg">Contra%20Commandas%201987</a>){kind=link}
The Just Cup of Her Hands
There are hands behind every coffee harvest.
Hands that plant seedlings beneath shade trees.
Hands that sort cherries at dusk.
Hands that manage homes, finances, children, and crops.
Hands that rarely make the headlines.
This March, during Women’s History Month, we honor the women who quite literally brew the future.
Our featured coffee is Flor de Jinotega, grown by the women and families of the SOPPEXCCA Cooperative in Nicaragua. This single origin is available in 5lb format for foodservice and serious home brewers, this coffee represents something steady and powerful: economic dignity rooted in community.
This is shade-grown Nicaraguan coffee cultivated under diverse canopy trees. Those trees do more than protect flavor. They provide winter habitat for migratory songbirds and preserve soil integrity for future generations.
We have long believed that quality of life and quality of coffee go hand in hand. When farmers thrive, flavor deepens.
Origin: Jinotega, Nicaragua
Producer: SOPPEXCCA Cooperative
Growing Method: Shade-grown
Roast: Medium
Flavor Profile
Cocoa warmth
Soft citrus brightness
Balanced sweetness
A grounded, elegant finish
Women In Coffee Farming:
Recognizing The Unpaid Work
Across Latin America, women perform critical agricultural labor while also carrying the majority of unpaid household work. Historically, much of that contribution has not been financially recognized.
SOPPEXCCA has worked intentionally to change this dynamic.
Through Fairtrade premiums and internal cooperative programs, they invest in:
- Women’s leadership roles within the cooperative
- Access to land titles
- Financial literacy training
- Micro-loan opportunities
- Educational advancement for children
This is not symbolic empowerment. It is structural empowerment.
And when women gain economic agency, farms become more resilient. Environmental stewardship strengthens. Communities stabilize.
That alignment between social justice and ecological care reflects the very heart of our founding philosophy.
Recipe: Cardamom Rose Coffee Cake
Made with Flor de Jinotega
This cake mirrors the coffee’s balance with floral lift, warm spice, grounded sweetness.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup brewed Flor de Jinotega (cooled)
½ cup yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp crushed cardamom
1 tbsp culinary rosewater
½ cup olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8–9 inch pan.
Whisk eggs and sugar until slightly lightened. Add olive oil, yogurt, cooled coffee, and rosewater.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cardamom, and salt. Fold into wet ingredients gently, just until combined.
Pour into pan and bake 35–40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Rest 10 minutes before removing.
Optional Finish
Drizzle with a light almond glaze or scatter sliced almonds before baking for a subtle crunch.
Serve warm with a fresh cup of Flor de Jinotega. The cocoa and citrus notes carry the spice beautifully.
Spring Equinox & Renewal
March 20 marks the Spring Equinox — a moment of balance between light and dark.
There is something fitting about pairing that moment with a coffee grown under shade canopy, where light filters through branches in measured generosity.
Women in coffee farming embody that balance daily, production and protection, leadership and care, labor and love.
All Blends: Brewing Community Together
While Flor de Jinotega is our March spotlight, we also invite you to explore our full collection of coffee blends:
Each roast represents long-term partnership and artisanal roasting rooted in Mendocino’s coastal legacy.
Flor de Jinotega is currently available in 5lb format — ideal for cafés, offices, restaurants, and serious home brewers who believe coffee should carry meaning.
Why It Matters
More than 125 million people globally depend on coffee farming for their livelihood. When we center women in that equation, we strengthen the entire system.
This is what we mean when we say we are brewing a movement of justice, sustainability, and hope
Women brew the future.
We simply help tell the story.
👉 Brew With Us
• Shop Flor de Jinotega (5lb)
• Explore all Thanksgiving Coffee blends
• Share your brew on Instagram during Women’s History Month
• Tag us for a chance to be featured
Because every just cup begins in someone’s hands.
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Women Brew the Future | Flor de Jinotega
read more
In the early years of specialty coffee, before “sustainability” was a familiar word, a handful of roasters and importers began to ask for more of the coffee trade. What if quality wasn’t just in the cup, but in the care behind it? What if environmental responsibility and economic fairness were part of the definition of great coffee?
A Just Cup: The Story Behind the First Environmental Committee in Specialty Coffee
This is the story of how those questions led to the creation of the first Environmental Committee within the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) - and how one small roaster on the Mendocino Coast helped spark that shift. Thanksgiving Coffee Company's co-founder Paul Katzeff was among those early voices. His journey began with a simple desire to source flavorful beans and quickly evolved into something much deeper.
Paul Katzeff in the early days with original coffee roaster
From Flavor to Justice: Nicaragua, 1985
In 1985, Paul traveled to Nicaragua at the request of a nurse who had returned from the war zone with a sample of coffee and a plea: support small-scale farmers by helping them sell their crop. At the time, Paul was President of the newly formed SCAA and still searching for “the perfect cup.”
But once he arrived in the mountains, what he witnessed changed him forever: families living without electricity or clean water, cooking in smoke-filled homes, doing their best to survive. “Coffee flavor was no longer my obsession,” Paul later said. “I came home and changed our motto from ‘In Search of the Perfect Cup’ to ‘Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup.’”
What began as a sourcing trip became a calling.
Women cooking in Nicaragua Photo by Paul Katzeff
Roasting Coffee, Nicaragua style, 1985
Elder Grinding Coffee - photo by Paul Katzeff
Paul Playing Ball, Nicagarua 1985
Rewriting the Rules of Trade
After President Reagan imposed an embargo on Nicaragua, Paul rerouted coffee shipments through Canada, where a Fair Trade roaster helped him finish the coffee and legally import it to the U.S. He then launched one of the first cause-driven blends: Café por la Paz (Coffee for Peace), donating 25 cents from every bag to support farming cooperatives in Nicaragua.
These weren’t marketing strategies. They were moral commitments, rooted in firsthand experience and a belief that business could be a tool for justice.
“We didn’t call it sustainability,” Paul recalls. “We just did the work.”
From Observation to Action
Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Thanksgiving Coffee took concrete environmental action.
- We financed the planting of 75,000 shade trees in Ethiopia through Trees for the Future.
- We converted our delivery fleet to biodiesel, the first commercial fleet in California to do so.
- Our team paid attention to soil health, biodiversity, and forest preservation before there were certifications that would then require it.
The company soon began receiving awards and recognition for our work.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Delivery Van circa 1990's
Solidaridad Coop, Shade Grown Song Bird Coffee Farmers - Nicaragua 1996 photo by Paul Katzeff
Beyond Organics: A New Framework
In 1996, Paul presented a groundbreaking green coffee buying framework at the first Sustainability and Coffee Conference hosted by the Smithsonian. Called “Beyond Organics,” the system recognized a range of environmental and social practices: shade-grown coffee, indigenous land stewardship, cooperative participation, biodiversity protection, and more.
The idea was simple: not all progress looks the same, but every step matters.
Read Original Green Buying Criteria here
Building a Committee with a Conscience
As more members of the SCAA began asking hard questions, Paul and a handful of allies proposed forming the first Environmental Committee. It was an uphill battle.
“There was resistance,” Paul admits. “Many in the industry believed a trade association wasn’t the place for politics or activism. But we weren’t pushing politics. We were elevating values.”
That committee—eventually renamed the Sustainability Committee—brought structure, credibility, and accountability to the growing movement. It evaluated certifications, supported origin-based initiatives, and helped small brands tell honest, impactful stories.
2000: A Defining Year
When Paul chaired the SCAA’s 12th Annual Conference in San Francisco, he centered the event around three themes: Quality, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility. It marked a turning point.
During his keynote, he challenged the industry to consider the human cost of low coffee prices. He announced a USAID grant to build cupping labs in Nicaragua, giving farmers tools to taste, evaluate, and price their own coffee for the first time.
The message was clear: coffee is about people.
Paul with a Campasino and connecting with the children of Nicaragua
What We Built Together
Since then, the specialty coffee industry has changed. Terms like fair trade, carbon-neutral, and regenerative are more common. But behind those terms are decades of work from small companies like ours.
Thanksgiving Coffee:
- Supported origin cooperatives through financial transparency
- Donated to reforestation and clean water initiatives
- Converted our delivery fleet to biofuel
- Featured farmers on our packaging before it was common practice
- Advocated for certifications with rigor, not shortcuts
Why This Story Matters
As the coffee industry continues to face global challenges such as climate change, greenwashing, and pricing instability - it helps to remember where the values came from.
We share this story to honor the path we’ve walked with our partners, our customers, and our peers. We’re still learning. We’re still evolving. And we’re still committed to using coffee as a tool for possibility.
Shop the Coffees That Carry This Legacy
Paul’s Blend – Founders’ Legacy Roast
A bold, meaningful medium-dark roast named for our co-founder, honoring 50+ years of leadership in coffee and justice.
Or Try the Origin Masters
These small-lot coffees are from pioneering cooperatives including: UCA Miraflor and CECOCAFEN
the co-architects of the world’s first farmer-owned cupping labs.
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Stay in touch - we like to stay connected
A Just Cup: The Story Behind the First Environmental Committee in Specialty Coffee
read more
Taste the Bright Future of Coffee
- Tasting Notes: Vibrant citrus, delicate florals, and a smooth honey finish
- Mouthfeel: Silky and refreshing, with a bright, clean finish
- Perfect for: Pour over, drip, or French press—ideal for your morning clarity ritual
Rwanda Single Origin Coffee with citrus, floral, and honey tasting notes from Dukunde Kawa.
Why Dukunde Kawa Coffee Matters
Dukunde Kawa means “Let’s love coffee”—a name that reflects their commitment to people, planet, and flavor. This Rwandan cooperative is internationally recognized for combining exceptional quality with climate action.
- 2,500+ clean cook stoves installed, reducing wood use by 70%
- Tree nurseries restoring biodiversity and combating soil erosion
- Women’s leadership with 80% women participation at the Ruli washing station
Every bag of Rwanda Single Origin supports these impactful programs, making every cup an act of regeneration and reciprocity.
Sources: Dukunde Kawa Sustainability Programs and Thanksgiving Coffee Dukunde Kawa Story
Rwanda Coffee Farm
Brew a Better Morning, Support a Better Future
- Support healthier homes with clean cook stove initiatives
- Restore forests and farms through reforestation efforts
- Empower women farmers, nurturing local leadership
Recipe: Cold Brew for Summer Brightness
- Coarse grind 1 cup of beans
- Steep in 4 cups of filtered water for 12-14 hours
- Serve over ice with a twist of fresh orange peel
Explore More Flavor Stories
Lavender Grace is the Sustainable Ecology Advocate for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Stay in touch - we like to stay connected