Brewing Hope: A Story of Bees, Coffee, and Connection

Ariel view of the Noyo Harbor with original roastery and new roastery

Paul’s Blend is designed to be approachable, balanced, and deeply satisfying—an everyday coffee shaped by decades of craft and care.

Tasting Notes:

• Blueberry and gentle fruit sweetness
• Smooth cocoa and milk chocolate tones
• Soft cashew nuttiness
• Clean, comforting finish

It’s a coffee that meets you in the morning and stays with you through the day - expressive without being loud, familiar yet layered, and grounded in the flavors Paul has always loved most.

Paul's Blend is one of the award-winning coffee roasts from our 2017 Roaster of the Year prize.

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and the Roots of Economic Justice

January is also a time to honor leaders who shaped the path toward justice, dignity, and shared responsibility. As we observe Martin Luther King Jr., we reflect on Dr. King’s enduring belief that civil rights and economic justice are inseparable - that a truly just society must honor the dignity of labor and ensure fairness within the systems that sustain everyday life.

Dr. King spoke often about the moral responsibility of both institutions and individuals, calling for an economy rooted in respect, equity, and human worth. He believed that progress is built not only through historic moments, but through consistent, values-driven actions - often quiet and unseen- that collectively shape the future.

Choosing where your coffee comes from is one of those choices. Every cup of Paul’s Blend supports long-standing relationships, ethical sourcing, and a belief that economic fairness begins with respect and reciprocity.

The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where civil rights and economic justice were brought together in a call for dignity, fair labor, and shared humanity.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom stands as a powerful reminder that the movement for civil rights was also a movement for economic justice. It called for fair labor, living wages, and systems that recognize the full dignity of every person’s work.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. understood that justice must be woven into daily life - from wages and work to how communities care for one another. As we reflect on this moment in January, we are reminded that meaningful change is carried forward through sustained commitment and everyday choices - values lived out not only in moments of history, but in the practices we choose to uphold.

Paul’s East Harlem Buying Club, 1962

These photographs document a food buying club organized by mothers in East Harlem in 1962, operating out of the basement of a public housing project. Faced with high food prices, limited access to fresh ingredients, and the daily pressures of poverty, these women came together to solve a shared problem: food security for their families.

By pooling resources and purchasing food collectively, they lowered household food costs and increased disposable income - profits were shared, and expenses reduced through cooperation rather than competition. The food they sourced reflected their own cultural traditions, allowing families to eat healthier, familiar meals while maintaining dignity and autonomy.

Mothers in East Harlem working together in 1962 to organize a cooperative food buying club, using collective purchasing to improve food access, reduce costs, and strengthen community resilience. Photos by Paul Katzeff

An unexpected outcome emerged alongside the economic impact. The act of solving a community problem together fostered pride, hope, and a renewed sense of agency. The enthusiasm visible in these images reflects more than a transaction - it reveals the mental and emotional benefits of collective action and women-led leadership.

This grassroots model would later inform the next generation of food cooperatives, including Ukiah Natural Foods, and ultimately influence the cooperative principles that shaped businesses like Whole Foods Market. Long before “alternative food systems” entered the mainstream, these women demonstrated that necessity, creativity, and cooperation could build resilience from the ground up.

The values that shaped this moment - cooperation, dignity, and shared prosperity - would later shape how Paul approached coffee. Paul’s Blend carries that lineage forward, offering a daily ritual grounded in justice, relationship, and care.

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To our farmers, our Mendocino community, and everyone who shares this daily ritual with us - thank you.

Your cup carries our roots forward.

Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™

In 2008, the interfaith coffee farmers of East Africa and Thanksgiving Coffee Company were honored with the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University.

The award recognized:

• our commitment to ethical and fair trade;
  
• our work empowering and connecting farmers and consumers;
  
• our pursuit of economic and social justice and environmental sustainability;
  
• and our belief that every person can help create a more peaceful world.

For us, this wasn’t simply a recognition of the past, but a compass for the future. It affirmed what has always been at the heart of Thanksgiving Coffee: coffee as a bridge between cultures, between faiths, and between people who may never meet but are deeply connected through the choices we make every day.

Our relationship with Rwanda began in 2004, when Co-Founder Joan Katzeff traveled there to establish her first solo international partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. It was a defining moment in our history — a woman-led sourcing journey rooted in relationship, ecological responsibility, and courage.

In 2005, Co-Founder Paul Katzeff followed as part of a USAID initiative, working alongside Rwandan cooperatives to develop cupping labs and strengthen farmer-led quality. Together, Joan and Paul built a partnership that connected coffee farming, community renewal, and gorilla conservation across almost two decades.

Through this collaboration, we launched the Gorilla Fund Cause Coffee line in 2005, using Fairtrade Rwandan coffee to support the protection of mountain gorillas and the communities who share their habitat. In 2017, we expanded this legacy with Grauer’s Gorilla Coffee, made with Organic and Fairtrade beans from the Congo to support critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas.

In total, our Gorilla Fund Coffees raised $106,209 to support conservation, education, and habitat protection in Rwanda and the Congo.

This partnership reflects the heart of our ethos: a cup that protects life, uplifts communities, and strengthens the ecosystems we all share.

How to Practice Global Citizenship with Your Cup

Global citizenship can feel like a big idea, but it lives in very small, daily choices.

Here are a few simple ways to bring this theme to life:

• Brew with intention. Take a quiet moment to acknowledge the farmers, land, and hands that brought this coffee to you.
• Learn a farmer story. Visit our blog and read more about our origin partners and interfaith cooperative work.
• Share a cup. Make Rwanda coffee for a friend, neighbor, or coworker, and tell them a bit about the people behind the beans.
• Leave a review. Your feedback helps us tell farmer stories and grow support for relationship-grown coffee.
• Stay connected. Join our email list for monthly stories from origin, regenerative sourcing updates, and recipe pairings.

Every time you choose coffee that honors the people and our planet, you’re participating in a different kind of economy. An economy that is rooted in gratitude, reciprocity, and long-term relationship.

• Impact Report 2022-23
• Inaugural Impact Report 2021