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New Arrival of Byron's Blend
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New Arrival : Byron's Blend
A new fresh shipment from the Corrales Martinez Family farm has just arrived to our roastery, and this coffee tastes great! This is one of our Single Origin coffee's and it has the destinct flavors and qualities from Los Piños in Nicaragua.
The Corrales family manages and operates 5 farms in Matagalpa and Jinotega, though finca Los Pinos in Aranjuez is considered their home base. This blend is a mix of the natural and the Maracatura varietals (a hybrid developed by Byron Corrales), and is light-roasted here at Thanksgiving Coffee in Fort Bragg, CA.
Byron's Blend Grown by the Corrales Martinez Family Farm
Located in the northern region of Nicaragua is Finca Los Piños. This region produces approximately 83.80% of the national coffee production and has exceptional agro-ecological conditions. They are located in the community of Aranjuez, belonging to the department of Matagalpa. Los Piños farm is part of the El Arenal Natural Reserve, at an altitude of about 1500 meters, where the waters that feed the great Apanas lake are born.
Corrales is a visionary farmer, and pioneer in the application of biodynamic farming practices to coffee production. Maracaturra is a truly exceptional coffee that’s more akin to its cousins in the highlands of East Africa than its neighbors in Central America.
Altitude: 15,000 meters
Processing: Natural and Washed, blended
Cooperative: Corrales Matinez Family Farm
Varietal: Maracaturra, Caturra, Catuai
Byron Jose Corrales Martinez left and Mayra and Byron Corrales right
Ready to try this amazing coffee blend from the Corrales family in Nicaragua?
Recommended Reading
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![Roots & Regeneration: Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture]()
Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture
High in Nicaragua's pristine Arenal Forest Reserve, at 1,500 meters above sea level, Finca los Pinos stands as a testament to agricultural transformation. Here, Byron Corrales and his family have spent over four decades pioneering a different way of farming coffee. Since embracing organic practices in 1986, they've developed an innovative approach that works in perfect harmony with nature. Through their dedication to biodynamic farming, they've not only twice earned top honors for their extraordinary coffee, but they've also created a model for sustainable agriculture that's changing how we think about coffee cultivation.
Sarah Corrales on her families coffee farm
Byron Corrales hugging a tree on his family coffee farm
A Legacy of Excellence
Our relationship with the Corrales family spans three generations, witnessing their evolution from traditional farming to becoming leaders in biodynamic agriculture. Byron's innovative spirit led him to develop the exceptional Maracaturra variety, a unique hybrid that produces remarkably large beans – distinctively bigger than typical Arabica coffee beans. This size isn't just for show; it allows for exceptional taste elements that smaller beans simply cannot achieve, delivering a remarkable sweetness and richness in every cup.
Benita Corrales, Byron's mother
The first meeting with Thanksgiving Coffee Company in 1992- Left Byron Corrales, Right Arnulfo Corrales
Arnulfo Corrales, Byron's father
Left to right - Thanksgiving Coffee's Co-Founder Paul Katzeff, Byron Corrales, and Nick Hodgkins (Etico -The ethical trading company)
the Art Of Processing
Byron with drying natural Maracaturra coffee beans.
Corrales' artisanal approach to processing begins long before the cherries reach the beneficio (drying patio). On his farm, every element serves an integral function in creating exceptional coffee. This includes the carefully selected forage crops sustaining his cattle, whose manure enriches the compost used around the coffee trees, as well as the diverse pollinators - from honeybees to other beneficial insects - that support optimal cherry development.
For Corrales, successful coffee processing stems from creating a balanced, thriving ecosystem that produces the highest quality cherries possible for processing. This foundation of environmental harmony directly influences the clarity and complexity of his final cup.
The Natural process is when the coffee cherries are dried whole, without removing the pulp or using water or machines, and has become Byron’s preferred method for many reasons, as he explained in this video. It is a very good choice to reduce the use of fossil fuels and for water conservation, as well as the added antioxidant health benefits.
The Living Systems Of Los Pinos
At Finca los Pinos, every element serves multiple purposes in an intricate dance of mutual support:
- Native and planted trees provide essential shade and soil health
- Free-ranging cattle contribute to natural fertilization cycles
- Coffee cherry pulp (cascara) is recycled into nutritious cattle feed
- Birds and beneficial insects maintain natural pest control
- Pine trees create unique conditions that enhance both soil and coffee quality
Los Pinos coffee farm looking out over the forest
Soil: The Foundation of Life
Byron Corrales with his hands full of soil
Byron's approach to soil health demonstrates the core principles of regenerative agriculture. "The farmers that produce with agrochemicals and herbicides destroy the life of the soil," he observes. "We protect it." This protection includes:
- Maintaining ground cover to retain moisture
- Supporting microorganism and mycorrhizal networks
- Using natural fertilization methods
- Working with, rather than against, natural processes
“I feel really happy that those who drink my coffee are drinking a cup of life”
Byron Corrales
Climate Resilience Through Diversity
Great video produced by Viva La Finca - Virtual origin experience - Byron Corrales of Finca Los Pinos
Understanding the challenges of climate change, Byron has implemented robust adaptation strategies:
- Diverse tree species for enhanced shade coverage
- Strengthened soil biology
- Natural mineral enrichment
- Water conservation systems
The Unique Maracaturra Experience
This regenerative approach culminates in the cultivation of Maracaturra, a special variety found only at Finca los Pinos. This unique hybrid of Maragoype and Caturra (Bourbon) produces a truly exceptional coffee with:
- Juicy apricot aromatics
- Rich cashew nuttiness
- A deeply toned sweet cacao finish
- Remarkable sweetness unique to the large bean size
- Complex flavor elements impossible to achieve with conventional varieties
A Vision for the Future
"I want to transmit our family's art, our work of many years, discovering the flavors we've learned to bring forth from our mountains, expressed in this cup by way of respect for our environment," Byron shares. This respect for environment and commitment to regenerative practices creates coffee that is, in Byron's words, "the expression of life and the life energy of all the living beings who live in our community."
The Corrales Family from a visit to Nicaragua.
Sold outEach cup of Byron's coffee embodies a powerful truth: regenerative agriculture can produce extraordinary coffee while healing the earth.
Our Byron's Blend is where ancient farming wisdom meets modern artistry. By masterfully combining washed and natural processed Maracaturra coffees, we create a harmonious cup that showcases the finest expressions of both methods. The result is more than a blend – it's a testament to coffee craftsmanship at its peak.
As Byron himself reminds us with characteristic wisdom: we are "celebrating with joy the responsibility of protecting the future of our generations." In every sip, you taste that promise.
Lavender Grace is the Director of Brand Narritive and Culture for Thanksgiving Coffee Company.
Roots & Regeneration: Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture
read more -
![Thanksgiving Coffee Wins GOLD]()
A Heartfelt Thank You From the Mendocino Coast
We are honored - and humbled - to share that Thanksgiving Coffee Company has been awarded the 2025 Readers’ Choice GOLD Award for Best Coffee in Lake & Mendocino Counties.
This one means a lot.
For more than 52 years, our roasting team has kept the fires burning here on the Fort Bragg harbor, crafting ethical, sustainable coffee as a daily practice of gratitude. To be recognized by our own community, our neighbors, and our longtime customers is the greatest award we could receive.
From everyone here on the Mendocino coast:
Thank you for your loyalty, your morning rituals, and your belief in small coastal craft. Thank you for choosing us, and standing with a small roaster with big convictions.
Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™.
Why This Award Matters
The Readers’ Choice Awards, presented by Mendo Lake Publishing Group, highlight local businesses chosen directly by the people who live here. There is no bigger honor than a community vote, because it reflects real relationships, real ritual, and real trust.
For Thanksgiving Coffee, this GOLD award celebrates:
- Half a century of artisan roasting on the Mendocino Coast
- Consistency of excellence across generations
- Our commitment to sustainable, ethically sourced coffee
- The legacy of Paul and Joan Katzeff, who helped build the specialty coffee movement
- You, our community that has supported us since 1972
Green Beans ready for roasting
Checking the Roast
Best Coffee Category
A Ritual of Gratitude, Crafted Daily
Every cup we roast is an expression of the values that have guided us since 1972:
- Care for the land
- Respect for the farmers
- Stewardship of craft
- Deep love for this place we call home
Your votes affirm that this work still matters.
Celebrate With Us - Brew Something Golden
if you’ve been part of our journey, raise a cup with us.
If you’re new here, welcome - we’re so glad you found your way to the Mendocino coast through your morning brew.With gratitude, always.
The Thanksgiving Coffee Team
Not Just a Cup, But A Just Cup
Lavender Grace is a Creative Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Stay in touch - we like to stay connected
Thanksgiving Coffee Wins GOLD
read more -
![Impact Report 2022-23]()
How To Build Caring
Thanksgiving Coffee Company is happy to announce the launch of our newest Impact Report, which combines both 2022 and 2023.
Over the past several years our company has evolved into a regenerative business model. This is where we grow our ability to inspire possibility and awaken potential in both our employees, the coffee industry and our planet.
Our company is built on a foundation of caring, looking beyond immediate gratification and instead growing deeper connections with our farmers, our coffee products and the way in which we do our business.
In this report we have outlined several of our initiatives for you to dive deeper into what we care about and why we do what we do. We hope you gain more insight and find some inspiration from our latest impact report.
In this report you will find:
▪ A letter from our CEO – Jonah Katzeff, second generation of the founders
▪ Thanksgiving’s Pollinator Sanctuary Campus
▪ Green Bean Purchases, Certifications, and Countries of Origin
▪ Our Carbon Footprint, Declaration of Independence, and Regenerative Business Design
▪ Giving Back - Our Global and Local Community Health and Happiness Initiatives
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Impact Report 2022-23
read more -
![A History of Fair Trade and Coffee Farmer Advocacy]()
Cups of Change
the promise behind A Just Cup
Paul Katzeff with children of the Nicaragua Coffee Farm 2001
"Be Our Voice"
Paul Katzeff recalls stepping off a plane in Nicaragua in 1985 and being greeted by Sandinistas carrying AK-47s. They were also campesinos, farmers trying to survive a civil war. They brought him into a room and asked him to carry their story home. He agreed.
That yes changed Thanksgiving Coffee. The people behind the harvest became part of what we meant by quality. Their request helped give us the words we still stand behind: Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™.
This October, Cups of Change follows that promise from Nicaragua to our roast room above Noyo Harbor, and into the wider coffee community. It is a story of what happened when a small Mendocino Coast roaster listened to farmers and began changing how it did business.
How Nicaragua Changed The Roast Room
Joan and Paul founded Thanksgiving Coffee in 1972 with a 25-pound roaster at the Mendocino Hotel. Freshly roasted coffee was finding its audience. We were learning our craft and building a business in the community that had welcomed us.
Original Menu and Roaster Illustration from Mendocino Hotel 1972
Café por la Paz, Coffee for Peace, gave our customers a deeper way to take part in our coffee journey. Our 1986 brochure shared how we gave a 25-cent contribution from each bag of coffee sold. The program sent rebates to UNAG, a Nicaraguan farmers’ organization supporting agrarian reform. Our 2016 retrospective shares how we distributed 500,000 educational brochures. Coffee was now a way to bring farmers’ struggles into American homes and give direct support back to their hard work.
We tell more of that history in our blog A Just Cup.
The promise to be the farmers voice was taking a practical form: a bag of coffee could carry information, raise funds, and invite a customer into a relationship with the people who grew it.
For the farmer organization’s perspective on this history, read “Daniel Núñez: The Farmers’ View,” a 1991 interview in Revista Envío, exploring farmers’ struggles for land, fair prices, and peace.
Changing what a coffee bag could tell you
Some changes began even before Nicaragua. Our packaging history records roast color on labels in 1972 and the use of Goglio valve bags in 1977. Freshness dates gave customers another useful fact about their coffee. These details helped people understand what they were buying and helped us deliver the flavor we worked so carefully to develop.
In 1992, our Harvest Line put farmers’ photographs on the packages. Customers could see a face behind the harvest. The grower’s work deserved a place beside the roaster’s name. Our early organic coffees and later commitment to shade-grown coffee also brought the health of the farming landscape into the conversation.
Harvest Line packages - Thanksgiving Coffee Company 1992.
Those choices helped turn a package into an invitation to pay attention. They connected the pleasure of drinking coffee with questions about who grew it, how it was cultivated, and how its value was shared. Independent roasters and producer organizations were building a wider movement toward fairer trade, and we were proud to work alongside them.
From one roaster to an industry conversation
A small roastery can have a voice beyond its harbor. Thanksgiving Coffee was a founding member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and Paul was the association’s first president, serving three terms. In 2008, the SCAA honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions.
In 1992, as president of the board, Paul created the SCAA Environment Committee, later renamed the Sustainability Committee. Its questions reached beyond the roast room. How could coffee businesses support the people growing their beans? What did the industry owe the forests, soil, and biodiversity that made those harvests possible?
Those questions became commitments. On October 10, 1997, the SCAA board unanimously adopted a sustainability policy that named biodiversity protection, respect for human rights, and prices that could support economic sustainability.
For us, this is part of becoming a movement maker: listening to farmers, bringing fellow roasters together, and helping turn concern into collective action. Paul’s leadership was one contribution to work carried forward by many people across the coffee community.
Explore this chapter of our history:
- A Just Cup: The story behind specialty coffee’s first environmental committee
- SCAA Sustainability Statement
- Quality revolutions, solidarity networks, and sustainability innovations: following Fair Trade coffee from Nicaragua to California
This is how a movement grows. People meet, disagree, organize, and change what their profession is willing to take responsibility for. We were one part of that work, alongside collaborators who carried it far beyond Mendocino.
Putting the tools of quality in farmers' hands
The promise also changed who gets to judge a coffee. From 2000–2001, Thanksgiving Coffee worked with USAID and Nicaraguan cooperatives on farmer-owned cupping labs. A lab made structured tasting possible at origin, and training taught growers to use the same tools and standards buyers use to assess their harvest.
For a producer, that knowledge supports experiments, improvements, and negotiations grounded in what the coffee actually is. UCA Miraflor and CECOCAFEN were among our cooperative partners. These farmers already knew their land deeply. The cupping tools gave them another way to show the value they create.
Explore the cupping lab story to meet the people and cooperatives behind this change. The ripple was practical: more knowledge at origin, better-informed conversations about value, and a stronger place for farmers in the story of specialty coffee.
Songbird Colombian carries the conversation forward
The questions behind our work with farmers, how coffee is grown and what a purchase can support, still guide us today. One example is our October feature coffee, Songbird Colombian, an organic, Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified dark roast with notes of toasted nut and dark chocolate and a smooth, lasting finish. Every package supports the programs of the American Birding Association.
Its story begins in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where our Agroberlin farmer profile introduces Dario Delgado and his family’s La Cabaña farm. Coffee grows there beneath native shade trees, and our relationship with Agroberlin began in 2015. Bird Friendly certification requires organic production and verified habitat protections, so the trees overhead are part of the story, too.
Care still has to arrive as a delicious cup. That work happens every day in our roast room, where experience and close attention turn a farmer’s harvest into the coffee you brew. In 2017, Roast magazine named Thanksgiving Coffee its Macro Roaster of the Year. We’re grateful for that recognition, and for the growers whose coffee makes our craft possible.
The next ripple begins here
For more than fifty years, Thanksgiving Coffee has contributed time, energy, and coffee to community gatherings along the Mendocino Coast. Behind that history are neighbors setting up events, artists sharing their work, volunteers making things happen, and coffee being poured while people come together. We are part of this community, and it is part of us.
This October, we are contributing coffee to the Native Arts Expo and One People, One Fire October 16–18 in Mendocino, with Bee Bold Alliance helping share the invitation. These Indigenous-led gatherings offer a chance to listen to Native voices, meet artists, and support their work. We invite our neighbors to join us.
We want a regenerative future for Thanksgiving Coffee and the harbor we call home. We are exploring how food sovereignty, art, and community learning might grow alongside the work of roasting and our relationships with farmers. To carry those possibilities forward, this company needs a healthy business behind it. The next chapter depends on people continuing to choose our coffee.
If this work matters to you, choose Songbird Colombian, select a subscription if it fits your household, or introduce a friend to Thanksgiving Coffee.
Your order helps sustain the daily work and relationships behind this story. Then brew a little extra for this month’s Maple and Coffee Baked Pears. The cook deserves a cup, too.
“Be our voice” began with farmers asking to be heard. Cups of Change is an invitation to keep listening, and to let what we learn change what we do. Thank you for helping carry that promise forward.
Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Thanksgiving Coffee’s Coffee for Peace project?
Coffee for Peace was a project supported by Thanksgiving Coffee in the 1980s that connected Nicaraguan coffee producers with consumers in the United States and Canada. Coffee sales returned funds to Nicaragua’s farmers’ organization, UNAG, to support farming communities.
What does “Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup” mean?
Thanksgiving Coffee’s motto connects great coffee with responsibility to the people who grow it. Co-founder Paul Katzeff adopted the phrase after visiting Nicaragua in 1985, when witnessing farmers’ living conditions changed his understanding of what a good cup of coffee should represent.
How did Thanksgiving Coffee support coffee farmers in Nicaragua?
Thanksgiving Coffee purchased Nicaraguan coffee, advocated for producers, and supported the Coffee for Peace project. Later, the company helped nine Nicaraguan cooperatives establish farmer-owned cupping laboratories and trained producers to evaluate their own coffee.
How can coffee cupping help farmers negotiate better prices?
Cupping is a standardized way to evaluate coffee’s aroma, flavor, and quality. Access to cupping equipment and training helps farmers understand and document their harvest’s value, giving them stronger information for discussions with buyers. Quality knowledge supports negotiation, although it does not guarantee fair compensation.
What is Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee?
Smithsonian Bird Friendly® coffee meets certification requirements for organic farming and wildlife habitat protection. The standards protect tree cover and biodiversity on coffee farms, helping conserve habitat for migratory and resident birds.
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
A History of Fair Trade and Coffee Farmer Advocacy
read more -
![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 Kent - Director of Brand Narrative & Culture.
Women Brew the Future | Flor de Jinotega
read more
Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture
High in Nicaragua's pristine Arenal Forest Reserve, at 1,500 meters above sea level, Finca los Pinos stands as a testament to agricultural transformation. Here, Byron Corrales and his family have spent over four decades pioneering a different way of farming coffee. Since embracing organic practices in 1986, they've developed an innovative approach that works in perfect harmony with nature. Through their dedication to biodynamic farming, they've not only twice earned top honors for their extraordinary coffee, but they've also created a model for sustainable agriculture that's changing how we think about coffee cultivation.
Sarah Corrales on her families coffee farm
Byron Corrales hugging a tree on his family coffee farm
A Legacy of Excellence
Our relationship with the Corrales family spans three generations, witnessing their evolution from traditional farming to becoming leaders in biodynamic agriculture. Byron's innovative spirit led him to develop the exceptional Maracaturra variety, a unique hybrid that produces remarkably large beans – distinctively bigger than typical Arabica coffee beans. This size isn't just for show; it allows for exceptional taste elements that smaller beans simply cannot achieve, delivering a remarkable sweetness and richness in every cup.
Benita Corrales, Byron's mother
The first meeting with Thanksgiving Coffee Company in 1992- Left Byron Corrales, Right Arnulfo Corrales
Arnulfo Corrales, Byron's father
Left to right - Thanksgiving Coffee's Co-Founder Paul Katzeff, Byron Corrales, and Nick Hodgkins (Etico -The ethical trading company)
the Art Of Processing
Byron with drying natural Maracaturra coffee beans.
Corrales' artisanal approach to processing begins long before the cherries reach the beneficio (drying patio). On his farm, every element serves an integral function in creating exceptional coffee. This includes the carefully selected forage crops sustaining his cattle, whose manure enriches the compost used around the coffee trees, as well as the diverse pollinators - from honeybees to other beneficial insects - that support optimal cherry development.
For Corrales, successful coffee processing stems from creating a balanced, thriving ecosystem that produces the highest quality cherries possible for processing. This foundation of environmental harmony directly influences the clarity and complexity of his final cup.
The Natural process is when the coffee cherries are dried whole, without removing the pulp or using water or machines, and has become Byron’s preferred method for many reasons, as he explained in this video. It is a very good choice to reduce the use of fossil fuels and for water conservation, as well as the added antioxidant health benefits.
The Living Systems Of Los Pinos
At Finca los Pinos, every element serves multiple purposes in an intricate dance of mutual support:
- Native and planted trees provide essential shade and soil health
- Free-ranging cattle contribute to natural fertilization cycles
- Coffee cherry pulp (cascara) is recycled into nutritious cattle feed
- Birds and beneficial insects maintain natural pest control
- Pine trees create unique conditions that enhance both soil and coffee quality
Los Pinos coffee farm looking out over the forest
Soil: The Foundation of Life
Byron Corrales with his hands full of soil
Byron's approach to soil health demonstrates the core principles of regenerative agriculture. "The farmers that produce with agrochemicals and herbicides destroy the life of the soil," he observes. "We protect it." This protection includes:
- Maintaining ground cover to retain moisture
- Supporting microorganism and mycorrhizal networks
- Using natural fertilization methods
- Working with, rather than against, natural processes
“I feel really happy that those who drink my coffee are drinking a cup of life”
Byron Corrales
Climate Resilience Through Diversity
Great video produced by Viva La Finca - Virtual origin experience - Byron Corrales of Finca Los Pinos
Understanding the challenges of climate change, Byron has implemented robust adaptation strategies:
- Diverse tree species for enhanced shade coverage
- Strengthened soil biology
- Natural mineral enrichment
- Water conservation systems
The Unique Maracaturra Experience
This regenerative approach culminates in the cultivation of Maracaturra, a special variety found only at Finca los Pinos. This unique hybrid of Maragoype and Caturra (Bourbon) produces a truly exceptional coffee with:
- Juicy apricot aromatics
- Rich cashew nuttiness
- A deeply toned sweet cacao finish
- Remarkable sweetness unique to the large bean size
- Complex flavor elements impossible to achieve with conventional varieties
A Vision for the Future
"I want to transmit our family's art, our work of many years, discovering the flavors we've learned to bring forth from our mountains, expressed in this cup by way of respect for our environment," Byron shares. This respect for environment and commitment to regenerative practices creates coffee that is, in Byron's words, "the expression of life and the life energy of all the living beings who live in our community."
The Corrales Family from a visit to Nicaragua.
Each cup of Byron's coffee embodies a powerful truth: regenerative agriculture can produce extraordinary coffee while healing the earth.
Our Byron's Blend is where ancient farming wisdom meets modern artistry. By masterfully combining washed and natural processed Maracaturra coffees, we create a harmonious cup that showcases the finest expressions of both methods. The result is more than a blend – it's a testament to coffee craftsmanship at its peak.
As Byron himself reminds us with characteristic wisdom: we are "celebrating with joy the responsibility of protecting the future of our generations." In every sip, you taste that promise.
Lavender Grace is the Director of Brand Narritive and Culture for Thanksgiving Coffee Company.
Roots & Regeneration: Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture
read more
A Heartfelt Thank You From the Mendocino Coast
We are honored - and humbled - to share that Thanksgiving Coffee Company has been awarded the 2025 Readers’ Choice GOLD Award for Best Coffee in Lake & Mendocino Counties.
This one means a lot.
For more than 52 years, our roasting team has kept the fires burning here on the Fort Bragg harbor, crafting ethical, sustainable coffee as a daily practice of gratitude. To be recognized by our own community, our neighbors, and our longtime customers is the greatest award we could receive.
From everyone here on the Mendocino coast:
Thank you for your loyalty, your morning rituals, and your belief in small coastal craft. Thank you for choosing us, and standing with a small roaster with big convictions.
Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™.
Why This Award Matters
The Readers’ Choice Awards, presented by Mendo Lake Publishing Group, highlight local businesses chosen directly by the people who live here. There is no bigger honor than a community vote, because it reflects real relationships, real ritual, and real trust.
For Thanksgiving Coffee, this GOLD award celebrates:
- Half a century of artisan roasting on the Mendocino Coast
- Consistency of excellence across generations
- Our commitment to sustainable, ethically sourced coffee
- The legacy of Paul and Joan Katzeff, who helped build the specialty coffee movement
- You, our community that has supported us since 1972
Green Beans ready for roasting
Checking the Roast
Best Coffee Category
A Ritual of Gratitude, Crafted Daily
Every cup we roast is an expression of the values that have guided us since 1972:
- Care for the land
- Respect for the farmers
- Stewardship of craft
- Deep love for this place we call home
Your votes affirm that this work still matters.
Celebrate With Us - Brew Something Golden
if you’ve been part of our journey, raise a cup with us.
If you’re new here, welcome - we’re so glad you found your way to the Mendocino coast through your morning brew.
With gratitude, always.
The Thanksgiving Coffee Team
Not Just a Cup, But A Just Cup
Lavender Grace is a Creative Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Stay in touch - we like to stay connected
Thanksgiving Coffee Wins GOLD
read more
How To Build Caring
Thanksgiving Coffee Company is happy to announce the launch of our newest Impact Report, which combines both 2022 and 2023.
Over the past several years our company has evolved into a regenerative business model. This is where we grow our ability to inspire possibility and awaken potential in both our employees, the coffee industry and our planet.
Our company is built on a foundation of caring, looking beyond immediate gratification and instead growing deeper connections with our farmers, our coffee products and the way in which we do our business.
In this report we have outlined several of our initiatives for you to dive deeper into what we care about and why we do what we do. We hope you gain more insight and find some inspiration from our latest impact report.
In this report you will find:
▪ A letter from our CEO – Jonah Katzeff, second generation of the founders
▪ Thanksgiving’s Pollinator Sanctuary Campus
▪ Green Bean Purchases, Certifications, and Countries of Origin
▪ Our Carbon Footprint, Declaration of Independence, and Regenerative Business Design
▪ Giving Back - Our Global and Local Community Health and Happiness Initiatives
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Impact Report 2022-23
read more
Cups of Change
the promise behind A Just Cup
Paul Katzeff with children of the Nicaragua Coffee Farm 2001
"Be Our Voice"
Paul Katzeff recalls stepping off a plane in Nicaragua in 1985 and being greeted by Sandinistas carrying AK-47s. They were also campesinos, farmers trying to survive a civil war. They brought him into a room and asked him to carry their story home. He agreed.
That yes changed Thanksgiving Coffee. The people behind the harvest became part of what we meant by quality. Their request helped give us the words we still stand behind: Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™.
This October, Cups of Change follows that promise from Nicaragua to our roast room above Noyo Harbor, and into the wider coffee community. It is a story of what happened when a small Mendocino Coast roaster listened to farmers and began changing how it did business.
How Nicaragua Changed The Roast Room
Joan and Paul founded Thanksgiving Coffee in 1972 with a 25-pound roaster at the Mendocino Hotel. Freshly roasted coffee was finding its audience. We were learning our craft and building a business in the community that had welcomed us.
Original Menu and Roaster Illustration from Mendocino Hotel 1972
Café por la Paz, Coffee for Peace, gave our customers a deeper way to take part in our coffee journey. Our 1986 brochure shared how we gave a 25-cent contribution from each bag of coffee sold. The program sent rebates to UNAG, a Nicaraguan farmers’ organization supporting agrarian reform. Our 2016 retrospective shares how we distributed 500,000 educational brochures. Coffee was now a way to bring farmers’ struggles into American homes and give direct support back to their hard work.
We tell more of that history in our blog A Just Cup.
The promise to be the farmers voice was taking a practical form: a bag of coffee could carry information, raise funds, and invite a customer into a relationship with the people who grew it.
For the farmer organization’s perspective on this history, read “Daniel Núñez: The Farmers’ View,” a 1991 interview in Revista Envío, exploring farmers’ struggles for land, fair prices, and peace.
Changing what a coffee bag could tell you
Some changes began even before Nicaragua. Our packaging history records roast color on labels in 1972 and the use of Goglio valve bags in 1977. Freshness dates gave customers another useful fact about their coffee. These details helped people understand what they were buying and helped us deliver the flavor we worked so carefully to develop.
In 1992, our Harvest Line put farmers’ photographs on the packages. Customers could see a face behind the harvest. The grower’s work deserved a place beside the roaster’s name. Our early organic coffees and later commitment to shade-grown coffee also brought the health of the farming landscape into the conversation.
Harvest Line packages - Thanksgiving Coffee Company 1992.
Those choices helped turn a package into an invitation to pay attention. They connected the pleasure of drinking coffee with questions about who grew it, how it was cultivated, and how its value was shared. Independent roasters and producer organizations were building a wider movement toward fairer trade, and we were proud to work alongside them.
From one roaster to an industry conversation
A small roastery can have a voice beyond its harbor. Thanksgiving Coffee was a founding member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and Paul was the association’s first president, serving three terms. In 2008, the SCAA honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions.
In 1992, as president of the board, Paul created the SCAA Environment Committee, later renamed the Sustainability Committee. Its questions reached beyond the roast room. How could coffee businesses support the people growing their beans? What did the industry owe the forests, soil, and biodiversity that made those harvests possible?
Those questions became commitments. On October 10, 1997, the SCAA board unanimously adopted a sustainability policy that named biodiversity protection, respect for human rights, and prices that could support economic sustainability.
For us, this is part of becoming a movement maker: listening to farmers, bringing fellow roasters together, and helping turn concern into collective action. Paul’s leadership was one contribution to work carried forward by many people across the coffee community.
Explore this chapter of our history:
- A Just Cup: The story behind specialty coffee’s first environmental committee
- SCAA Sustainability Statement
- Quality revolutions, solidarity networks, and sustainability innovations: following Fair Trade coffee from Nicaragua to California
This is how a movement grows. People meet, disagree, organize, and change what their profession is willing to take responsibility for. We were one part of that work, alongside collaborators who carried it far beyond Mendocino.
Putting the tools of quality in farmers' hands
The promise also changed who gets to judge a coffee. From 2000–2001, Thanksgiving Coffee worked with USAID and Nicaraguan cooperatives on farmer-owned cupping labs. A lab made structured tasting possible at origin, and training taught growers to use the same tools and standards buyers use to assess their harvest.
For a producer, that knowledge supports experiments, improvements, and negotiations grounded in what the coffee actually is. UCA Miraflor and CECOCAFEN were among our cooperative partners. These farmers already knew their land deeply. The cupping tools gave them another way to show the value they create.
Explore the cupping lab story to meet the people and cooperatives behind this change. The ripple was practical: more knowledge at origin, better-informed conversations about value, and a stronger place for farmers in the story of specialty coffee.
Songbird Colombian carries the conversation forward
The questions behind our work with farmers, how coffee is grown and what a purchase can support, still guide us today. One example is our October feature coffee, Songbird Colombian, an organic, Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified dark roast with notes of toasted nut and dark chocolate and a smooth, lasting finish. Every package supports the programs of the American Birding Association.
Its story begins in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where our Agroberlin farmer profile introduces Dario Delgado and his family’s La Cabaña farm. Coffee grows there beneath native shade trees, and our relationship with Agroberlin began in 2015. Bird Friendly certification requires organic production and verified habitat protections, so the trees overhead are part of the story, too.
Care still has to arrive as a delicious cup. That work happens every day in our roast room, where experience and close attention turn a farmer’s harvest into the coffee you brew. In 2017, Roast magazine named Thanksgiving Coffee its Macro Roaster of the Year. We’re grateful for that recognition, and for the growers whose coffee makes our craft possible.
The next ripple begins here
For more than fifty years, Thanksgiving Coffee has contributed time, energy, and coffee to community gatherings along the Mendocino Coast. Behind that history are neighbors setting up events, artists sharing their work, volunteers making things happen, and coffee being poured while people come together. We are part of this community, and it is part of us.
This October, we are contributing coffee to the Native Arts Expo and One People, One Fire October 16–18 in Mendocino, with Bee Bold Alliance helping share the invitation. These Indigenous-led gatherings offer a chance to listen to Native voices, meet artists, and support their work. We invite our neighbors to join us.
We want a regenerative future for Thanksgiving Coffee and the harbor we call home. We are exploring how food sovereignty, art, and community learning might grow alongside the work of roasting and our relationships with farmers. To carry those possibilities forward, this company needs a healthy business behind it. The next chapter depends on people continuing to choose our coffee.
If this work matters to you, choose Songbird Colombian, select a subscription if it fits your household, or introduce a friend to Thanksgiving Coffee.
Your order helps sustain the daily work and relationships behind this story. Then brew a little extra for this month’s Maple and Coffee Baked Pears. The cook deserves a cup, too.
“Be our voice” began with farmers asking to be heard. Cups of Change is an invitation to keep listening, and to let what we learn change what we do. Thank you for helping carry that promise forward.
Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup™
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Thanksgiving Coffee’s Coffee for Peace project?
Coffee for Peace was a project supported by Thanksgiving Coffee in the 1980s that connected Nicaraguan coffee producers with consumers in the United States and Canada. Coffee sales returned funds to Nicaragua’s farmers’ organization, UNAG, to support farming communities.
What does “Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup” mean?
Thanksgiving Coffee’s motto connects great coffee with responsibility to the people who grow it. Co-founder Paul Katzeff adopted the phrase after visiting Nicaragua in 1985, when witnessing farmers’ living conditions changed his understanding of what a good cup of coffee should represent.
How did Thanksgiving Coffee support coffee farmers in Nicaragua?
Thanksgiving Coffee purchased Nicaraguan coffee, advocated for producers, and supported the Coffee for Peace project. Later, the company helped nine Nicaraguan cooperatives establish farmer-owned cupping laboratories and trained producers to evaluate their own coffee.
How can coffee cupping help farmers negotiate better prices?
Cupping is a standardized way to evaluate coffee’s aroma, flavor, and quality. Access to cupping equipment and training helps farmers understand and document their harvest’s value, giving them stronger information for discussions with buyers. Quality knowledge supports negotiation, although it does not guarantee fair compensation.
What is Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee?
Smithsonian Bird Friendly® coffee meets certification requirements for organic farming and wildlife habitat protection. The standards protect tree cover and biodiversity on coffee farms, helping conserve habitat for migratory and resident birds.
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
A History of Fair Trade and Coffee Farmer Advocacy
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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 Kent - Director of Brand Narrative & Culture.
Women Brew the Future | Flor de Jinotega
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Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture
High in Nicaragua's pristine Arenal Forest Reserve, at 1,500 meters above sea level, Finca los Pinos stands as a testament to agricultural transformation. Here, Byron Corrales and his family have spent over four decades pioneering a different way of farming coffee. Since embracing organic practices in 1986, they've developed an innovative approach that works in perfect harmony with nature. Through their dedication to biodynamic farming, they've not only twice earned top honors for their extraordinary coffee, but they've also created a model for sustainable agriculture that's changing how we think about coffee cultivation.
Sarah Corrales on her families coffee farm
Byron Corrales hugging a tree on his family coffee farm
A Legacy of Excellence
Our relationship with the Corrales family spans three generations, witnessing their evolution from traditional farming to becoming leaders in biodynamic agriculture. Byron's innovative spirit led him to develop the exceptional Maracaturra variety, a unique hybrid that produces remarkably large beans – distinctively bigger than typical Arabica coffee beans. This size isn't just for show; it allows for exceptional taste elements that smaller beans simply cannot achieve, delivering a remarkable sweetness and richness in every cup.
Benita Corrales, Byron's mother
The first meeting with Thanksgiving Coffee Company in 1992- Left Byron Corrales, Right Arnulfo Corrales
Arnulfo Corrales, Byron's father
Left to right - Thanksgiving Coffee's Co-Founder Paul Katzeff, Byron Corrales, and Nick Hodgkins (Etico -The ethical trading company)
the Art Of Processing
Byron with drying natural Maracaturra coffee beans.
Corrales' artisanal approach to processing begins long before the cherries reach the beneficio (drying patio). On his farm, every element serves an integral function in creating exceptional coffee. This includes the carefully selected forage crops sustaining his cattle, whose manure enriches the compost used around the coffee trees, as well as the diverse pollinators - from honeybees to other beneficial insects - that support optimal cherry development.
For Corrales, successful coffee processing stems from creating a balanced, thriving ecosystem that produces the highest quality cherries possible for processing. This foundation of environmental harmony directly influences the clarity and complexity of his final cup.
The Natural process is when the coffee cherries are dried whole, without removing the pulp or using water or machines, and has become Byron’s preferred method for many reasons, as he explained in this video. It is a very good choice to reduce the use of fossil fuels and for water conservation, as well as the added antioxidant health benefits.
The Living Systems Of Los Pinos
At Finca los Pinos, every element serves multiple purposes in an intricate dance of mutual support:
- Native and planted trees provide essential shade and soil health
- Free-ranging cattle contribute to natural fertilization cycles
- Coffee cherry pulp (cascara) is recycled into nutritious cattle feed
- Birds and beneficial insects maintain natural pest control
- Pine trees create unique conditions that enhance both soil and coffee quality
Los Pinos coffee farm looking out over the forest
Soil: The Foundation of Life
Byron Corrales with his hands full of soil
Byron's approach to soil health demonstrates the core principles of regenerative agriculture. "The farmers that produce with agrochemicals and herbicides destroy the life of the soil," he observes. "We protect it." This protection includes:
- Maintaining ground cover to retain moisture
- Supporting microorganism and mycorrhizal networks
- Using natural fertilization methods
- Working with, rather than against, natural processes
“I feel really happy that those who drink my coffee are drinking a cup of life”
Byron Corrales
Climate Resilience Through Diversity
Great video produced by Viva La Finca - Virtual origin experience - Byron Corrales of Finca Los Pinos
Understanding the challenges of climate change, Byron has implemented robust adaptation strategies:
- Diverse tree species for enhanced shade coverage
- Strengthened soil biology
- Natural mineral enrichment
- Water conservation systems
The Unique Maracaturra Experience
This regenerative approach culminates in the cultivation of Maracaturra, a special variety found only at Finca los Pinos. This unique hybrid of Maragoype and Caturra (Bourbon) produces a truly exceptional coffee with:
- Juicy apricot aromatics
- Rich cashew nuttiness
- A deeply toned sweet cacao finish
- Remarkable sweetness unique to the large bean size
- Complex flavor elements impossible to achieve with conventional varieties
A Vision for the Future
"I want to transmit our family's art, our work of many years, discovering the flavors we've learned to bring forth from our mountains, expressed in this cup by way of respect for our environment," Byron shares. This respect for environment and commitment to regenerative practices creates coffee that is, in Byron's words, "the expression of life and the life energy of all the living beings who live in our community."
The Corrales Family from a visit to Nicaragua.
Each cup of Byron's coffee embodies a powerful truth: regenerative agriculture can produce extraordinary coffee while healing the earth.
Our Byron's Blend is where ancient farming wisdom meets modern artistry. By masterfully combining washed and natural processed Maracaturra coffees, we create a harmonious cup that showcases the finest expressions of both methods. The result is more than a blend – it's a testament to coffee craftsmanship at its peak.
As Byron himself reminds us with characteristic wisdom: we are "celebrating with joy the responsibility of protecting the future of our generations." In every sip, you taste that promise.
Lavender Grace is the Director of Brand Narritive and Culture for Thanksgiving Coffee Company.