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Pomo Possibilities
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Right Now We Are Seeing History in the Making.
In the confluence of purpose and action, our community is coming together for Tribal sovereignty and reconciliation through the Pomo Land Back movement. This is an opportunity to learn about and support the Northern Pomo People of Mendocino County. This is an opportunity to regain alignment with nature, with our community, and the indigenous people of these lands.
The parallels between the Indigenous Forest and the Indigenous People are striking. Much like the ancestral old growth Redwoods, only a fraction of the original Pomo people are still alive. Populations of Pomo tribes numbered between 13,000 - 20,000 in the early 1800s. By the 2000 census, only 5,092 Pomo were left. Likewise, only 4% of the original Redwood Forests exist, while the other 96% have been logged to extinction.
Mendocino County is home to 10 surviving Pomo tribes. All have experienced countless forms of discrimination, forced assimilation, relocation, and legal termination. It is time for the cycle to pivot. We can do this together through regeneration, cooperation, and collaboration.
What we do to the forest, we do to the people
The Pomo Tribal Leadership has identified Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) as the focus of the Pomo Land Back movement and has gathered the support of 50 California tribes across the State. This has never been achieved before. Tribal Chairman Michael Hunter is ready to lead the way for healing and has asked Governor Newsom for co-management of these forests. With the help of a strong local coalition of environmental organizations, the logging has been stopped for now.
"Our responsibility is to past... present... and future generations of all life."
The way forward is to rematriate the forest and move into Indigenous stewardship. Following the lead of matriarch Priscilla Hunter, Tribal Chairman Michael Hunter is gathering the community together to bring healing and restore the biodiversity to our forests and rivers.
The 50,000 acres of Jackson State Demonstration Forests (JDSF) has been managed by Cal Fire since 1949. It is full of ancestral sacred sites, and is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the State. With the co-management plan the tribes will guide the State agencies to implement their place based knowledge and create a real demonstration forest for future generations. This irreplaceable knowledge is the expertise that has been cultivated over millennia by the tribes who have inhabited these forests.
Indigenous experts hold the wisdom of interdependence with our surroundings and how to live with the cycles of growth that will support all life. This traditional ecology knowledge (TEK) system was brutally interrupted at the time of colonization. The forest is suffering the loss of these practices and experiencing the harsh consequence of a dysfunctional system that breeds greed and exploitation.
I invite you to be a good steward of the Jackson State Demonstration Forest and learn about the Pomo Land Back movement. Together we create a new era of justice for our First Nations People of Mendocino. With Pomo leadership, Cal Fire has an opportunity to truly demonstrate what a healthy forest and healthy ecosystem is for generations to come. This is a win, win, for people, policy, and the planet. Native-led co-management of JDSF is the strongest medicine for our forests and community as a whole. I urge you to learn how you can support the stewards of this amazing forest.
To join the movement and learn more go to www.pomolandback.com.
Further Resources:
Pomo History - Encyclopedia.com
The Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council
Redwood Forest Returned to Tribes
Halt Logging Northern California
The Bee Bold Alliance is a project of Thanksgiving Coffee that works to find sustainable solutions for our future generations by restoring biodiversity and supporting our local food systems. In collaboration with Tribal Chairman Michael Hunter and his family, we are building a resilient community for all life. www.beeboldalliance.com
Give 20% to the Bee Bold Alliance when you buy the Bee Bold Cause Coffee in Dark and Medium, or Decaf. We have raised over $21,000 to support biodiversity and local food security to date.
Recommended Reading
Back to the Blog-
Namanyonyi Co-op united a community
The wheels were set in motion many years ago when Thanksgiving Coffee began our work with the Ugandan Coffee Cooperative “Delicious Peace” to bring their Interfaith coffee to market. For those of you who have been following us on this unique journey, we want to share another perspective. It is an article written by an organization that understands cooperatives are run by people, and people have many ups and downs.
"We love this story of multiple faiths helping each other, moving beyond personal beliefs"
Child from the "Delicious Peace" Coffee Cooperative in Uganda.
The author is Rebecca Harvey, the executive editor of Co-operative News. She was very intrigued about the journey this cooperative has been on and contacted Thanksgiving to learn about our involvement. We had the opportunity to speak with her and share our story. We also learned that Co-op News has been around for over 150 years to support the communication between all the many cooperatives in England, and now the World.
The Article For You To Read:
How A Coffee Co-op United A Community – And Was Reborn After A Leadership Crisis
More of our history with the Delicious Peace Cooperative:
2009: Delicious Peace Moves Forward
2014: A Trip To Africa
2020: Delicious Peace Coffee: A New Story
2023: Evolution of Change
Where it all began - the Delicious Peace Coffee
Our CausesNamanyonyi Co-op United A Community
read more -
Earth Day Event in Fort Bragg
The Noyo Food Forest is having their annual Earth Day celebration this Saturday at the Learning Garden. This four hour event is a fundraiser for the Farm-to-School and Youth Intern programs that the Noyo Food Forest operates year-round. We partner with the Noyo Food Forest throughout the year, and we especially love being a part of this annual event in Fort Bragg.
15th Annual Earth Day Event
Saturday, April 20, 12 - 4 PM
At the Learning Garden at Fort Bragg High School on Dana Street.This Earth Day event is free and geared toward everyone in the family. There will be live music, and you can participate by putting down a bid for the silent auction, paying entry to bouncy houses, and tasting goodies from local chefs. This is one of the most fun events that happens in the city of Fort Bragg every year. Local organizations and nonprofits are a big part of this event, and you’ll see booths and representatives from the Noyo Marine Science Center, the Mendocino Land Trust, our Mendocino County state parks and many more important parts of the coastal community.
Thanksgiving Coffee will be serving up samples of our Bee Bold Blend, our new Nitro Coffee, and the Noyo Food Forest will be selling 12oz bags, as well. All the proceeds benefit the Noyo Food Forest and their important work here in our community. We are very happy to be a part of this awesome event. For more information, visit the Noyo Food Forest Earth Day page on their website, and RSVP on Facebook to share with your friends. Join us on April 20 – see you at the Learning Garden.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Partnership with the Noyo Food ForestLearn more about how we support our Mother Earth
bee boldEarth Day Event in Fort Bragg 2024
read more -
Fort Bragg High School Culinary Arts Visit
Thanksgiving Coffee Company recently hosted 30 students from the Fort Bragg High School Culinary Department for a morning of touring, tasting, and education about coffee production.
The students have a wide range of reasons to study the art and science of cooking. Some wanted to learn how to cook better for themselves while others are considering a career in food service. We discussed coffee flavors and aromas, the early origins of coffee, and the role that Thanksgiving Coffee has played in the development of Specialty Coffee since 1972.
Fort Bragg High School Culinary Arts Students visiting the Cupping Lab of Thanksgiving Coffee
Coffee Picking
They had fun picking their own ripe coffee beans from the tree that is producing in our office. The sense of wonder increased as they witnessed the artisan roasting by our team, seeing the flames, watching the color of the beans change, and smelling the magic as the roasting process cycled through.
The Students Were Surprised To Learn That We Import Over 500,000 Lbs. Of Coffee From 22 Different Countries Annually.
Taste Range
When we finally got back to the cupping lab and could taste a range of coffees - light roast, medium roast, dark roast, French roast, and decaf – the reality of the process came full circle and the appreciation peaked. We discussed coffee flavors and applications as ingredients from things like dry rubs and even coffee jelly as a dessert element.
The best feedback came afterward when our Roastmaster/ Director of Coffee, Jacob Long, heard from his son, Abe, who is currently a senior at Fort Bragg High School, that the students had a great time and got a kick out of meeting his Dad.
Jacob Long, Director of Coffee Sharing his knowledge with the FBHS Cullinary Arts Students
Educators of Coffee
We are ready to promote coffee knowledge and are willing to do anything we can to support coffee education. This was a great experience all around.
Joe Seta is the Marketing and Sales Manager of Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Our CommunityFort Bragg High School Culinary Arts Visit
read more -
The Cupping Lab Revolution: How Thanksgiving Coffee Changed Coffee Forever
Cupping Coffee , Nicaragua
It began with a journey to Nicaragua in the 1980s. Paul Katzeff, a former social worker and co-founder of Thanksgiving Coffee, traveled to listen to the farmers. Paul had the tools and vision to create a new way forward for the coffee world.
In those war-torn hills, Paul came face to face with the quiet strength of farmers who had survived conflict, drought, and poverty. What he discovered would transform his understanding of coffee forever.
What Paul saw was that coffee could be more than just a product. It could become a tool for restoring dignity, building solidarity, and giving voice to those who had been left out of their own story.
Nicaruaguan Coffee Farmers coming home, photo by Paul Katzeff
Coffee as a Bridge Between Worlds
Paul's 1985 trip to Nicaragua occurred during the U.S.-backed Contra War—a time of immense hardship and tension. What he witnessed moved him deeply: farmers cultivating resilience amid unimaginable challenges. Meeting with PRODECOOP, one of the earliest farmer cooperatives, he understood that meaningful change would require more than charity. It would take genuine partnership.
This experience birthed a vision for direct trade built on empathy and transparency. Paul saw coffee as more than a commodity—he saw it as a bridge connecting people across borders, across struggles, and across systems built to exclude the voices of those who grow the coffee we love.
Coffee Processing Nicaragua
Preparing coffee to dry - Nicaragua
Roasting coffee in traditional oven at the Lopado Farm, Nicaragua, photo by Paul Katzeff
Grinding coffee in traditional outdoor style, photo by Paul Katzeff
A Revolution Born from Relationship
Years later, in 2001, Paul's vision took physical form when Thanksgiving Coffee helped create the world's first farmer-owned cupping labs. It started with a simple question:
What if those who grow the coffee were also the ones to taste it first?
That question sparked a revolution—and in partnership with our co-ops like UCA MIRAFLOR and CECOCAFEN, it redefined not just how coffee is evaluated, but who gets to define its value.
This work began with trust.
When Thanksgiving Coffee first partnered with these cooperatives, they were communities rising from hardship with their own vision. Families were replanting forests, rebuilding homes, and forming cooperatives that prioritized not only trade, but democracy, biodiversity, and food sovereignty.
Frank Lanzas Family
Fernandito Family
Fernando Beneficio
Maria Elena
As field researcher Christopher Bacon wrote:
"This is a story of reconstruction and resistance... of families working together to regenerate their communities, reclaim the land, and build new institutions of democratic governance."
In these post-war communities, farmers didn't just return to the land—they reimagined its future. By placing cupping labs in their hands, Thanksgiving Coffee wasn't introducing a new tool—they were honoring a movement already in motion.
Redefining the Waves: How Cupping Labs Transformed Coffee Culture
The history of specialty coffee is often described in "waves." The First Wave brought coffee to the masses. The Second Wave introduced espresso culture and coffee as an experience.
But it was the Third Wave—focused on origin, transparency, and craft—that truly began to value the farmer's role. And it was here that Thanksgiving Coffee's cupping labs created their most profound impact.
The Coffee Cuppers Manifesto, by Paul Katzeff 2001
"The $300,000 enabled 9 coops to build their labs and be trained as cuppers by me using SCAA scoring forms. It is one thing to have a lab but another thing to know how to use it. Training was essential. "
- Paul KatzeffIn 1999, when most coffee buyers still made quality decisions without farmer input, Thanksgiving Coffee proposed something radical: building professional cupping labs directly within producer cooperatives in Nicaragua. With a $300,000 USAID contract and decades of field experience, these labs were constructed in 2000, becoming the world's first farmer-owned and operated cupping facilities.
The innovation couldn't have been better timed. As Third Wave coffee culture was gaining momentum in the early 2000s with its focus on single-origin beans and transparent sourcing, these cupping labs equipped farmers to meet this new demand with unprecedented precision.
Suddenly, farmers could:
- Taste and analyze their own coffee before it left the farm
- Create detailed flavor profiles previously only done by importers
- Develop specific micro-lots for specialty markets
- Experiment with processing methods that enhanced quality
- Engage in price negotiations based on verifiable quality data
By 2001, the Cuppers Manifesto was born—a bilingual manual distributed to 10,000 Nicaraguan farmers and later shared with 8,000 producers in Colombia by the Colombian Coffee Federation.
Coffee Processing Nicaragua, photo by Paul Katzeff
From Third Wave to Fourth: Farmers as Flavor Artists
What began as a Third Wave innovation has evolved into something even more profound—what many now call the "Fourth Wave" of coffee, where farmers themselves have become recognized artists of flavor creation.
Today's most celebrated coffees often feature not just the region or farm name, but specific processing techniques developed and perfected by individual farmers—techniques like honey processing, extended fermentation, and anaerobic processing that create distinctive flavor profiles impossible to achieve through roasting alone.
This transition—from farmers as anonymous producers to farmers as named innovators—can be traced directly back to those first cupping labs. When farmers gained the ability to taste, evaluate, and experiment with their own coffee, they unleashed a wave of innovation that continues to transform the industry.
As Paul shared in a later interview:
"Coffee is about people. If you take care of the people, the coffee takes care of itself."
These labs didn't just reflect a shift in coffee culture—they helped create it. From these humble beginnings in rural Nicaragua grew the foundations of today's artisan coffee movement, where quality and value begin at the source and rise through shared craftsmanship.
UCA Miraflor Cooperative, 2023 Nicaragua
Hermanez Montenegro Family with drying coffee behind, photo by Paul Katzeff
A Legacy You Can Taste
SongBird Nicaraguan, Medium Roast
From UCA MIRAFLOR, this coffee represents the pinnacle of farmer-led quality development.
Bird Friendly certified, it supports both sustainable farming and migratory bird habitat.
Tasting Notes: Mango, nutty, chocolate
Miel de Cajamarca, Light Roast
From CENFROCAFE, Peru. Named for the honey-processing techniques refined in origin cupping labs.
This coffee showcases the artisan experimentation that defines Fourth Wave coffee.
Tasting Notes: Honey, papaya, milk chocolate
Join the Revolution in Your Cup
The Cupping Lab Revolution was more than the technology of tasting coffee. It was—and still is—about relationship, repair, and reclaiming the right to define what coffee can be.
Every cup of Thanksgiving Coffee connects you to this ongoing story of transformation—from Third Wave transparency to Fourth Wave farmer artisanship. It's an invitation to participate in a more equitable, relationship-based trade model that honors both the product and its producers.
It is about following a path with heart to let it guide you to be in good relationship with life and the world.
The Cupping Legacy continues - on the left, CEO Jonah Katzeff - on the right, Co-Founder and Board President Paul Katzeff of Thanksgiving Coffee Company
The Way
"The way to great coffee flavor is not direct.
The path must be traveled
with great care and attention.
The way becomes a path, the path a road,
and then, magically, the road becomes a highway
that leads to people who cultivate the land on which the coffee derives its special flavor.
How does one find the path? Through caring.
One does not search so much for the road that leads to the tree, as for the road that leads to the heart.
This is the secret."
Paul Katzeff
Co-founder, Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company.
ArtisanCoffeeThe Cupping Lab Revolution: How Thanksgiving Coffee Changed Coffee Forever
read more -
What Is In Your Cup?
When you drink your coffee, you might want to know what goes into your cup, and if it is Thanksgiving Coffee, you might want to know why we became a certified B Corp. So let me tell you a little story about our coffee company and why we went through this rigorous process of certification.
When Thanksgiving Coffee Company began (now over 50 years ago) it was based on the co-owner Paul Katzeff's history as a social worker. The function of the coffee became a vehicle for social, environmental and economic justice in the world. In the 80's, during Paul's first momentus visit to the coffee farms of the war-torn country of Nicaragua, he created our motto "Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup". This has been the intention behind every aspect of Thanksgiving Coffee's work. (If you ever get a chance, ask Paul to tell you the story of this first visit, it is quite something!) In the meantime you can read more on the revolution at Liberation News.
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages the world over. It is an economic mainstay for dozens of countries and produced by 25 million small share holders. As a pioneer Thanksgiving Coffee Company has gone to these coffee-growing origins around the world to meet with the farmers, to support their organic farming cooperatives, to pay a living wage for the beans, and provide meaningful employment along the entire supply chain to help innovate and create sustainable ecology for over 5 decades.
Can you taste the difference? Will you be the difference?
When a business becomes a Certified B Corporation it means that they have undergone an extensive process to meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose... This was a perfect community for Thanksgiving Coffee to join, with thousands of conscious companies in 89 countries who do real work to make our world a better place for all.
B Corp is A Network to Build Collaboration and Work Toward a More Inclusive Economy
Nicaruguan farmers who spoke out for justice were a huge turning point in our company's history. The women led farmer cooperative of Soppexcca is part of this Nicaraguan legacy and the work we do as a B Corp. When you go to drink your next cup of coffee, take a moment and ask yourself, what is in your cup, really? Is it a "Just Cup"? How does it sustain the Earth? How does it treat our life sustaining waters? Does it support the humanity of all the hard-working farmers? Can you taste the difference? Will you be the difference?
Image: Natividad Lopez Garcia, Reina Isabel Quintero, and Flor Rodriguez, founding members of SOPPEXCCA’s women’s cooperative in Nicaragua.
To try Soppexcca’s Organic and Fair Trade coffee from Nicaragua you can either purchase the Flor de Jinotega or our Bee Bold Cause Coffee in Dark and Medium, which uses their coffee as the main bean in the blend.
SustainabilityA Just Cup? Our Story As A B Corp
read more

Namanyonyi Co-op united a community
The wheels were set in motion many years ago when Thanksgiving Coffee began our work with the Ugandan Coffee Cooperative “Delicious Peace” to bring their Interfaith coffee to market. For those of you who have been following us on this unique journey, we want to share another perspective. It is an article written by an organization that understands cooperatives are run by people, and people have many ups and downs.
"We love this story of multiple faiths helping each other, moving beyond personal beliefs"
Child from the "Delicious Peace" Coffee Cooperative in Uganda.
The author is Rebecca Harvey, the executive editor of Co-operative News. She was very intrigued about the journey this cooperative has been on and contacted Thanksgiving to learn about our involvement. We had the opportunity to speak with her and share our story. We also learned that Co-op News has been around for over 150 years to support the communication between all the many cooperatives in England, and now the World.
The Article For You To Read:
How A Coffee Co-op United A Community – And Was Reborn After A Leadership Crisis
More of our history with the Delicious Peace Cooperative:
2009: Delicious Peace Moves Forward
2014: A Trip To Africa
2020: Delicious Peace Coffee: A New Story
2023: Evolution of Change
Where it all began - the Delicious Peace Coffee
Namanyonyi Co-op United A Community
read more
Earth Day Event in Fort Bragg
The Noyo Food Forest is having their annual Earth Day celebration this Saturday at the Learning Garden. This four hour event is a fundraiser for the Farm-to-School and Youth Intern programs that the Noyo Food Forest operates year-round. We partner with the Noyo Food Forest throughout the year, and we especially love being a part of this annual event in Fort Bragg.
15th Annual Earth Day Event
Saturday, April 20, 12 - 4 PM
At the Learning Garden at Fort Bragg High School on Dana Street.
This Earth Day event is free and geared toward everyone in the family. There will be live music, and you can participate by putting down a bid for the silent auction, paying entry to bouncy houses, and tasting goodies from local chefs. This is one of the most fun events that happens in the city of Fort Bragg every year. Local organizations and nonprofits are a big part of this event, and you’ll see booths and representatives from the Noyo Marine Science Center, the Mendocino Land Trust, our Mendocino County state parks and many more important parts of the coastal community.
Thanksgiving Coffee will be serving up samples of our Bee Bold Blend, our new Nitro Coffee, and the Noyo Food Forest will be selling 12oz bags, as well. All the proceeds benefit the Noyo Food Forest and their important work here in our community. We are very happy to be a part of this awesome event. For more information, visit the Noyo Food Forest Earth Day page on their website, and RSVP on Facebook to share with your friends. Join us on April 20 – see you at the Learning Garden.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Partnership with the Noyo Food Forest
Learn more about how we support our Mother Earth
Earth Day Event in Fort Bragg 2024
read more
Fort Bragg High School Culinary Arts Visit
Thanksgiving Coffee Company recently hosted 30 students from the Fort Bragg High School Culinary Department for a morning of touring, tasting, and education about coffee production.
The students have a wide range of reasons to study the art and science of cooking. Some wanted to learn how to cook better for themselves while others are considering a career in food service. We discussed coffee flavors and aromas, the early origins of coffee, and the role that Thanksgiving Coffee has played in the development of Specialty Coffee since 1972.
Fort Bragg High School Culinary Arts Students visiting the Cupping Lab of Thanksgiving Coffee
Coffee Picking
They had fun picking their own ripe coffee beans from the tree that is producing in our office. The sense of wonder increased as they witnessed the artisan roasting by our team, seeing the flames, watching the color of the beans change, and smelling the magic as the roasting process cycled through.
The Students Were Surprised To Learn That We Import Over 500,000 Lbs. Of Coffee From 22 Different Countries Annually.
Taste Range
When we finally got back to the cupping lab and could taste a range of coffees - light roast, medium roast, dark roast, French roast, and decaf – the reality of the process came full circle and the appreciation peaked. We discussed coffee flavors and applications as ingredients from things like dry rubs and even coffee jelly as a dessert element.
The best feedback came afterward when our Roastmaster/ Director of Coffee, Jacob Long, heard from his son, Abe, who is currently a senior at Fort Bragg High School, that the students had a great time and got a kick out of meeting his Dad.
Jacob Long, Director of Coffee Sharing his knowledge with the FBHS Cullinary Arts Students
Educators of Coffee
We are ready to promote coffee knowledge and are willing to do anything we can to support coffee education. This was a great experience all around.
Joe Seta is the Marketing and Sales Manager of Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Fort Bragg High School Culinary Arts Visit
read more
The Cupping Lab Revolution: How Thanksgiving Coffee Changed Coffee Forever
Cupping Coffee , Nicaragua
It began with a journey to Nicaragua in the 1980s. Paul Katzeff, a former social worker and co-founder of Thanksgiving Coffee, traveled to listen to the farmers. Paul had the tools and vision to create a new way forward for the coffee world.
In those war-torn hills, Paul came face to face with the quiet strength of farmers who had survived conflict, drought, and poverty. What he discovered would transform his understanding of coffee forever.
What Paul saw was that coffee could be more than just a product. It could become a tool for restoring dignity, building solidarity, and giving voice to those who had been left out of their own story.
Nicaruaguan Coffee Farmers coming home, photo by Paul Katzeff
Coffee as a Bridge Between Worlds
Paul's 1985 trip to Nicaragua occurred during the U.S.-backed Contra War—a time of immense hardship and tension. What he witnessed moved him deeply: farmers cultivating resilience amid unimaginable challenges. Meeting with PRODECOOP, one of the earliest farmer cooperatives, he understood that meaningful change would require more than charity. It would take genuine partnership.
This experience birthed a vision for direct trade built on empathy and transparency. Paul saw coffee as more than a commodity—he saw it as a bridge connecting people across borders, across struggles, and across systems built to exclude the voices of those who grow the coffee we love.
Coffee Processing Nicaragua
Preparing coffee to dry - Nicaragua
Roasting coffee in traditional oven at the Lopado Farm, Nicaragua, photo by Paul Katzeff
Grinding coffee in traditional outdoor style, photo by Paul Katzeff
A Revolution Born from Relationship
Years later, in 2001, Paul's vision took physical form when Thanksgiving Coffee helped create the world's first farmer-owned cupping labs. It started with a simple question:
What if those who grow the coffee were also the ones to taste it first?
That question sparked a revolution—and in partnership with our co-ops like UCA MIRAFLOR and CECOCAFEN, it redefined not just how coffee is evaluated, but who gets to define its value.
This work began with trust.
When Thanksgiving Coffee first partnered with these cooperatives, they were communities rising from hardship with their own vision. Families were replanting forests, rebuilding homes, and forming cooperatives that prioritized not only trade, but democracy, biodiversity, and food sovereignty.
Frank Lanzas Family
Fernandito Family
Fernando Beneficio
Maria Elena
As field researcher Christopher Bacon wrote:
"This is a story of reconstruction and resistance... of families working together to regenerate their communities, reclaim the land, and build new institutions of democratic governance."
In these post-war communities, farmers didn't just return to the land—they reimagined its future. By placing cupping labs in their hands, Thanksgiving Coffee wasn't introducing a new tool—they were honoring a movement already in motion.
Redefining the Waves: How Cupping Labs Transformed Coffee Culture
The history of specialty coffee is often described in "waves." The First Wave brought coffee to the masses. The Second Wave introduced espresso culture and coffee as an experience.
But it was the Third Wave—focused on origin, transparency, and craft—that truly began to value the farmer's role. And it was here that Thanksgiving Coffee's cupping labs created their most profound impact.
The Coffee Cuppers Manifesto, by Paul Katzeff 2001
"The $300,000 enabled 9 coops to build their labs and be trained as cuppers by me using SCAA scoring forms. It is one thing to have a lab but another thing to know how to use it. Training was essential. "
- Paul Katzeff
In 1999, when most coffee buyers still made quality decisions without farmer input, Thanksgiving Coffee proposed something radical: building professional cupping labs directly within producer cooperatives in Nicaragua. With a $300,000 USAID contract and decades of field experience, these labs were constructed in 2000, becoming the world's first farmer-owned and operated cupping facilities.
The innovation couldn't have been better timed. As Third Wave coffee culture was gaining momentum in the early 2000s with its focus on single-origin beans and transparent sourcing, these cupping labs equipped farmers to meet this new demand with unprecedented precision.
Suddenly, farmers could:
- Taste and analyze their own coffee before it left the farm
- Create detailed flavor profiles previously only done by importers
- Develop specific micro-lots for specialty markets
- Experiment with processing methods that enhanced quality
- Engage in price negotiations based on verifiable quality data
By 2001, the Cuppers Manifesto was born—a bilingual manual distributed to 10,000 Nicaraguan farmers and later shared with 8,000 producers in Colombia by the Colombian Coffee Federation.
Coffee Processing Nicaragua, photo by Paul Katzeff
From Third Wave to Fourth: Farmers as Flavor Artists
What began as a Third Wave innovation has evolved into something even more profound—what many now call the "Fourth Wave" of coffee, where farmers themselves have become recognized artists of flavor creation.
Today's most celebrated coffees often feature not just the region or farm name, but specific processing techniques developed and perfected by individual farmers—techniques like honey processing, extended fermentation, and anaerobic processing that create distinctive flavor profiles impossible to achieve through roasting alone.
This transition—from farmers as anonymous producers to farmers as named innovators—can be traced directly back to those first cupping labs. When farmers gained the ability to taste, evaluate, and experiment with their own coffee, they unleashed a wave of innovation that continues to transform the industry.
As Paul shared in a later interview:
"Coffee is about people. If you take care of the people, the coffee takes care of itself."
These labs didn't just reflect a shift in coffee culture—they helped create it. From these humble beginnings in rural Nicaragua grew the foundations of today's artisan coffee movement, where quality and value begin at the source and rise through shared craftsmanship.
UCA Miraflor Cooperative, 2023 Nicaragua
Hermanez Montenegro Family with drying coffee behind, photo by Paul Katzeff
A Legacy You Can Taste
SongBird Nicaraguan, Medium Roast
From UCA MIRAFLOR, this coffee represents the pinnacle of farmer-led quality development.
Bird Friendly certified, it supports both sustainable farming and migratory bird habitat.
Tasting Notes: Mango, nutty, chocolate
Miel de Cajamarca, Light Roast
From CENFROCAFE, Peru. Named for the honey-processing techniques refined in origin cupping labs.
This coffee showcases the artisan experimentation that defines Fourth Wave coffee.
Tasting Notes: Honey, papaya, milk chocolate
Join the Revolution in Your Cup
The Cupping Lab Revolution was more than the technology of tasting coffee. It was—and still is—about relationship, repair, and reclaiming the right to define what coffee can be.
Every cup of Thanksgiving Coffee connects you to this ongoing story of transformation—from Third Wave transparency to Fourth Wave farmer artisanship. It's an invitation to participate in a more equitable, relationship-based trade model that honors both the product and its producers.
It is about following a path with heart to let it guide you to be in good relationship with life and the world.
The Cupping Legacy continues - on the left, CEO Jonah Katzeff - on the right, Co-Founder and Board President Paul Katzeff of Thanksgiving Coffee Company
The Way
"The way to great coffee flavor is not direct.
The path must be traveled
with great care and attention.
The way becomes a path, the path a road,
and then, magically, the road becomes a highway
that leads to people who cultivate the land on which the coffee derives its special flavor.
How does one find the path? Through caring.
One does not search so much for the road that leads to the tree, as for the road that leads to the heart.
This is the secret."
Paul Katzeff
Co-founder, Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Lavender Grace is the Sustainability Consultant for Thanksgiving Coffee Company.
The Cupping Lab Revolution: How Thanksgiving Coffee Changed Coffee Forever
read more
What Is In Your Cup?
When you drink your coffee, you might want to know what goes into your cup, and if it is Thanksgiving Coffee, you might want to know why we became a certified B Corp. So let me tell you a little story about our coffee company and why we went through this rigorous process of certification.
When Thanksgiving Coffee Company began (now over 50 years ago) it was based on the co-owner Paul Katzeff's history as a social worker. The function of the coffee became a vehicle for social, environmental and economic justice in the world. In the 80's, during Paul's first momentus visit to the coffee farms of the war-torn country of Nicaragua, he created our motto "Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup". This has been the intention behind every aspect of Thanksgiving Coffee's work. (If you ever get a chance, ask Paul to tell you the story of this first visit, it is quite something!) In the meantime you can read more on the revolution at Liberation News.
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages the world over. It is an economic mainstay for dozens of countries and produced by 25 million small share holders. As a pioneer Thanksgiving Coffee Company has gone to these coffee-growing origins around the world to meet with the farmers, to support their organic farming cooperatives, to pay a living wage for the beans, and provide meaningful employment along the entire supply chain to help innovate and create sustainable ecology for over 5 decades.
Can you taste the difference? Will you be the difference?
When a business becomes a Certified B Corporation it means that they have undergone an extensive process to meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose... This was a perfect community for Thanksgiving Coffee to join, with thousands of conscious companies in 89 countries who do real work to make our world a better place for all.
B Corp is A Network to Build Collaboration and Work Toward a More Inclusive Economy
Nicaruguan farmers who spoke out for justice were a huge turning point in our company's history. The women led farmer cooperative of Soppexcca is part of this Nicaraguan legacy and the work we do as a B Corp. When you go to drink your next cup of coffee, take a moment and ask yourself, what is in your cup, really? Is it a "Just Cup"? How does it sustain the Earth? How does it treat our life sustaining waters? Does it support the humanity of all the hard-working farmers? Can you taste the difference? Will you be the difference?
Image: Natividad Lopez Garcia, Reina Isabel Quintero, and Flor Rodriguez, founding members of SOPPEXCCA’s women’s cooperative in Nicaragua.
To try Soppexcca’s Organic and Fair Trade coffee from Nicaragua you can either purchase the Flor de Jinotega or our Bee Bold Cause Coffee in Dark and Medium, which uses their coffee as the main bean in the blend.