
Our Blog
Thanksgiving Coffee Turns 50
50 Years of Business
1972-2022
Thanksgiving Coffee Company turns 50 this year. We created a video to celebrate the highlights and history of our company, which was established using our business as a force for good, with coffee as our medium. The video below offers a glimpse into the social and environmental justice built into the heart our the company and how we are working to bring health and well-being to our farmers.
"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 from 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
Now the new generation is here to steward the regenerative business forward. Jonah Katzeff is the new CEO, while his parents Joan and Paul remain active members of the Board to guide their son for many years to come.
Our motto, and it is true as ever... Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup.
Thanksgiving Coffee Company
50th Anniversary
1972-2022
Recommended Reading
Back to the Blog-
Standing the Test of Time...
Part I. The Art
Thanksgiving Coffee has seen many changes over the past 50 years. The invention of the internet has been a big change that opened an entirely new territory where images are key to communicating with our customers, like you.
Since the first image was posted to the internet, approximately 54,400 images are now uploaded per second, or 4.7 billion per day. Thirty years later 91% of the world’s population has instantaneous access to approximately 750 billion images through their cell phones.
The “Upside-down Man” came just before the digital expansion. In the early ’90s, the North Bay artist Chris Blum was asked to make a new poster for our business. Long before the internet, Chris Blum developed his unique artistic style by devouring images from hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Chris believes “pop culture to be one of the best decoders of the cultural values of the times”.
As art director for the project Chris Blum brought in one of America’s most recognized illustrators and graphic artist Michael Schwab. Schwab’s art focuses on the interplay of positive and negative space to create strong and simple, yet always contemporary images. The resulting collaboration between Blum and Schwab is our iconic Upside - down Man, a timeless image with a message of who our company is.
Part II – The Meaning
The truth is our company is about service. We serve our customers the best coffee possible on every level of taste, and integrity. We serve coffee full of social, economic, and environmental justice for our global community. We serve coffee to support the health and happiness of our coffee farmers in their home countries. We serve coffee for the well-being of future generations through our conduct in the world and our local community. As long as Thanksgiving Coffee is in business, service will be integrated into the DNA of who we are.
Next time you see the image of our Upside-down man, we hope it serves to inspire you.
Sometimes in an upside-down world, the only thing right side up is a great cup of coffee.Our HistoryHistory of the Upside-down Man
read more -
Thanksgiving Coffee Company Celebrates 50 Years
Thanksgiving Coffee Company turns 50 this year and we would like to celebrate our co-Founders, Joan and Paul Katzeff. They set the example for us to use our business as a force for good, with coffee as our medium. They instilled social and environmental justice as our passion and the health and well-being of our farmers as our goal.
Joan and Paul have led the specialty coffee industry toward equality and justice. For five decades they have spearheaded ethical sourcing directly from small-scale farmer cooperatives, building the first independent farmer-owned cupping labs and inspiring the first Fair Trade model.
Working shoulder to shoulder with the farmers, Thanksgiving Coffee has developed one of the most valuable supply chains in coffee today. At the core, our company is built on the interconnectedness of coffee farmers, the coffee they produce, and the health and well-being of our shared environment.
“A coffee farmer will love their trees when they provide food, shelter, education, and health care for their family. When a farmer loves their trees, they will care for them in a way that produces fine quality and flavor. Great coffee derives from the welfare of the farmer and their family. It is true for all farmers who work the land, including our local farmers.”
– Paul Katzeff, Co-Founder
Now Thanksgiving Coffee is being led by Joan and Paul's son, Jonah Katzeff, who has literally been part of this company his entire life. With a solid foundation to build upon, we now look to the next 50 years with a sense of excitement and purpose. Our motto, and it is true as ever... Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup.
Thank you, Joan and Paul!
Thanksgiving Coffee Company
50th Anniversary
1972-2022
Our History50 years... One Bean at a Time
read more

Standing the Test of Time...
Part I. The Art
Thanksgiving Coffee has seen many changes over the past 50 years. The invention of the internet has been a big change that opened an entirely new territory where images are key to communicating with our customers, like you.
Since the first image was posted to the internet, approximately 54,400 images are now uploaded per second, or 4.7 billion per day. Thirty years later 91% of the world’s population has instantaneous access to approximately 750 billion images through their cell phones.
The “Upside-down Man” came just before the digital expansion. In the early ’90s, the North Bay artist Chris Blum was asked to make a new poster for our business. Long before the internet, Chris Blum developed his unique artistic style by devouring images from hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Chris believes “pop culture to be one of the best decoders of the cultural values of the times”.
As art director for the project Chris Blum brought in one of America’s most recognized illustrators and graphic artist Michael Schwab. Schwab’s art focuses on the interplay of positive and negative space to create strong and simple, yet always contemporary images. The resulting collaboration between Blum and Schwab is our iconic Upside - down Man, a timeless image with a message of who our company is.
Part II – The Meaning
The truth is our company is about service. We serve our customers the best coffee possible on every level of taste, and integrity. We serve coffee full of social, economic, and environmental justice for our global community. We serve coffee to support the health and happiness of our coffee farmers in their home countries. We serve coffee for the well-being of future generations through our conduct in the world and our local community. As long as Thanksgiving Coffee is in business, service will be integrated into the DNA of who we are.
Next time you see the image of our Upside-down man, we hope it serves to inspire you.
Sometimes in an upside-down world, the only thing right side up is a great cup of coffee.
History of the Upside-down Man
read more
Thanksgiving Coffee Company Celebrates 50 Years
Thanksgiving Coffee Company turns 50 this year and we would like to celebrate our co-Founders, Joan and Paul Katzeff. They set the example for us to use our business as a force for good, with coffee as our medium. They instilled social and environmental justice as our passion and the health and well-being of our farmers as our goal.
Joan and Paul have led the specialty coffee industry toward equality and justice. For five decades they have spearheaded ethical sourcing directly from small-scale farmer cooperatives, building the first independent farmer-owned cupping labs and inspiring the first Fair Trade model.
Working shoulder to shoulder with the farmers, Thanksgiving Coffee has developed one of the most valuable supply chains in coffee today. At the core, our company is built on the interconnectedness of coffee farmers, the coffee they produce, and the health and well-being of our shared environment.
“A coffee farmer will love their trees when they provide food, shelter, education, and health care for their family. When a farmer loves their trees, they will care for them in a way that produces fine quality and flavor. Great coffee derives from the welfare of the farmer and their family. It is true for all farmers who work the land, including our local farmers.”
– Paul Katzeff, Co-Founder
Now Thanksgiving Coffee is being led by Joan and Paul's son, Jonah Katzeff, who has literally been part of this company his entire life. With a solid foundation to build upon, we now look to the next 50 years with a sense of excitement and purpose. Our motto, and it is true as ever... Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup.
Thank you, Joan and Paul!