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Back to the Land, Forward in Time
Biodiversity, organic coffee, and the art of creating with care
September has a way of turning quietly on the Mendocino Coast. The light shifts, the gardens offer their last abundance, and the first edge of autumn asks us to notice what we have grown, both in the ground and in our lives.
This season, we are thinking about the relationships that hold everything together: people and place, farmer and roaster, tradition and everyday life. Biodiversity is part of that larger picture. It is the living foundation behind good coffee, and one of the things Thanksgiving Coffee is committed to protecting.
Original Roastary on Noyo Harbor circa 1970's, With Paul and Panda
A Living Mendocino Inheritance
Thanksgiving Coffee was born from the Mendocino Coast world. Our story is connected to Fort Bragg's working harbor, the Mendocino art scene, environmental activism, and the back-to-the-land ethos.
From the beginning, coffee here has meant more than a product. It has offered a way to remain connected to place, to people, and to a life shaped by purpose.
Much of what once sounded "alternative" has become part of how many of us are trying to live today. We want to know where our food comes from. We care about soil and water. We value independent makers and the knowledge carried within their work.
Coffee as Part of a Living System
Biodiversity is one of the threads tying these values together. Coffee doesn't grow in isolation. A biodiverse coffee farm can include shade trees, birds, insects and other pollinators, microorganisms, ground cover and neighboring plant species - all interacting with the coffee crop and the soil and water that sustain it. Coffee grown organically within a diverse landscape develops as part of a living system - carrying the influence of climate, elevation, soil, variety, and the knowledge of the people who tend it.
From Industry Change to Habitat Protection
Thanksgiving Coffee began making the relationship between coffee and habitat visible decades ago. In 1994, we introduced one of the first shade grown coffee lines, connecting customer choice with the protection of tropical forest habitat. Learn more about shade-grown coffee.
In 2015, we joined the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s Bird Friendly program. This certification brings organic agriculture and forest canopy protection together, recognizing coffee farms that provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
That history continues to shape how we understand biodiversity today. It is a living foundation of the landscape and an essential part of coffee quality and our responsibility. When farms maintain diverse vegetation, forest canopy, and healthy soil, they create conditions in which coffee, wildlife, and farming communities can thrive together.
A Resilient Coffee System Is a Human System
Every cup passes through many hands. Farmers bring an intimate knowledge of their land. Cooperative leaders build shared stability. Cuppers develop their palates through years of practice. Roasters respond to the qualities each coffee brings. Designers, production teams, retailers, and customers carry it forward from there.
This is where biodiversity and justice meet. Fair compensation supports farmers in caring for their farms, remaining connected to their land, and passing knowledge from one generation to the next.
Putting Knowledge in Farmers’ Hands
Original Cupping Lab project, Nicaragua
Thanksgiving Coffee put this belief into practice in Nicaragua. In 1999, Paul Katzeff proposed placing professional coffee tasting tools directly in the hands of producer cooperatives. With support from USAID, Thanksgiving Coffee helped nine cooperatives build cupping labs owned by farmers in 2000 and trained farmers to evaluate coffee using the same standards as buyers. The farmers could taste, understand, and demonstrate the quality of their own coffee, strengthening their ability to improve it and negotiate its value.
We see ecological responsibility and fairness as complementary goals. They are the same root system, revealed in different forms.
Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup™.
Mendocino Vienna: A Taste of Place
Mendocino Vienna blends organic coffees from Central America, South America, and Indonesia. Each coffee is shaped by its own landscape and farming traditions.
Careful roasting brings these coffees into balance. The result is bold but sweet, with notes of nuts and dark chocolate and a natural sweetness that lingers. This dark roast still allows the blend’s character to come through.
The beans travel from three continents, but the blend itself was shaped here on the Mendocino Coast. Many of our customers first discovered it in Mendocino and have kept returning to it over the years.
One longtime customer, Joe Massucco of Seattle, first tasted Mendocino Vienna while visiting the coast. He describes it as dark and flavorful without tasting burnt, and as a welcome companion to the morning paper.
A New Way To Enjoy Mendocino Vienna
Its rich notes of chocolate and nuts also make Mendocino Vienna a wonderful foundation for cold brew recipes. Try our Mayan Mocha Smoothie, made with chilled Mendocino Vienna, cacao, banana, cinnamon, and your choice of milk.
Bringing These Values To Your Cup
The choices we make as coffee drinkers can support a more resilient and biodiverse coffee system.
- Look for meaningful certifications. Learn what Organic, Fair Trade, and Smithsonian Bird Friendly certifications tell you about how a coffee was grown or traded. Shade, biodiversity, farming practices, and economic relationships all matter beyond the cup.
- Learn where your coffee comes from. Origin is more than a flavor descriptor. It represents farmers, communities, landscapes, and generations of knowledge.
- Support companies that maintain lasting producer relationships. Relationships built over time can create greater transparency, shared knowledge, and a deeper understanding of quality.
- Learn one story behind the coffee you buy. Knowing something about the people and places behind your coffee can change your relationship with it.
Ready to Begin That Journey?
Start with this month’s featured coffee, Mendocino Vienna. Discover how organic coffees from three continents and more than fifty years of Mendocino Coast roasting experience come together in one enduring blend.
None of this has to be perfect. It simply has to become part of your practice, repeated with care.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
As the fall equinox approaches, we are giving thanks for the harvest, for the people who grow and cultivate our food, and for the relationships that make all of it possible.
The back to the land movement taught us to pay attention. The arts taught us to imagine. Biodiversity reminds us that everything is connected.
At Thanksgiving Coffee, this is living history. It continues through how we source, roast, and share coffee. It also lives within the community that continues to grow around it.
Explore Mendocino Vienna and experience what it means to cultivate coffee, community, and a more thoughtful way of living.
Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup™.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does biodiversity mean in coffee farming?
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life found within and around a coffee farm. This can include coffee plants, shade trees, food crops, native vegetation, birds, pollinators, insects, fungi, and microorganisms in the soil.
These living elements interact with one another. Together, they can help maintain healthy soil, protect water, support natural pest control, and make a farm more resilient to environmental change. Coffee is one crop within this larger community of life.
How is shade grown coffee good for biodiversity?
Shade grown coffee is cultivated beneath a canopy of trees rather than in a cleared field exposed to full sun. When that canopy includes a variety of tree species and layers of vegetation, it can provide food, shelter, and migratory pathways for birds, insects, and other wildlife.
Shade trees can also help regulate temperature, retain moisture, reduce soil erosion, and return organic matter to the ground. However, “shade grown” by itself is not always a regulated claim. Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification provides additional assurance because participating farms must be certified organic and meet specific standards for forest canopy, vegetation, and habitat protection.
What is the difference between Organic, Fair Trade, and Bird Friendly coffee?
Each certification looks at a different part of the coffee system.
Organic certification focuses on farming and processing practices. Certified organic coffee must meet verified standards governing how it is grown and handled. These standards restrict most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers while supporting soil and water health, ecological balance, and biodiversity.
Fair Trade certification focuses on people and trade. It establishes social, economic, and environmental standards for participating producers and businesses. Depending on the certifying system, this can include price protections, additional community premiums, labor standards, and support for democratic producer organizations.
Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification focuses on habitat. Bird Friendly farms must first meet organic certification requirements. They must also maintain specific levels of shade, forest structure, and plant diversity that provide habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
A coffee can carry more than one certification. Organic addresses how the coffee is cultivated. Fair Trade addresses how it moves through economic and social relationships. Bird Friendly adds verified habitat requirements. Together, they give coffee drinkers a fuller understanding of what their coffee supports.
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
Back to the Land, Forward in Time
Thanksgiving Coffee grew from a North Coast culture shaped by artists, environmental activism, and a belief that the choices we make shape the world. That inheritance still guides us today as we promote biodiversity and fair compensation throughout our coffee ecosystem.
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![Inside Fort Bragg’s 55th Annual World’s Largest Salmon BBQ]()
A North Coast Tradition Supporting Wild Salmon
On Saturday, July 4, approximately 3,000 people gathered in Fort Bragg for the 55th annual World’s Largest Salmon BBQ - an enduring North Coast tradition supporting the restoration of local salmon habitat.
Guests enjoyed freshly grilled salmon, classic sides, and live music from six bands. Behind it all were nearly 100 volunteers and a generous group of local sponsors who helped make the day a tremendous success.
Each year, proceeds from the event support the Salmon Restoration Association’s work to restore local streams and the spawning grounds wild salmon depend on. It’s a celebration of good food and community -and an investment in the health of our coastal ecosystems.
Thanksgiving Coffee was proud to support the event alongside fellow Mendocino County Certified B Corporations, North Coast Brewing Company, and Bonterra Organic Estates. Additional sponsors included Harvest Market, Trout Unlimited, Rossi Building Materials, UNFI, Redwood Waste Solutions, and the California Conservation Corps.
Why Wild Salmon Matter on the North Coast
At Thanksgiving Coffee, our commitment to sustainability extends beyond the shade-grown farms where our coffee begins. It also means caring for the ecosystems here at home on California’s North Coast.
Healthy ecosystems require a broad, interconnected approach to conservation. In our coastal home of Fort Bragg, few species represent the vitality of the environment more powerfully than the wild salmon navigating our local rivers.
Over the years, coastal development, resource extraction, and a changing climate have fragmented critical aquatic habitats for species like coho salmon. Restoring those habitats requires persistent, community-led work: repairing damaged stream environments, monitoring water flow and temperature, and protecting the clean spawning gravel salmon need to survive.
The annual BBQ brings the community together in support of healthier streams and wild salmon habitat.
Conservation Starts Close to Home
Grassroots organizations play a vital role in this work. They help restore historic salmon runs, bring greater awareness to the challenges facing our watersheds, and lead hands-on recovery projects throughout the region.
Supporting watershed restoration is a natural extension of Thanksgiving Coffee’s mission to craft “Not Just a Cup, But a Just Cup.” Clean, healthy water is essential to brewing great coffee -and it is also the lifeblood of our coastal ecosystems and communities.
By prioritizing sustainably sourced coffee and championing conservation here at home, we can help protect these remarkable natural resources for generations to come.
We’re proud to raise a mug to the streams, forests, volunteers, and resilient wild salmon that make the North Coast so special.
Inside Fort Bragg’s 55th Annual World’s Largest Salmon BBQ
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![Sixteen Seasons of Coffee and Support]()
The Mendocino Film Festival 2023
The Mendocino Film Festival began on the coast of the Mendocino Headlands sixteen years ago, and they needed coffee. Thanksgiving Coffee saw the opportunity to share art and visions from around the world and bring more culture to our small community. The partnership was a great success and we have been supporting each other ever since.
This year we offered four concession stands at three venues and poured 75 pounds of coffee over four days. We served Paul’s Blend to highlight our winning coffee selection from our Roaster of the Year Award ~ A once in a lifetime honor, along with our Royal Decaf. Thanksgiving Coffee's co-founder, Joan Katzeff has been the mainstay connection for this enduring relationship with the Film Festival all these years.
“We have a lot of appreciation for the volunteers who brewed the coffee very well”
– Co-founder Joan KatzeffSomething New - Affogatos
A unique addition to our drip coffee came from our Sales and Marketing Manager Joe Seta. In partnership with Cucina Verona, the makers of the delicious vanilla ice cream, Thanksgiving brewed our light roast Espresso - called The Upsetter - and poured it, steaming hot, over the ice cream to create 550 Affogatos (An Italian dessert) to the delight of the festival goers, both at the opening Gala and the Italian shorts series.
Joe Seta serving up the Affogatos
Native Cinema Returns
Last year as part of our Bee Bold Alliance, Thanksgiving Coffee sponsored, and produce the first Native Cinema Program for the Mendocino Film Festival. It was met with great success and the Festival board then voted to include it into every festival season.
From left to right: Bernadette Smith, Ras K'Dee and Coastal Pomo Dancers. Image by Holly Sheehan.
This year’s Native program was co-produced with Xa Kako Dile:, A women’s led Indigenous learning garden and working farm. Bernadette Smith (the Board Chair) led the Coastal Pomo Dancers in a beautiful and heartfelt opening along with Ras K'dee who all set the stage for the wonderful feature documentary Groundworks. This film follows four California Indigenous Artists who were reunited for the first time (since the filming in 2017). They gave an insightful and inspired panel discussion about their work and how to learn more about local Native Culture.
From left to right: Kanyon Sayers-Roods, L. Frank, Bernadette Smith, Ras K'Dee.
Insight from our own Shane Powers
"I attended several films at the Mendocino Film Festival with friends, and they were all very entertaining and well done. We enjoyed Patrick and the Whale on Saturday, which featured some really great cinematography and a fascinating story with helped us better understand many of the whale species found along the Mendocino Coast. The panel discussion afterward with local marine and whale experts took that knowledge deeper and added so much meaning to the film.
We also very much enjoyed Little Richard: I Am Everything, and we were convinced that Little Richard indeed WAS the “King of Rock and Roll”, through lots of archival footage, some great music and a vast array of interviews, including many with Little Richard himself. And we were so inspired by Native Cinema: Groundworks, a documentary made by indigenous people about indigenous people, specifically those near and dear to our local hearts. To see the beautiful, well-presented live dance performance before the film was a real treat as well. Overall, we were impressed with the organization, passion and presentation of the festival by everyone from staff to volunteers to vendors/sponsors and everyone involved." Shane Powers - Online Sales Administration at Thanksgiving Coffee.
Reel Mendo with Mischa Hedges
" I always enjoy attending the Mendocino Film Festival, and it's truly a special experience to have the opportunity to screen films I've made in my hometown. This year's program was thought-provoking, entertaining, and joyful - the range of films was fantastic. I look forward to attending again next year - hopefully with another film!" Mischa Hedges Founder & Executive Producer of Trim Tab Media and filmmaker and panelist for Reel Mendo with Oracle: the Life & Music of Michael Hedges
Thanksgiving Coffee donated to four concession stands, at three venues, and poured 75 pounds of coffee over four days.
Yes, It has been sixteen years of coffee and support for the Mendocino Film Festival. It has been full of visual creativity with insights from the wider World onto the big screen in the big tent on the hill. We look forward to many more seasons to come. Thank you for the memories.
Follow our Thanksgiving Life
Sixteen Seasons of Coffee and Support
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![Pollinator Week Partner Post]()
Here is a post from our Bee Bold Alliance partner Conservation Works, with a highlight on our collaborative efforts to restore biodiversity and support local food systems with youth.
Stitching Together Bee Patches of Pollinator Habitat
By Oona Heacock, Executive Director of Conservation Works
![Bee]()
On a foggy morning along the Westport Headlands Park, Conservation Works volunteer Joan Wier sets up tools for a group of Bee Bold Youth Core teens and their parents as they gather to plant a new habitat garden for bees. As the teens arrive at this dramatic seaside park, Joan guides them around the perimeter of the future garden, hanging string around wooden stakes that the group pounds into the mowed grass to form the shape of a whale in honor of the Westport Whale Festival held each year at this site. A Bee Patch is being created.
“The trick is to plant 3 foot blocks of the same kind of flower to attract pollinators and plant four seasons of bloom,” Weir explained. She went on to demonstrate how to hand grub the grassy headlands site to expose soil and then directed one mom and daughter pair to cast native lupin seeds directly onto the soil while others mixed seeds with clay to form little seed bombs which later would be rolled onto the site at the end of the day.
![Bee]()
![Bee]()
Bees are struggling. Multiple factors are causing this decline, but coming together as a community and involving youth to plant a “Bee Patch” of native flowering plants along with clean water and places to rest and nest along our farms, parks and homes can make all the difference in restoring healthy bee populations.
Conservation Works believes that the likelihood of long-term environmental sustainability of our pollinators needs to involve the next generation. Our Bee Patches program energizes youth to choose to be environmental stewards throughout their life, and nurtures them to become the change-makers for taking direct action to reverse the downward spiral in pollinator populations.
Bees inspire a sense of wonder and fascination in most of us and can be a good way to introduce youth and community groups of any age and background to the larger natural world. Bees can be found in any landscape. We will never see most of these furry little wildlife because they’re fast, often small, and nest underground. But take a summer stroll out in your garden or at a local park and you’re likely to spot more bees than you can count. Other beneficial insects and hummingbirds use a garden, too, as it’s a busy oasis of year-round habitat and food resources. Planting a garden is a powerful way to take local action and provide an offset to mounting, worldwide pollinator declines.
![Bee]()
![Bee]()
Everyone can take action with Conservation Works and the Bee Bold Alliance during National Pollinator Week by growing pollinator-friendly flowers, providing nest and rest sites, avoiding pesticides, and spreading the word. And don’t forget to make your commitment official by becoming a Pollinator Protector. Make your pledge.
Pollinator Week Partner Post
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