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.

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.