Paul Katzeff in 1972, co-founder
of Thanksgiving Coffee Company.

Good morning! Any coffee lovers out there? I'm not confessing any addiction, but I do admit that I enjoy my morning cup. It gives me great pleasure that my cup comes from Thanksgiving Coffee Company, Oakland Zoo's caffeine supplier. Yes, this stimulates me in many ways!

Not only is the coffee delicious, but their like-minded mission makes them a great match for Oakland Zoo.

Established by Joan and Paul Katzeff in 1972, Thanksgiving Coffee was born in the Mendacino Hotel and was sold in the hotel café. Even then, the company focused on giving to the community and caring for the environment. Since then, the company has grown to become a specialty coffee industry leader, in both roasting practices and community activism.

The coffee is mostly organic and much of it is Fair Trade certified. They buy their beans from small farms in mountain regions and work to help farmers form cooperatives. The cooperatives provide stability and support, enabling groups to negotiate fair prices for their crops, send their children to school, and enrich their communities. These shifts allow growers to blossom into proud coffee artisans. Thanksgiving Coffee Company has received many awards for their sustainable practices. They were the first to create shade-grown coffee, the first to become carbon-neutral and they continue to explore ways an organization can save people and the planet! For obvious reasons, I love their:

Rwanda Gorilla Fund Coffee

A rich medium-strong roast coffee from Rwanda with citrus high notes over deep chocolate undertones.

2,000 Hutu and Tutsi farmers produce the beans for this coffee, and the hard workand dedication to quality coffee is helping to heal the scars left by the 1994 genocide. The practice also builds an alternative to poaching and logging, two of the biggest threats to the endangered Mountain Gorillas.

Thanksgiving Coffee donates a portion of the profits from each package sold to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to preserve and protect mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Ugandan Mirembe Kawomera Light Roast

Hints of vanilla, nutmeg and pecans

Mirembe Kawomera Coffee began with one man's dream. In 2003, JJ Keki, a Ugandan coffee farmer, walked door to door asking his Jewish, Christian, and Muslim neighbors to put aside old differences and come together. They named their coffee Mirembe Kawomera, which means, "Delicious Peace" in the Luganda language. The cooperative now has 750 members and sells directly to Thanksgiving Coffee Company, who supports them by buying the beans at high prices and by getting the word out about their inspiring project.

Songbird Coffee

The Nicaraguan version is fruity, nutty and chocolaty with hints of mango, plum and cranberry.

The American Birding Association (ABA) works with Thanksgiving Coffee to create beans grown in the shade of the trees, keeping vital habitat where it is.

Thanksgiving coffee grows shade-grown in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, keeping both customers and birds happy.

Come sip a cup at the Oakland Zoo's Island Café, while gazing at flamingos, anytime!

37.7772 -122.166595