As a Bay Area business with international relationships, Mr. Espresso remains committed to making positive contributions to local and global communities. We maintain this commitment through charitable involvement as well as through good business practices.

When Mr. Espresso purchases coffee overseas, our coffee buyers take great care to remain sensitive to local market conditions. Where possible, Mr. Espresso supports local initiatives that promote both a fair living wage for coffee growers and sustainable agricultural practices that protect the environment.

Back at home, Mr. Espresso contributes to initiatives to improve the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area. We volunteer time, contribute our coffee and services as well as donate cash grants. If you have an initiative which we might be interested in supporting, please contact us.

We invite you to learn more about some of the projects in which we are involved.

Mr. Espresso has joined the Relationship Coffee Partnership, sponsored by The Colombian Coffee Federation, Inc. (CCF). The Partnership aims to connect coffee buyers directly with growers to sustain the economic efforts of local producers through pricing that truly rewards growers for a premium product.

"The relationship coffee partnership is a positive step forward in improving the quality of life of the communities where the coffees are grown, while guaranteeing the coffee quality, " said Alejandro Renjifo, CCF's Vice President Specialty Coffees of Colombia for North America. "Through this relationship we link coffee growers in selected origins with the U.S. Colombian specialty coffee consumers, as they are responsible for allowing this partnership," added Renjifo.

Additionally, it is the first program to review the different regions of the country and label them with different appellations, such as seen in the wine industry. The appellations consider an area's local conditions, including soil, altitude, sun exposure, and tree canopy and can be assigned to areas as small as a few square miles.

Fair Trade certification by TransFair -- Visit our coffee selection to sample coffees roasted with Fair Trade-certified beans.

Local Neighborhood

The Chez Panisse Foundation -- Chez Panisse Foundation was established in 1996 to attract support for educational and cultural programs that promote sustainable agriculture.

April 27th, 2002 -- The 25th Annual California Music Awards (Henry J. Kaiser Arena, 10 Tenth Street, Oakland, CA.) Mr. Espresso proudly served our fine espressos and coffees backstage for the 400+ performers of The California Music Awards. This year's line-up included Smash Mouth, Sammy Hagar, Bob Weir, Joe Satriani, Papa Roach, The K.G.B., & Mixmaster Mike. Proceeds benefited Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation- a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting instrumental music education nationwide.