Black Oak is built with a simple mission and a commitment to doing good along the way.
The foundation of our values:
Exceptional Quality
Taking a studied and attentive approach to crafting the perfect cup, we aim to delight your senses with exceptional coffees.
Generous Service
We believe that, by sharing our best, we can better our community, creating a culture that is kind, generous, and inclusive.
Investing in People
Whether you’re a coffee farmer in Costa Rica, a barista in Ukiah, or a coffee-lover in Omaha; we see our coffees as a way to lift each other up.
Sustainability
The best things (and biggest challenges) take time to get just right. We strive for long-term value and sustainability, never to make a quick buck.
Black Oak Coffee is proud to partner with World Coffee Research to protect the future of coffee and coffee farmers.
Our partnership with WCR allows our impact to expand beyond the exceptional coffee growers we work with directly, and empower a global community of farmers with access to cutting edge research and agronomic best-practices. Applying their research to help farmers prepare for climate change, WCR is breaking new ground by expanding coffee’s genetic diversity through hereditary research, advanced breeding programs, and deep collaborations with coffee growers in 27 countries.
For every pound of coffee we import, we’re donating 1% to supporting the mission of World Coffee Research.
We’re big believers that thoughtful and collaborative processes can yield amazing results. By understanding the unique strengths and needs of each coffee growing community, WCR provides the specific technical and scientific support for coffee growers to thrive in the face of economic and environmental uncertainty.
Ultimately, the results will speak for themselves; ecologically resilient farms, delicious coffee varietals, and economically thriving farmers.
Black Oak collaborates with a network of trusted coffee farmers and importing partners to ensure that each roast we craft is not only delicious, but a force for good. Paying well above fair-trade benchmarks, we evaluate every potential source for quality, transparency, and sustainability: selecting exceptional coffees to bring you a great cup that you can trust.
Whether you’re drinking Black Oak Coffee from Las Lajas (one of the first organic micro-mills in Costa Rica) or from the Pacayal (a collective of 134 Honduran farmers), our single origin coffees are a testament to the creativity and care of the people who grow, roast, and ultimately brew them.
We take our commitment to being an agent for positive change in our community seriously. Since Black Oak Coffee opened in 2012, we’ve supported more than 100 community organizations who are making a difference on the North Coast and beyond.
At Black Oak Coffee, we’re working hard to reduce the environmental impact of our roasting facility and cafe by using nearly 2/3 renewable and hydro-electric energy with the goal of 100% by 2025.
While restoring our historic Ukiah cafe, we made significant energy efficiency upgrades, replacing every light and appliance with modern, super-efficient equipment, significantly lowering our carbon footprint.
It doesn’t end with energy usage, we’re also moving toward zero waste operations by reducing and ultimately eliminating much of our waste stream with compostable to-go-ware, discounts for using reusable cups, and community partners, turning all our kitchen and coffee roasting waste into rich soil for local food producers.
