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The first coffee James McCarthy ever tasted came out of his dad's percolator, thick as mud, brewed and re-brewed until it barely resembled a drink. He was ten and sure he hated it.

Approximately 3,675 miles across the pond in Mons, Belgium, there's a patisserie by the name of Colson, belonging to a man named Hubert Colson. For generations, it's been one thing: making beautiful pastries the right way.

Growing up in Japan, there were always two bottles of iced coffee in the fridge — her mom's unsweetened, her dad's with sugar. Mami Perez always went for her dad's.

Two New York families. Connected for decades before they ever formally worked together. In 1986, Taylor Morabito's mother opened a six-seat café in Gramercy Park and called it Friend of a Farmer. Forty years later, her son is one of ours.

Marisa has been at our LaGuardia Place cafe for four years. She has a drink named after her, friendships built across the bar, and a TV pilot in development. Some people are just like that.

You might already know Oscar without realizing it. He's been roasting at our Long Island City Roastery for years now—and if you've ever walked by and immediately thought, whatever that smell is, I need a cup, there's a solid chance he made it happen. Oscar started at Joe seven years ago as a barista at Grand Central. Cafe lead came after that, then quality control, and eventually the roaster—which is where he's been for the past five years. But his passion for coffee didn't start at Joe. It started way before New York, on his dad's farm in Colombia, where Oscar spent pretty much every weekend growing up. His dad has had the place for over 40 years. They grew cattle, mostly. But there was always coffee in the soil. He and his brother eventually decided to do something with it. They brought the caturra back first, got their footing, and then something a little wild happened. A family friend—a professional cyclist—was wrapping up one of his last races in Panama when a stranger handed him a sock filled with gesha coffee beans. Just said the coffee was really special and sent him on his way. The cyclist didn't have any land, so the beans went to Oscar's dad instead. They threw 250 trees in the ground and waited. First harvest came back at 87 points on the SCA scale—which, for a first harvest of gesha, is kind of a big deal. Oscar's brother's reaction was pretty much just: alright, let's go. Five thousand trees went in after that. This was maybe four, four and a half years ago now. Gesha is one of those things where once someone explains it to you, you begin to understand the hype. Oscar's go-to is the wine comparison—you can find a ten dollar bottle or a ten thousand dollar bottle, same thing with coffee. Gesha just happens to sit at the very top of that range. It's fruity, almost tea-like, not what most people picture when they think of coffee at all. The trees are also notoriously stingy—they don't produce much, which is part of why it’s become so rare and expensive when you find it. One of the priciest coffees on earth right now is a gesha out of Panama. $7,500 a pound. Oscar's family is growing the same variety—from a sock of beans a stranger handed off at a finish line in Panama. He came to New York because he wanted to learn the full picture. Growing coffee in Colombia is one thing—and his family does it well—but he wanted to understand roasting, serving, the whole loop. Joe gave him that. The roasting, he says, clicked because of his background as a chef. "It's an art. Going from light to medium is one degree—one degree and you could char it, make it bitter and burnt. Or go one degree lower and it's super sweet, really vibrant. You train your palate, cup every day, and just follow your instincts." Outside of his work at Joe, Oscar runs OG Coffee Roasters, his own company built entirely around his family's farm. He grows it, exports it, roasts it, and serves it himself—no middlemen, nothing in between. You can catch him at the Dumbo Market on weekends. "I planted these trees four years ago and now I'm having a cup of coffee from that same tree," he says. "How many people can say that? I grew it. I imported it. I roasted it. I'm serving it. That's the story."   Oscar's OG Coffee Roasters is now the featured guest roaster at our LIC Roastery Cafe and the Pro Shop for a limited time. Come find him, try the coffee, and ask him about the sock story. He'll tell you the whole thing.  

Ever since we opened our Long Island City Roastery in 2019, we've been a staple of the neighborhood—and you'll probably smell the cafe before you've even arrived. The sweet scent of freshly roasted coffee drifts through Queens' signature numbered streets and avenues, drawing you in before you've even reached the door. Step inside and you'll be greeted by a number of friendly faces, some familiar, some new, and one barista in particular: Sarah—winner of this season's beverage competition with her Lychee Mint Spritz. We sat down with Sarah to learn more about the inspiration behind the drink and her time at Joe.

This October, Joe Coffee is proud to support Community Voices Heard (CVH) through our in-cafe round-up campaign. CVH is a member-led, multiracial organization made up primarily of women of color and low-income families across New York State. For 30 years, they’ve been building power and driving change—tackling housing justice, economic equity, and civic participation through grassroots organizing and leadership development. We sat down with Juanita Lewis, Executive Director of CVH, to talk about their mission, their impact, and how every round-up donation helps create a more just and equitable New York. Since our last interview in 2021, what milestones or shifts has CVH experienced that you're most proud of? I'm incredibly proud that we celebrated our 30th anniversary last year. Thirty years of organizing with low-income people of color, building power, and winning real change for New Yorkers. I also need to be real about what we've faced in this last year alone. We've had to double down after an onslaught of attacks from the federal government. In February, our members from across our four chapters traveled to Albany and held meetings with over 40 New York representatives to demand our State step up. And in May, CVH Power members traveled to DC to fight back against cuts to HUD, SNAP, and Medicaid We've also been holding People's Assemblies with our local elected officials in the Hudson Valley and Harlem to make sure they're hearing directly from their constituents. When the federal government tries to dismantle the safety net, we organize harder. That's the shift: we're not only defending what we have, we're demanding more. How has CVH's work—and the needs of the communities you serve—evolved over the past few years? The needs have intensified, honestly. Coming out of the pandemic, we saw the devastating impact on Black and brown communities – the economic instability, the housing crisis getting worse, the ongoing threats to our democracy. What's evolved is our understanding that we can't just respond to crisis after crisis. We need to build a sustainable base. Our work has become more explicitly focused on centering Black women's leadership through our Follow Black Women project, because we know that's where transformative change comes from. We're not just organizing around individual issues anymore – we're building the infrastructure for long-term power. What're some of the biggest challenges CVH is facing in 2025? We are witnessing the same kinds of attacks that sparked CVH's creation. The federal government is once again targeting the most vulnerable among us: slashing safety net programs, undermining voting access, and demonizing those who use public assistance. It's a scary time for our communities, and the threats feel both familiar and urgent. But here's what gives me hope: CVH was created precisely for moments like these. We were born out of necessity when our people were under attack, and we have spent three decades building the power to fight back. This is what we were made for. Can you share a story of a recent campaign or initiative that illustrates CVH's impact on everyday New Yorkers? I want to tell you about our East Harlem tenants who took on one of the city's worst landlords. Nearly 40 tenants across five buildings on East 103rd Street organized with us because their landlord had created unbearable living conditions – mold, blocked fire exits, a hole in the roof, doors that locked people inside their own buildings. But it was worse than just neglect; this predatory equity firm had stolen tens of thousands of dollars in security deposits from tenants. CVH organized the tenants, we partnered with Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC, and we filed a lawsuit. Ultimately, we won almost $500,000 for those tenants. That's the power of organized tenants standing together. What does "building power" look like for members of CVH in practice, and how do you see that power growing in the years ahead? At CVH, we say “power” is organized people and organized money. Building power looks like a CVH member going from never having knocked on a door to leading a team of other members. It looks like our members testifying at the City Council, meeting with their elected officials, and shaping policy agendas. Through our Ella Baker School for Organizing, we're always training the next generation of organizers. Looking ahead, I see our power growing as we deepen our Follow Black Women infrastructure, as we connect fights across the state, and as we win policies that give people more time and resources to organize and just live their lives. Power grows when people see themselves winning and bring their neighbors into the fight. And power grows when we have this kind of monetary support from everyday people. How has the Follow Black Women project grown since we last spoke, and what change has it sparked so far? Follow Black Women has grown from a bold idea into real infrastructure. We surveyed over 5,000 Black women across New York State and found that education, housing, and healthcare are the priority policy areas for change. This year we organized a series of events focused on how we show up differently for this work because the conditions are different. The events included visioning sessions, panels on rest, and trainings on Ranked Choice Voting. These events set the foundation to build a policy agenda created by Black women that will guide lawmakers in 2026 and beyond. This September, we held a powerful event with 100 Black women, Attorney General Letitia James, and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to present our top priorities for the next mayor. We're holding two more sessions in October and November for Black women to dive deeper into writing a mayoral agenda. This is what it looks like when Black women move from being acknowledged as the wheels of political movements to actually being the drivers. What does it mean for CVH to center the leadership of Black women, and how do you see that shaping broader movements for justice? For more than 100 years, Black women have led America's progress on human rights. We know this, so why aren't Black women setting the agenda and driving policy? When we center Black women's leadership, we're building from the most intersectional analysis. Black women experience racism, sexism, and often economic exploitation simultaneously. Solutions that work for Black women work for everyone. I see this shaping broader movements by demonstrating that the most transformative change comes when those most impacted are leading. We are the architects of our liberation. We're running a round-up campaign in cafes this month to support CVH. How do you see small, everyday contributions like this playing into larger movements for change? Here's the truth: we've grown from a small and mighty group into a statewide, power-building machine, and that happened because of sustained support from everyday people. When someone rounds up their coffee purchase to support CVH, they're making a statement about what kind of world they want to live in. They're investing in member leadership, in organizing infrastructure, in the long-term work that doesn't make headlines but builds power. Those contributions add up to door hangers, to organizing trainings, to trips to Albany and DC. And just as importantly, it means we're accountable to our communities. That's how movements are sustained – not by one big check from one big donor, but by many people investing in the future together. Next time you’re in the cafe, round up your order and join us in supporting Community Voices Heard’s mission this October.

The results are in—our seasonal staff beverage contest has crowned not one, but two winners this year. It’s always a favorite moment for us, when our team brings their creativity to the menu, sharing stories, memories, and flavors close to home. This time, the winning drinks come from our Columbia Business School cafe and right here at Joe HQ. Pomegranate Mocha Latte Andy, Cafe Lead at Columbia Business School Over the years, our presence on Columbia’s campus has steadily grown, welcoming students, neighbors, and visitors into our cafes. Today, we’re proud to have four cafes and a pop-up across campus. At Columbia Business School, you’ll find Andy—our cafe lead and one of this year’s beverage contest winners—with his Pomegranate Mocha Latte.  We sat down with Andy to learn more about the inspiration behind the drink and his time at Joe. How long have you worked at Joe? This September will be my third year at Joe! What’s been one of the biggest highlights during your time here? One of my biggest highlights was scoring a 100% on our Coffee Audit here at CBS. It was a true testament to how hard the team here works but also how much the baristas here care about their craft. Another big highlight for me was having some students from the graduating MBA class of 2025 leave me small notes showing appreciation for just being their barista while they were here. What was the inspiration behind the Pomegranate Mocha Latte? There are two main inspirations! The first was that pomegranate is my late grandmother's favorite fruit. One of the earliest memories I have is of me as a child sitting on her lap, eating a pomegranate while she drank a cup of coffee so I wanted to combine these two flavors!.The second was my favorite candy, Brookside Dark chocolate-covered pomegranate! I really wanted my drink to come out tasting exactly like the candy, so I was super happy with the end result! **What’s your usual go-to coffee order?**I like to start off my day with either an 8oz vanilla latte or an oat cortado! What’s your first memory of coffee? It’s really hard to pinpoint my first memory of coffee since I can’t really remember anytime I haven’t been around coffee. I can’t remember a night of my childhood where the day didn’t end with my whole family enjoying a cup of coffee together with conchas (a mexican pastry). What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I believe the quote was “ If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you're done.”. It’s a great reminder to be to constantly working towards my goals and small consistent increments is the best way to achieve them! Miso Brown Butter Latte Jordi, VP of People & Culture If you make your way to 30th and Park Avenue South, you’ll find the heart of Joe—our HQ. We’ve recently moved a few floors up, making room for a brand-new training space we’ve lovingly named the Park Ave Lab. HQ is home to the teams that keep Joe running—wholesale, education, marketing, leadership, HR, and cafe management. Over the years, we’ve grown a lot, and our VP of People & Culture, Jordi, has been a driving force behind that growth. He’s poured his creativity into our seasonal staff beverage contest many times, but this year his Miso Brown Butter Latte truly took the spotlight. We sat down with Jordi in the office to talk about his work, his journey, and the story behind this winning drink. How long have you worked at Joe? Since June 2020. What’s been one of the biggest highlights during your time here? Being able to help build the culture of kindness, collaboration, and values-forward business we work in. Just the idea of a mandatory micro-aggression training, an ethical business council, a workshop on emotional intelligence and compassionate accountability would have all been scoffed at in previous companies i worked for. so i'm happy i found a place were those things are seen as truly valuable. That has been a proud highlight... oh and singing about our HR/Payroll system at the Joe show was quite memorable, as well. What was the inspiration behind the Miso Brown Butter Latte? To be completely honest, it was inspired by a 2 live crew song from the 1980's that sounds like 2 of the ingredients.... but also, I used to joke that we should do a Miso Ramen Latte with noodles. This has all the warmth and umami....without the carbs! What’s your usual go-to coffee order? Summer: Yuzu Espresso Spritz (I love lemonade with a shot of espresso, when I can't get to a Joe) Winter: Good ol' La Familia Guarnizo drip. I love a bright fruity light-roast. What’s your first memory of coffee? My mom used to let me drink the last sips of her coffee when I was a young kid. She added milk and sugar to her coffee so the last sips had all the undissolved sugar which made it quite the ephemeral treat! What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? My grandfather used to always say, "it could be worse!" which isn't direct advice, but it is a gratitude-forward perspective that my entire family in general has internalized. Understanding how blessed we are, even when are struggling, really keeps things in perspective.