At Joe Coffee, we believe doing good and making great coffee go hand in hand. From our earliest days on Waverly Place, we’ve held fast to the idea that coffee should bring people together—at the cafe counter, and throughout the entire supply stream. Our values are rooted in humanity and guided by our Four C’s: Craft, Community, Curiosity, and Commitment. Joe Humanity is a framework of information and initiatives that we use to ensure these values don’t just live in our mission statement—they show up in our sourcing practices, workplace policies, and daily decisions.
Anti-Racism at Joe Coffee
Joe Coffee's Anti-Racism Policy is a proactive and evolving framework designed to identify, address, and dismantle racism within the company. Going beyond simply rejecting discrimination, the policy focuses on building systems of accountability and education. Key initiatives include centering the voices of those harmed, providing education for individuals who cause harm, creating pathways for systemic change, diversifying leadership, and upholding strict standards of conduct to prevent racist behavior in their cafes.
Gender Equity in Coffee and at Joe
Since 2018, Joe Coffee has made gender equity a central part of its business, believing that equitable and inclusive practices benefit both communities and coffee quality. Their Gender Equity Statement outlines their commitment to supporting individuals and communities by addressing unique barriers. This is put into practice by prioritizing coffees from women producers, engaging in dialogue with farmers, and creating gender-inclusive policies for employees in New York City. The company also has a Gender & Equity Committee to ensure fair representation and to give every employee a voice.
Employee Benefits & Culture
We believe caring for our team is part of what makes our coffee great. Our employees—affectionately known as Joeys—deserve more than just a paycheck. They deserve support, development, and space to grow.
Medical, dental, and vision insurance (after 6 months)
Paid sick & safe leave (up to 56 hours/year)
Mental health resources through EAP
Pre-tax commuter benefits
401(k) retirement plan + employer match
Employee referral bonuses
Bonus & Reimbursement for Completing Food Handler's course
Team of the Season Award
Seasonal Beverage Contest
Halloween Contest Prize
Paid barista training + educational opportunities
Mentorship programs and leadership training
Career growth through succession planning
Coffee industry opportunities and origin travelÂ
The Joe Show (our all-company event)
Holiday parties, throwdowns, and team celebrations
Ethical Business Council membership & participation opportunities
Subsidized Citi Bike
What is the Ethical Business CouncilÂ
The Ethical Business Council (EBC) is a group of employees from across the company working to create a more inclusive, equitable, and accountable workplace. The Council meets regularly to support people-driven culture within a strong values framework, with a focus on transparency, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Together, these committees help guide Joe Coffee’s ethical evolution from the inside out.
Main Group
Includes all committee members and ensures transparency, accountability, and alignment with company values.
Community Engagement
Focuses on how the company connects with local communities through events, volunteering, and education.
Grievance Committee
Manages an anonymous grievance process to protect human and social rights, following Rainforest Alliance guidance.
Joe Advisory Committee
A space for non-HQ staff to raise issues and help guide council priorities from the broader Joe community perspective.
Gender and Equity Committee
Works to promote equity for all employees and raise awareness about social and gender justice, in line with Rainforest Alliance standards.
Sourcing Values
Joe Coffee sources high-quality coffee with integrity, using a values matrix to ensure its relationships with suppliers align with its core principles of Ethics, Quality, Collaboration, and Integrity.
Ethics
We recognize the complex economic, social, and environmental realities in coffee producing areas and strive to infuse respect and compassion into every aspect of how we do business. This means we choose to work only with trusted suppliers and oversight organizations who support our partners not only in increasing their product quality, but also their economic health and social well-being. Many of our importing partners prioritize these values by developing and adhering to ethical standards, projects, and initiatives.
Quality
We are dedicated to sourcing excellent coffees, with a focus on diversity of flavor profile, origin, and process. All beans, from the components of our house coffees to our rotating selection of single origin coffees, have met or exceeded stringent quality standards. Our own protocols require cupping hundreds of coffee samples per year and working with importers and exporters who use the utmost care in transporting and storing the coffee on its way to our roastery.
Collaboration
Whether it's with suppliers or directly with farmers and producers, we value establishing long-term collaborative relationships. A foundation of collaboration and mutual respect allows us to engage in good faith discussions to cultivate supply chain transparency and conversations about values.
Integrity
Just as we strive to operate our business with integrity, we expect the same from our partners, seeking accountability and transparency throughout the supply chain. As roasters and stewards of our coffees, we are committed to ensuring that information flows both ways, treating our farmers and producer organizations as business partners and sharing relevant data.
Integrity Work
SOS Colombia: A Look at the Protests Through the Lens of Coffee
Women in Coffee: Interview with Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian
Introducing the Atlas Collection
Putting Equity Into Practice
How We Turn Our Values Into Action. Equity is more than a principle at Joe—it’s something we work toward every day. From sourcing to staffing to community giving, here are some of the ways we’ve built equity into our everyday operations:
The Village Coffee: Celebrating Women Producers
We’ve made microaggression training mandatory for all staff, ensuring that our team has tools to build safer, more respectful workplaces—especially for marginalized identities.
Juneteenth as a Paid Holiday
We’ve made microaggression training mandatory for all staff, ensuring that our team has tools to build safer, more respectful workplaces—especially for marginalized identities.
Year-Round Ed Ops & Training
We’ve made microaggression training mandatory for all staff, ensuring that our team has tools to build safer, more respectful workplaces—especially for marginalized identities.
Microaggression & Bias Training
We’ve made microaggression training mandatory for all staff, ensuring that our team has tools to build safer, more respectful workplaces—especially for marginalized identities.
Grievance Mechanism & Advisory Committees
Through the Ethical Business Council (EBC), we’ve launched dedicated subcommittees (like the Grievance Committee and Joe Advisory Committee) that provide direct input into how we lead, resolve conflict, and evolve as a company.
Gender-Inclusive Sourcing
Since 2018, we’ve incorporated gender equity criteria into our sourcing decisions. We work directly with women-led farms and cooperatives and see this not only as a moral imperative—but as a path to better coffee, stronger communities, and long-term climate resilience.
Conference Representation
We provide employees with access and support to attend industry conferences, especially those focused on sustainability, equity, and ethics in coffee, such as the Women Powered Coffee Summit
Round-Up Campaigns & Community Partnerships
We integrate generosity into our business model by inviting customers to round up their purchases to support impactful nonprofits. Every dollar raised through these campaigns goes directly to organizations creating real change, and our customers have helped us raise thousands of dollars, one small contribution at a time.
Auto Optimized Brewing
Bruvi auto adjusts up to seven different brewing parameters to ensure the optimal brew
9 Million Reasons
The largest food pantry in Queens, committed to fighting food insecurity and feeding underserved New Yorkers with dignity.
Lincoln Center’s Young Artist Pipeline
A foundational arts program that provides free training and mentorship for middle school students pursuing arts high schools and creative careers.
The Rainforest Alliance
An international nonprofit working to make responsible business the new normal through environmental protection, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods for farmers.
Grounds for Health
A nonprofit providing life-saving cervical cancer screening and treatment to women in coffee-growing communities.
Omanhene Foundation
A nonprofit providing life-saving cervical cancer screening and treatment to women in coffee-growing communities.
This Is a Work in Progress
We don’t claim to be perfect. But we believe businesses can be forces for good, and we’re committed to the hard, honest work it takes to live up to that ideal.
Joe Humanity is how we protect each other, empower each other, and make sure the world we serve through coffee is better than we found it.