Our Mission
Brew Good. Do Good.
At Cura Coffee, we believe each day brings new hope and should begin with changing lives. Each cup of our fair trade coffee supports improved oral health right here in San Diego. With each bag of coffee purchased, Cura is expanding sustainable dental care to underserved communities.
Cura Coffee + Cura Smiles
Cura Coffee exists to support the mission of Cura Smiles.
Cura Smiles is a nonprofit organization committed to providing free, comprehensive dental care to underserved communities in San Diego. Located in City Heights, Cura Smiles’ vision is to create a healthier world where every child and adult has access to the dental care and preventative education they need to smile with confidence.
By purchasing Cura Coffee, you become a vital part of this mission.
☕ 100% of proceeds from Cura Coffee go directly to Cura Smiles
🌎 Ethical sourcing that supports women farmers
💙 Sustainable impact that changes lives, one cup at a time
Our Source
We are proud to partner with a female-owned, organic, fair trade coffee supplier in Mexico, ensuring that our coffee is ethically sourced while empowering women in agriculture and supporting environmentally responsible farming practices.
Working with Coffee and Tea Collective, Cura Coffee intentionally sources coffee beans from small producers and pays premium, specialty coffee prices, which in turn supports the local farmers and their families. Once each bag of coffee is purchased, Cura Coffee works directly with Cura Smiles to fund sustainable dental care in San Diego. Together, we can create hope, one smile at a time.
Our Story
In 2003, Dr. Thomas Fitzpatrick embarked on his first mission trip to Nicaragua to work at a dental clinic. He spent time in a remote town outside the city of Managua. While volunteering at the dental clinic, he saw countless children who had been living with decayed and infected teeth. Thomas met with the local families, learned about their backgrounds and experiences and ended up falling in love with this small community in Nicaragua. For ten years, he returned to Nicaragua to offer dental care, and specifically worked with a coffee-growing community in Boaco. It was there that the idea for Cura Coffee was born.
If Thomas could both support local coffee farmers and provide dental care, then even more good could be done. For several years, Cura Coffee worked with Nicaraguan coffee farmers and Coffee and Tea Collective to intentionally source and roast coffee through small lot producers, ensuring ethical coffee sourcing practices and paying premium prices to support the coffee growing communities. Profits from the coffee were utilized to continue expanding sustainable dental care to underserved communities.
Today, the vision continues. Now partnering with female-run, organic, fair-trade coffee producers in Mexico, Coffee and Tea Collective continues to roast and produce Cura Coffee, which in turn supports sustainable dental care here in San Diego.
Cura Coffee has supported dental care efforts at Cura Smiles Dental Clinic in the City Heights community of San Diego, CA. In 2025, Cura Smiles dental clinic served 305 individuals in need, and performed 1,870 dental procedures totaling $513,000- all free of charge.
Cura Coffee works directly with its non-profit partner, Cura Smiles, to fulfill its mission of expanding sustainable dental care here in San Diego.
