Our History and Mission     

      Our romance with vanilla dates back to 1978, when our founder Juan J. San Mames started importing this  

  fragrant spice from Veracruz, Mexico.  It is in this area where Vanilla planifolia originated. The indigenous 

  habitants of the region, the Totonacs, called it "Xanath" (sha-NATH) literally meaning "Hidden Flower" in their

  native language.

     Years of buying, selling, visiting vanilla plantations. meeting farmers, packers and manufacturers of      extracts have given us a thorough understanding and a profound appreciation of true vanilla.  

     It is from this love of vanilla that we decided to share it's goodness directly with the people in our     

  neighborhood and that's why we decided to start an ice cream shop right in the heart of the Mission, on 

  Valencia Street, where we have been living and doing business since 1989. 

    The high quality of our vanilla and saffron, demanded the highest quality of the cream to make our ice

  cream; for that reason we chose from the beginning to use exclusively Straus Family Creamery products:     organic milk, organic cream to make our ice cream, organic whipping cream and organic ice creams already  manufactured by  Straus.

    Since we have consistent and reliable sources of organic vanilla, organic saffron as well as other organic 

  and local products, we decided to go organic all the way and to keep it affordable. Our neighborhood families

  deserve no less.

    And this brings us to our mission!

    At Xanath Ice Cream, our mission is

  •To provide you with the best organic ice cream at an affordable price
  •To promote organic products from local farmers
  •To use environment-friendly, compostable/recyclable supplies
  •To keep looking for energy-efficient alternatives in our operations
  •To create a working opportunity for university and college-bound high school students.
  •And to promote the use of natural vanilla instead of synthetic vanilla, thus supporting vanilla farmers all

   around the world (Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Tonga Islands, Indonesia, Madagascar) and ensuring that this 

   ancient orchid keeps delighting many more generations with its flavor and fragrance