GaeaStar founder Sanjeev Mankotia shares the inspiration behind his new disposable drinkware, which is modeled after the terracotta cups utilized by India’s road distributors.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
FOR BARISTA MAGAZINE
Pictures courtesy of GaeaStar
Imagining methods to protect the environment the environment doesn’t need to be laborious—oftentimes, we’d like solely to look to the previous, relearn from our ancestors, and use their data to reside extra in sync with the earth. That is an ethos that Sanjeev Mankotia makes use of as the muse for his firm, GaeaStar.
The San Francisco, Calif.-based producer is reimagining disposable drinkware: Overlook recycling or composting; GaeaStar’s cups merely dissolve into mud. If that appears like one thing from the 12 months 3000, you’ll be stunned to study that these cups have been impressed by historical methods of life.
Bridging the Previous With the New
GaeaStar’s ultra-thin ceramic cups are constituted of clay and have been modeled after the terracotta cups utilized by road distributors in India.
“We launched GaeaStar in 2021, and from the beginning, we’ve targeted on combining historical concepts with fashionable tech,” Sanjeev tells Barista Journal. He explains that the cups are made with what GaeaStar calls Floor Printing expertise, which allows high-speed, high-precision manufacturing of the cups utilizing solely pure clay, salt, and water—no glues, liners, or toxins.
“Not like typical paper cups, that are lined with plastic and infrequently recycled, our cups are absolutely ‘geo-neutral,’” Sanjeev explains. “They are often reused a number of occasions, and once they do break, they return to mud by way of pure mechanical power. It’s a greater expertise for patrons and the planet.”
Changing into a Espresso Store Staple
GaeaStar presents the ceramic cups as a formidable different to compostable paper cups, which grow to be soggy, are at all times single-use, and require correct disposal—one thing prospects usually overlook. And since the ceramic cups are cost-competitive with plastic alternate options, they’ve the potential to be a win-win each by way of sustainability and for café house owners’ backside line.
Already, GaeaStar cups are being utilized in greater than 200 areas throughout america, fostering partnerships between the corporate and over 25 manufacturers, together with Onyx Espresso Lab and Verve Espresso Roasters. “The response has been overwhelmingly optimistic,” Sanjeev says.
Having efficiently used the cups in Onyx’s cafés, Onyx Espresso Lab co-owner, Andrea Allen, determined to make the most of them at Onyx’s sales space on the 2024 and 2025 Specialty Espresso Expos, the place they generated appreciable buzz.
“We determined to make use of the cups at Expo as a result of there’s a necessity for a comparatively disposable cup that’s good however isn’t going straight into the trash,” Andrea says. “At high-end cafés worldwide, you’re at all times served good espresso in a ceramic cup. To go to a commerce present and be served a very nice espresso in a paper cup takes away from the superb work of the producer, the roaster, and the barista making ready it.”
She goes on to explain the GaeaStar cups as the right “in between.” “They’re good sufficient to speak high quality, sturdy sufficient to make use of a number of occasions, (and are) completely biodegradable, so that you’re not throwing them out. I really like their stuff.”
Logistics: Out there Sizes & Usability
GaeaStar’s ceramic cups are available 4 totally different sizes, from eight to 16 ounces, and may be reused three to 5 occasions earlier than they start to interrupt down. Café house owners who carry them additionally report an elevated variety of prospects bringing in their very own reusable cups after being launched to GaeaStar.
Sanjeev has plans to go far past cups and revolutionize packaging altogether. “We’re exploring further circumstances throughout industries like meals, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical packaging the place single-use plastic remains to be the norm. The way forward for to-go is round, and GaeaStar is main the best way,” he says.
This text initially appeared within the August + September 2025 challenge of Barista Journal. Learn extra of the difficulty on-line right here free of charge.
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