GaeaStar founder Sanjeev Mankotia shares the inspiration behind his new disposable drinkware, which is modeled after the terracotta cups used by India’s street vendors.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
FOR BARISTA MAGAZINE
Photos courtesy of GaeaStar
Imagining ways to preserve our environment our environment doesn’t have to be hard—oftentimes, we need only to look to the past, relearn from our ancestors, and use their knowledge to live more in sync with the earth. This is an ethos that Sanjeev Mankotia uses as the foundation for his company, GaeaStar.
The San Francisco, Calif.-based manufacturer is reimagining disposable drinkware: Forget recycling or composting; GaeaStar’s cups simply dissolve into dust. If that sounds like something from the year 3000, you’ll be surprised to learn that these cups were inspired by ancient ways of life.
Bridging the Old With the New
GaeaStar’s ultra-thin ceramic cups are made from clay and were modeled after the terracotta cups used by street vendors in India.
“We launched GaeaStar in 2021, and from the start, we’ve focused on combining ancient ideas with modern tech,” Sanjeev tells Barista Magazine. He explains that the cups are made with what GaeaStar calls Surface Printing technology, which enables high-speed, high-precision production of the cups using only natural clay, salt, and water—no glues, liners, or toxins.
“Unlike typical paper cups, which are lined with plastic and rarely recycled, our cups are fully ‘geo-neutral,’” Sanjeev explains. “They can be reused multiple times, and when they do break, they return to dust through natural mechanical force. It’s a better experience for customers and the planet.”
Becoming a Coffee Shop Staple
GaeaStar presents the ceramic cups as a formidable alternative to compostable paper cups, which become soggy, are always single-use, and require proper disposal—something customers often overlook. And because the ceramic cups are cost-competitive with plastic alternatives, they have the potential to be a win-win both in terms of sustainability and for café owners’ bottom line.
Already, GaeaStar cups are being used in more than 200 locations across the United States, fostering partnerships between the company and over 25 brands, including Onyx Coffee Lab and Verve Coffee Roasters. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Sanjeev says.
Having successfully used the cups in Onyx’s cafés, Onyx Coffee Lab co-owner, Andrea Allen, decided to utilize them at Onyx’s booth at the 2024 and 2025 Specialty Coffee Expos, where they generated considerable buzz.
“We decided to use the cups at Expo because there’s a need for a relatively disposable cup that’s nice but isn’t going straight into the trash,” Andrea says. “At high-end cafés worldwide, you’re always served nice coffee in a ceramic cup. To go to a trade show and be served a really nice coffee in a paper cup takes away from the excellent work of the producer, the roaster, and the barista preparing it.”
She goes on to describe the GaeaStar cups as the perfect “in between.” “They’re nice enough to communicate quality, sturdy enough to use several times, (and are) totally biodegradable, so you’re not throwing them out. I love their stuff.”
Logistics: Available Sizes & Usability
GaeaStar’s ceramic cups come in four different sizes, from eight to 16 ounces, and can be reused three to five times before they begin to break down. Café owners who carry them also report an increased number of customers bringing in their own reusable cups after being introduced to GaeaStar.
Sanjeev has plans to go far beyond cups and revolutionize packaging altogether. “We’re exploring additional cases across industries like food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical packaging where single-use plastic is still the norm. The future of to-go is circular, and GaeaStar is leading the way,” he says.
This article originally appeared in the August + September 2025 issue of Barista Magazine. Read more of the issue online here for free.
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