Ground Zero Coffee

Story

Ground Zero Coffee started with an uncomfortable question: what's the carbon footprint of your morning cup? Founders Anja Vermeulen and David Okonkwo—a climate scientist and a third-generation coffee farmer from Tanzania—knew the answer was troubling. Coffee production, processing, shipping, and roasting generate significant emissions; climate change is already devastating coffee-growing regions, creating a vicious cycle. Ground Zero was built to break it. We're South Africa's first certified carbon-neutral roastery, measuring emissions across our entire supply chain and offsetting what we can't eliminate through verified reforestation projects in coffee-origin countries. But we're not just about offsets—we actively reduce impact through solar-powered roasting, electric delivery vehicles in Cape Town, compostable packaging, and premiums to farmers implementing climate-smart agriculture. Our sourcing prioritizes cooperatives investing in shade-growing, water conservation, and agroforestry. We've also pioneered cascara (coffee cherry tea) and spent-grounds upcycling programs to create value from "waste." Because the best coffee in 2050 will only exist if we change how we make coffee today.