Grounds for Change
Quick verdict: Grounds for Change is what happens when a small family roaster decides to certify everything rather than talk about values. Organic, fair trade, shade-grown, carbon-free, B Corp, and about $20 a bag. The range is smaller than a big roaster’s. Almost nothing else here is a compromise. Our rating: 4.6 out of 5.
Who they are
Kelsey and Stacy Marshall went to Costa Rica on a trip organized by a Poulsbo education group, met coffee farmers who were converting to organic growing, and came home and quit their jobs. They started Grounds for Change in 2003 with their savings, in Poulsbo, Washington, and they still run it.
It’s family-owned with no outside investor on the record, which in specialty coffee is less common than the craft aesthetic suggests.
What they get right
The certifications go all the way down. USDA Organic on the beans and Fair for Life fair trade certification on the sourcing, audited by Ecocert, plus shade-grown growing, B Corp certification on the company, and 1% for the Planet on top. That’s product and operations both audited by people who don’t work there, which is the definition of a full mark on our certification criterion.
Carbon-free is a real accounting claim, not a slogan. The company offsets the full lifecycle footprint of its coffee, from the farm through roasting and shipping. Plenty of brands offset their office electricity and call it climate action. This is the harder version.
Around $20 a bag. Fair trade organic coffee at a price that competes with supermarket blends, which is what makes the whole thing usable rather than aspirational.
Where they fall short
It’s a small operation, and you can tell. The lineup is more modest than a big specialty roaster’s, seasonal offerings are limited, and you won’t find the rotating micro-lot program that Onyx runs. If chasing rare single origins is the hobby, this isn’t the roaster.
Sourcing transparency stops at the certification. Fair Trade and organic tell you the standard was met. They don’t tell you which cooperative, at what price, the way Counter Culture’s published pricing does. Good, not exhaustive.
What they sell and what it costs
Whole bean and ground coffee across single origins, blends and decaf, plus subscriptions. Bags run around $20.
Who it’s actually for
Anyone who wants their coffee certified rather than described, and anyone whose main worry is the climate footprint of a daily habit. If you want the best cup in the room and don’t mind paying for it, Onyx Coffee Lab is the other end of this list.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate program on our side, so nothing here earns us anything. Subscriptions save a little per bag.
Related reading
- The Best Ethical and Sustainable Coffee Brands
- Fair Trade vs Direct Trade Coffee: What’s the Difference?
- Shade-Grown Coffee: Does It Actually Matter?
Frequently asked questions
Is Grounds for Change actually carbon-free?
The company offsets the full lifecycle emissions of its coffee, covering growing, roasting, packaging and shipping rather than just its own facilities. Offsetting is not the same as not emitting, and it’s worth being clear about that, but a full-lifecycle boundary is the stricter version of the claim.
Is Grounds for Change organic and fair trade?
Both, certified, though the fair trade mark is worth naming precisely. The beans are USDA Organic, and the sourcing is certified under Fair for Life, an audited standard run by Ecocert. That’s a different program from Fair Trade USA’s “Fair Trade Certified” seal or Fairtrade International’s, which are the logos people recognize. It covers every coffee they sell rather than a selected line. The company itself is a certified B Corp and a 1% for the Planet member.
Who owns Grounds for Change?
Kelsey and Stacy Marshall, who founded it in 2003 after a trip to Costa Rica and still run it from Poulsbo, Washington. It’s family-owned with no outside investor on the record.
How does the price compare to other organic coffee?
Around $20 a bag puts it at the low end for certified organic fair trade coffee, and well below the specialty roasters in our coffee roundup, where bags run $22 to $86. You’re paying for certification rather than for rarity.