Meet Our October Grant Winner: Jasmine Neveles

What inspired you to launch Uncharted Coffee?

Uncharted started at our family’s kitchen table. Our mom used to let us sneak sips of her coffee before school, and those quiet moments became a ritual of love, safety, and dreaming bigger than where we came from. As adults, we realized coffee was so much more than a drink—it was a connector, a reason to sit down, talk, and be with each other.

Can you tell us more about the company’s mission? 

Our mission with Uncharted Coffee is to create better coffee for people, the planet, and future generations. Every bag we sell is meant to do three things at once: taste exceptional, help the earth stay livable, and send more power and prosperity back to the communities that grow your coffee.

You describe Uncharted as a regenerative-first coffee company. For someone new to that term, what does it mean—and why is it essential to your model?

“Regenerative-first” means we don’t just try to avoid harming the planet—we actively work to help it heal. Regenerative agriculture is a way of growing food that puts more life back into the land than it takes out. It rebuilds healthy soil, brings back insects and wildlife, protects water, and makes farms stronger in the face of climate change. 

In real life, that looks like partnering with farms that grow coffee under shade trees, use compost instead of harsh chemicals, plant cover crops to protect the soil, and treat the land like something to care for—not just use. And we pay more for that work, because it’s more work and it matters. Regenerative practices help farms stay productive, resilient, and dignified places to work. 

What makes Uncharted different from what's already on the shelf—and how do you hope it shifts the way people think about their daily brew?

Uncharted is built at the intersection of three things you almost never see together: regenerative agriculture, chemical-free coffee, and women-of-color ownership. For us, coffee isn’t just about flavor—it’s about what you’re putting into your body every single day. Coffee is one of the most chemically treated crops in the world, and in the U.S., we drink a lot of it. That means pesticides, herbicides, and residues most of us never see can quietly become part of our daily routine—and, over time, that constant exposure can harm our health and contribute to inflammation. We knew we wanted better for ourselves, our families, and our community.

What’s one behind-the-scenes moment that reminded you, “This is exactly why we started this”?

One of the moments that stays with me most happened on a farm in Costa Rica with a third-generation coffee farmer named Carlos. Before we met him, we honestly didn’t know much about regenerative farming. As we walked his land, he told us about his father, who had gotten very sick about ten years earlier. Doctors ran every test and couldn’t figure out what was wrong—until they finally connected it to his daily exposure to the pesticides and herbicides they were using on their coffee trees. He started planting shade trees, using plants and organic materials for compost, and focusing on protecting the soil instead of stripping it. Over time, the land came back to life—and so did his father. Once they stopped spraying, his father’s health began to improve. What struck us just as much was the cup itself. As the soil got healthier, the coffee changed—sweeter, more complex, vibrant in a way you can actually taste. That was a big unlock for us: regenerative isn’t just better for the land and the people growing it, it creates a radically better-tasting cup. That’s a huge part of why people fall in love with Uncharted coffee—they can feel and taste the difference.

Now that you’ve won the Chasm grant, what specific steps are you excited to take next—and how will this funding help you scale your impact?

This grant helps us sharpen our voice, scale our impact, and bring truly better coffee to more tables. [We will use the funding to] fuel our Go Forward Movement—it lets us double down on what we believe coffee can be. We’ll use this support in three big ways:

1. Refresh our brand story around “regenerative-first.” We’re evolving our messaging so it’s crystal clear: Uncharted is about wellness for people, planet, and future generations. That means educating our community on why regenerative farming and chemical-free coffee matter for their bodies and the Earth.

2. Spin up our first full-scale production of Wander and Revive. These are our regenerative, chemical-free cold brews—and this grant helps us move from small-batch to meaningful volume: investing in production, packaging, and the operations needed to make them part of people’s everyday routines.

3. Build strategic partnerships to expand access. We’ll focus on getting Wander and Revive in front of more people who deserve better coffee—through aligned retailers, cafés, and wellness-focused partners who share our commitment to clean, regenerative products.

What’s your vision for Uncharted one year from now?

One year from now, I see Uncharted as the regenerative coffee partner of choice for wellness- and mission-driven brands. Strategically, we’re focused on two things: expanding access and expanding impact. Expanding access means building thoughtful partnerships that make it easy to choose better coffee anywhere—at home, at work, or on the go. Expanding impact means being able to point to real, measurable change: more acres under regenerative management, more resilient incomes for farmers, and more consumers trading in “mystery coffee” for transparent, traceable, chemical-free beans.

We also want Uncharted to be financially strong enough to start seeding the next generation of problem solvers. Most importantly, I want Uncharted to feel like a community, not just a coffee company—where every partnership, every bag, and every cold brew is part of a larger movement toward a more just, regenerative, and well-fed future.

Finally, fill in the blank: “Coffee should always __________.”

Coffee should always nourish more than it takes—your body, the people who grow it, and the planet that makes it possible.