The Coffee Cup for Every Visit

Coffee really is the reason many are able to stay awake at the office and usually a critical element to the ongoing productivity of the Australian workforce. For most Australian’s the morning coffee run is a ritual shared with colleagues and where most business decisions can take place. Need to meet? Let’s do it over coffee. The sad reality though, and many don’t realise this, is that those take away coffee cups… they are not recyclable. You can put them into a recycle bin but the cups themselves are not made of materials that are recyclable. Furthermore, have a think of how many coffees you alone have each day, multiply it over a year and think about how much your soy mocha is impacting the planet in landfill.

So, the trip to the cafe needs to evolve. Walking there empty handed needs to be a thing of the past. You need to be armed and ready with an empty cup, pass it to the friendly barista and get your fill. Uppercup is a brand you’ll find selling such cups and we’ve been giving it a go to see how this greener experience goes.

The first thing to discuss is the cup itself. The Uppercup range comes in two sizes to suit a cup or mug, there is no option for a double espresso or smaller so they’ll just swim in the smallest Uppercup. It is double walled so your hottest long black wont be felt on the hands one bit. The top is incredibly secure so that top is not about to pop off mid sip. It’s also really well insulated. We made a long black for the drive home (40 minute commute) and only got to start on it towards the end.

The double wall is great for carrying a coffee without burns but it can lead to a lip burn or two as you then test the temperatures through taste. We learned to sit and remove the top to make the whole drinking process easier. The cup itself looks good and comes in a range of colours.

Day to day use is interesting. When we arrive into the office you need to make sure you grab your cup before heading to the cafe, this can be easy to forget. If you’re a user of an app to order ahead like Hey You then you will find the option to BYO cup, you just need to provide it upon arrival. We didn’t visit a cafe where it was a problem but we also didn’t find a cafe that offered discounts on providing your own cup. We feel an incentive would have helped offset the cost of the Uppercup.

After getting back to your desk and enjoying your coffee we didn’t love getting back up to go to the kitchen to wash the cup. Normally we would toss the coffee cup into the bin next to us but with an Uppercup we had to go to the kitchen for a rinse. Not a big deal, unless it’s 3pm and your arvo coffee is being poured into a dirty cup from 9am.

The Uppercup initiative is a great idea and the cups themselves are premium in quality and feel, it is certainly a step that more people need to take but at the same time the effort to make it a priority and the lack of a financial offset does make it all sound less appealing. What we must say though is that the Uppercup looks good and with that, the feel good moments from not filling the bin with used cups is reoccuring. We often found the Uppercup a great conversation starter that goes from curiosity to necessity.

The Uppercup is available in a small 237ml ($22rrp) and large 335ml ($25rrp) size in a range of colours, Uppercup is available nationally at www.321water.com and at selected cafés around the country