"coffee cup" news and stories

What's got Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and Tim Hortons working together? No, there's no mass coffee merger in the works, but rather, a bipartisan acknowledgment that their daily coffee to-go routine is in need of a serious sustainability overhaul -- all that non-biodegradable Styrofoam is so pre-"green."

As The Boston Globe reports, the three coffee giants attended a "cup summit" at MIT this April (fittingly, on Earth Day), which was hosted by the Director of Environmental Impact at Starbucks, Jim Hanna. There, they met with cup manufacturers, municipal officials and waste transporters. As Hanna told the Globe, "sustainability is a problem we all have to share together."

The companies began sharing research on financial efficiency, consumer recycling habits, even prototype cups and plans for a "waste-free zone" pilot program. The perfect, sustainable coffee cup would need to be "recyclable or compostable, keep coffee hot, and not cost franchises too much," the Globe notes.

I don't think I own any funky-shaped drinking receptacles. All of my coffee and tea cups are rather ordinary shaped, as are my dishes, pans, and glasses (though I do own one glass that is square - I use it for many of my cocktails). These heart-shaped coffee cups look rather nice, though I always get nervous drinking out of very fancy, delicate cups and china. I either feel like I'm going to drop it or I feel dainty.

They're $13 each. Anyone try them?

[via Boing Boing]

Is this the coffee cup of the future?

Our friends over at Luxist have the details on a new coffee cup designed by David Fier. It looks a little bit more like a cream pitcher than a coffee cup, but that's part of the charm. It has an undulating rim that fits better and helps to prevent spills. The base doubles as a lid and it's dishwasher/microwave safe. It certainly looks cool, though I'd like to see how much it actually holds. I don't like small cups of coffee tea. I like big ones that hold a lot.

You can buy them for $22 here.

Burning your tongue on a hot drink is no picnic, but burning it while drinking from an insulated commuter mug is worse. Not only does the cup disguise the temperature of the beverage it contains, making you more likely to subject your tongue to overly-hot drinks in the first place, but they do not allow drink not cool down fast enough to prevent repeat burns. Combine that with a morning commute in rush hour traffic and you will probably discover the source of many cases of "road rage."

Fortunately, there is a cup that offers a solution. The Tip and Sip Cup keeps coffee hot at up to 205 degrees, which is the temperature that most coffee is brewed at. When it is tipped (for a sip), the coffee passes into a patented Temperature Control Chamber, which lowers the temperature of the coffee to the "Perfect Zone" of 150-170F, leaving you with a satisfying swig of coffee and no burns. The triple function lid has a spill-proof lock setting and a regular "sip" setting that bypasses the temperature control chamber, in addition to the cooling function.

It is available in raspberry, lime, orange, forest, black, or blue and is priced at $19.95. The cost of never burning your tongue again? Priceless.

[via book of joe]

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The Cupple Cup Holder is a set that includes four ceramic coffee mugs and a wall-mounted ceramic and rubber holder. These cups make me a bit nervous because, at first glance, they appear none too steady. At the same time, however, they seem like a great idea.

The cups have a projection with a round end, rather than a handle, and that end can be inserted into the rubber sockets of the holder, suspending the cups anywhere you might want to use them. For example, the piece could be mounted along the wall next to your coffee maker. Not only will the cups be at hand all the time, but because they can be stored upside down, they will always be dry and drip free.

Besides, the design is no less safe (in terms of the risk of breaking a cup) than more traditional mug racks, which could tip over and do not come with the mugs included.

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