# Have any of you done a deal for people bringing their own coffee cups?



## Delikitchen (Mar 30, 2018)

Just wondering as obviously some of the chains have done this. If so what have you offered? And is there much take up?

My cups are currently costing about 8p. (Unbranded ripple cups)

thanks in advance


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

This initiative has really caught on in London

Lots more consumers bringing their own - which is leading to some to query hygiene (washing and reusing after the first coffee of the day)


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

I offer 20p off any hot drink in any *reusable* cup (started to get people bring in costa takeaway cups ffs) you bring in whether you sit in or take it away (if it saves us a space in a dishwash, it's helping cut our waste water). We'll make it to our spec no matter what size though. Considering doing an 8oz black or white filter in any reuseable cup for £1.50 as an incentive for reduced waste, speed and actually trying something new.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

I've only ever done milk drinks into keepcups, but wouldn't hesitate with serving into any reasonable vessel


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

"Caveat Emptor" regarding any hygiene issues......it's the customers own bugs anyway ?? (!)


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## Tsangpa (Nov 26, 2017)

Here's an interesting take from Ireland http://www.thejournal.ie/reusable-coffee-cups-3610460-Sep2017/


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Scotford said:


> We'll make it to our spec no matter what size though.


Do you judge it by eye or some other way - if they've ordered a 7oz drink in a 12 oz cup or whatever?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

jlarkin said:


> Do you judge it by eye or some other way - if they've ordered a 7oz drink in a 12 oz cup or whatever?


Good point. I am interested in this too. Maybe a lidded reusable could have the milk added while on the scale and not bother with much of a design, or indeed much of a 'pour'.

How do indie coffee shops feel when they are presented with a Costa/Staryucks cup?


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

We get a 20p discount at our work coffeeshop for using a keepcup.

The inside of mine is like the black hole of Calcutta....I only rinse mine out under the tap at the end of each day. TBF my mug us the same too lol.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

MildredM said:


> Good point. I am interested in this too. Maybe a lidded reusable could have the milk added while on the scale and not bother with much of a design, or indeed much of a 'pour'.
> 
> How do indie coffee shops feel when they are presented with a Costa/Staryucks cup?


It'd be handy for the barista's if reusable cups had a volume scale molded/etched onto the inside.

I use a stainless costa cup as the cap is pretty much spill proof so I can carry it full in my bag pocket when hoofing it to the tram of a morning. Only ever had one place refuse to fill it & even they changed their tune once they'd seen their large coffee fitted in it.

As far as cleaning it goes, I just throw it in the dishwasher overnight & it gets a quick rince/preheat before being refilled.


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

MildredM said:


> How do indie coffee shops feel when they are presented with a Costa/Staryucks cup?


I'd hope they are delighted that someone is using them, and has brought their own cup... I use a Costa cup, they are cheap, and indestructible and 99% spill proof even when rolling about in my bag/car footwell.

If I sensed an indie was being snobbish about my cup I'd not return.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Missy said:


> I'd hope they are delighted that someone is using them, and has brought their own cup... I use a Costa cup, they are cheap, and indestructible and 99% spill proof even when rolling about in my bag/car footwell.
> 
> If I sensed an indie was being snobbish about my cup I'd not return.


I was thinking more about the large bucket-sized take-out cup. Put a 'regular/proper' flat white in one of those and it will only be half full, I would imagine.


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

jlarkin said:


> Do you judge it by eye or some other way - if they've ordered a 7oz drink in a 12 oz cup or whatever?


I get our guys to only use as much milk per drink as necessary when pouring so that's that volume +/-2-5%, an espresso is volumetric so that's that and even my hot water tap on the PB gives a volumetric burst so that's that covered. People can ask for more water if need be and we make it known that if you give us a 40oz bucket that our mac in that is barely gonna be a drop in it. People are pretty receptive to it.


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## Kitkat (Jan 25, 2018)

I have a 4oz keep cup - perfect size for my morning macchiato (although the challenge is convincing staff that they really don't have to fill it).


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

I don't own a coffee shop but this sounds like a really crap idea for those that do. It must totally throw the coffee shops costings and ratios out as all these keep cups seem to be different sizes. Also speaking to a friend who owns a coffee shop, a lot of people hand him dirty cups so he then has to take time to hand wash the cup before making them their drink. His take away cups as I'm sure many coffee shops are fully compostable so if recycled a pretty green product.

Next we'll all be taking our dirty plates into restaurants and asking them to serve our dinner on it. Gordon Ramsey would love it.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Nopapercup said:


> I don't own a coffee shop but this sounds like a really crap idea for those that do. It must totally throw the coffee shops costings and ratios out as all these keep cups seem to be different sizes. Also speaking to a friend who owns a coffee shop, a lot of people hand him dirty cups so he then has to take time to hand wash the cup before making them their drink. His take away cups as I'm sure many coffee shops are fully compostable so if recycled a pretty green product.
> 
> Next we'll all be taking our dirty plates into restaurants and asking them to serve our dinner on it. Gordon Ramsey would love it.


I tend to agree with your sentiments (but didn't know how to put it into words).

If a disposable cup (compostable or whatever) costs a cafe say 5p then why would you offer 20p off if presented with a cup needing washing and if an 'awkward' size for the drinks you offer.


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

Nopapercup said:


> I don't own a coffee shop but this sounds like a really crap idea for those that do. It must totally throw the coffee shops costings and ratios out as all these keep cups seem to be different sizes. Also speaking to a friend who owns a coffee shop, a lot of people hand him dirty cups so he then has to take time to hand wash the cup before making them their drink. His take away cups as I'm sure many coffee shops are fully compostable so if recycled a pretty green product.
> 
> Next we'll all be taking our dirty plates into restaurants and asking them to serve our dinner on it. Gordon Ramsey would love it.


His might be compostable but the major corps like Costa et al have cups that are phenominally hard to recycle due to their complexity and plastic content. That's assuming ppl recycle those cups and don't just put em in normal landfill bins.That combined with the fact that the majors account for the most consumption means that coffee cup waste is a serious issue.

You're last point is false equivalence as restaurant plates are already reusable and don't get chucked in the bin after every meal.

I think the scheme is meant so that cafes put up their prices for use of disposable cups (bit like the plastic bag tax in Tesco's). The discounts fir using a reusable cup would take the price back to normal.

That's the way I understand it anyway.


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Compostable (eg vegware) are only compostable if used for compost. If they go to landfill they still don't break down

Similarly not all "compostable" products are compostable in a home system- many require a commercial "hot" process.

It's the same with eco-disposable nappies. You'd be better saving your money by buying aldis own and using the cash to plant trees. So many of the current eco things are a false sop to "green" economics. The triangle goes, reduce, reuse, recycle.

We all need to use less as top priority. (Eg do you really need that at all?) Then reuse, and only if neither of the above are possible, recycle.

So do you have old jamjars or plastic tubs you could use for your homemade chutney rather than buying fancy "reusable" kilner jars, could you reuse a plastic bag from under your sink until it falls to bits before you buy a fancy eco carrier. Could you buy second hand rather than new clothes/nappies/books/crockery/furniture.


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

All very good points but I'm not sure the compostable cup that ends up in landfill is the issue when you can't go to a supermarket and buy anything that isn't wrapped in plastic that isn't recyclable, the recycling we all do is shipped to China where it is dumped in landfill and large parts of the world like Asia and Africa through lack of education use the seas and land as their dumping ground. We can and should all do our bit but until these issues are resolved does it change anything except making us feel a little bit better about ourselves?


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Nopapercup said:


> All very good points but I'm not sure the compostable cup that ends up in landfill is the issue when you can't go to a supermarket and buy anything that isn't wrapped in plastic that isn't recyclable, the recycling we all do is shipped to China where it is dumped in landfill and large parts of the world like Asia and Africa through lack of education use the seas and land as their dumping ground. We can and should all do our bit but until these issues are resolved does it change anything except making us feel a little bit better about ourselves?


I think it's about being aware that we need to change the system totally, but part of the way to do that is to add pressure by changing personal habits.


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

jj-x-ray said:


> His might be compostable but the major corps like Costa et al have cups that are phenominally hard to recycle due to their complexity and plastic content. That's assuming ppl recycle those cups and don't just put em in normal landfill bins.That combined with the fact that the majors account for the most consumption means that coffee cup waste is a serious issue.
> 
> You're last point is false equivalence as restaurant plates are already reusable and don't get chucked in the bin after every meal.
> 
> ...


Keep Cups are also reusable but the two problems I see with them is people bring them in dirty so if the barista cares about his/her product they have to clean them before use and they aren't universal sizes so if the cafe costs a flat white as being a 200ml drink but people bring in cups that are not 200ml, how does the cafe cost this?


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

Nopapercup said:


> Keep Cups are also reusable but the two problems I see with them is people bring them in dirty so if the barista cares about his/her product they have to clean them before use and they aren't universal sizes so if the cafe costs a flat white as being a 200ml drink but people bring in cups that are not 200ml, how does the cafe cost this?


We have this thing called portion control. If you're working in a cafe making drinks of set sizes, they are your norm and you build in a +/-% of a drink that is susceptible to waste. This, with milk drinks, is about 2-5% and with water, who cares about a touch more water? That extra 50ml that someone has asked for because their 16oz KeepCup looks a little empty with a 6oz long black in costs a cafe roughly zero.

Baristas are trained to keep waste and portion control at a minimum (or they at least SHOULD be) and it's really not that hard remembering where in a milk jug you need to fill to to make a 6oz milk drink so muscle memory and training comes into play. If people want a touch more milk and the barista has a 20-40ml dash that they would only have dumped down a sink, what's the problem with giving it away?

If a cafe hasn't built in a waste percentage to their costings, they really should.


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## Barry Cook (Feb 14, 2012)

As Scotford says, a well trained barista will not overfill the milk jug before steaming. Wasted ingredients equal wasted money, and to a small business every penny counts! Many varieties of reusable cups do have their volume marked on them somewhere, so if it's different to the sizes we use, we do advise the customer that we will fill to a different level.

We have been selling KeepCups for several years now (only once they started producing them in the UK, as it never made sense to promote them as a "green" product when it used to be made in Oz and was being shipped halfway around the planet), but have just started to use recyclable/compostable/biodegradable takeaway cups for those not bringing their own. And if they do bring their own cup for takeaway, we're giving them 5% off their drink going in it.

The big issue around compostable cups though is, already mentioned, making sure they go into a commercial composter. For us, this means I am just about to try and get the local council to put cup bins out on the street so any of the local coffee shop's compostable cups can be collected properly, otherwise I'm told that at present they will go straight into landfill. I think this will be the same for just about every council/borough across the country, they need to be doing their bit as well as us businesses.


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

Interesting stuff guys thanks for the info.


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

I just checked. My large keep cup has 12 and 16oz levels marked clearly on the inside and I'm guessing that Batistas will be more familiar with keep cups than some random Thermos.

Id say the best way to avoid confusion if a customer turns up with a weird cup, would be for them to have an incremented glass jug near by, fill the customers cup to the brim with water then empty into the jug to see what it's max vol is. That way they can relay to the customer whether or not the drink they've ordered will fit .....


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

jj-x-ray said:


> I just checked. My large keep cup has 12 and 16oz levels marked clearly on the inside and I'm guessing that Batistas will be more familiar with keep cups than some random Thermos.
> 
> Id say the best way to avoid confusion if a customer turns up with a weird cup, would be for them to have an incremented glass jug near by, fill the customers cup to the brim with water then empty into the jug to see what it's max vol is. That way they can relay to the customer whether or not the drink they've ordered will fit .....


Be better doing it the other way around pouring the known quantity into the cup so they know the level.









I just popped into smoothbean on the way home as the trams are screwed adding about an hour to my journey & they filled my steel costa cup without batting an eyelid.


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## Stevie (Nov 18, 2015)

Currently we just do 10p discount. Will review this in a few months though.


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

ashcroc said:


> filled my steel costa cup without batting an eyelid.


I don't know why anyone would be precious about putting their coffee into some other brands cup. The people who would turn their nose up at things like that are the ones that get jibed at by McCafe adverts.

I just slap a Fed sticker over whatever logo is on it with a cheeky wink!


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Scotford said:


> I just slap a Fed sticker over whatever logo is on it with a cheeky wink!


Now that's cool! And a fabulous way of pushing your brand in a positive way (rather than being all "oh no not my beautiful product in that second rate cup")

We've just been to Disney Paris and I'm now the proud owner of a Disney travel mug, and it shall be coming everywhere with me- and if anyone refuses to fill it I shall take my tacky mug, and my cash, elsewhere.

I have to say Disney had THE worst coffee I've ever drunk.


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