Best reusable coffee cup

Whatever your stance on current environmental concerns I think most people will agree that reducing waste is a good thing and if you can do this without negatively impacting your life at the same time as saving money what’s not to like. This is where the reusable coffee cup comes in, heck it might even improve the taste and keep your coffee hotter for longer if you get the correct one.

What to look for when choosing a reusable coffee cup

There are many reasons to purchase a reusable coffee cup but like with all things there are many different types available each with there own pros and cons. What you need to do is decide which of the following features are more important to you.

Size/Sleek design – Reusable cups come in all different shapes and sizes and to find one that’s right for you depends not only on how you like your coffee but also which size and design you like visually. There is no point going for a cup that is technically the best i.e. it keeps your coffee hot for longer, is big enough for all varieties of coffee from long black to piccolo if you don’t like drinking out of it, it’s too big for your daily latte or you’re just a little embarrassed about handing it over in your favorite cafe. If this is the case you will never use it and it will just be a waste of money.

If the main goal is to replace the daily disposable you get your a latte, flat white, cappuccino, piccolo, etc in I would choose a cup specifically for this purpose and one that you are happy to hand over to the barista and that you will use every time you go. Make the choice quickly, start using it and make the decision that you will keep using it until you have got your money back. I.e. if your local cafe offers a 50c discount for a BYO cup that is only 40 cups if you pay $20 for the reusable cup. I know for a fact that in the time I spent deciding what cup would be the best, trying to find one that met all of my needs I could have paid for 3 different ones each with its purpose and saved wasting goodness knows how many disposable coffee cups.

My main obstacle was that I like the small size, shape, and proportions of the 8oz to 10oz e coffee cups. Once you start using heavier weight materials your cup starts getting bigger! Just as a heads up to anyone wanting to bring a new cup to the market I would have purchased a keep/reusable cup that looked and felt exactly like the disposable cups used by my favorite coffee shops I would have purchased it in an instant, assuming the price was ok and the materials used ensured the taste was unaffected same.

Insulation – Most of the cups do keep your coffee hotter or colder for longer but some do this a lot better than others with technologies like double-walled vacuum insulation. Another benefit of this is that you also get more protection when holding the cup especially when you have an extra ht drink and some of the thinner disposable cups.

Lid Seal – Generally I find the lid of disposable cups seals pretty well, apart from the gap where you drink through. This is probably where a large portion of the heat loss occurs so providing a closable lid is essential if keeping your drink hotter or colder for longer is important, many keep cups do provide this feature.

Build quality – This is a simple one the better they are built the longer it will last and the more you can drop it without it breaking. But if the cup cost twice as much upfront it doesn’t necessarily have to last twice as long for it to be better valued. For example, if you have

Cup A cost $20 and lasts 500 drinks
Cup B cost $10 and lasts 400 drinks

Which is the best value? well, it all depends on your usual coffee shop and what discount you get for bringing your own cup. If you get 50c off per drink you only need to buy 20 drinks to save $10 so Cup A is still the best value.

Our Recommended Best coffee cups

I get it you just want to know which is the best coffee cup but like a lot of things its not quite that simple as it depends on your specific requirements but we have tried to give you the best per category

Which reusable coffee cup should you buy?

Of the best reusable cups available we tested the following to see which one delivers the best results:

Frank Green Ceramic & Stainless steel

The frank green coffee cup is a very innovative design that has alway boasted good insulation properties but has also has evolved to include a more robust stainless steel model with even better insulation and versions with a ceramic inner layer to improve the taste and aroma of your coffee.

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Frank Green Original

The frank Green original is still an amazing lightweight reusable coffee cup and in many respects, it is a better choice. Especially if you are not after the extra insulation benefits of the stainless steel ceramic version. The Frank gree original still uses a high-quality Tritan copolymer that is BPA free and FDA approved to ensure there isn’t andy taste degradation of your beverage (i.e. you taste the coffee and not the cup). It is lighter than the stainless steel version but still has a very high build quality and insulation properties. But best of all it comes in an 8oz version, which is often the size of choice for many specialty coffee shops and allows you to simply replace your disposable cup with your frank green travel cup.

KeepCup glass – The Brew

KeepCup offers a range of stylish cups in many different sizes to suit any requirement, there are also several different materials used including plastic in the original plastic version and glass in “The Brew” model which has become the standard reusable coffee cup with many coffee shops and cafes choosing KeepCup glass as the base for their branded reusable coffee cups. It is safe to use in the microwave and the dishwasher which makes it one of the best all-rounders available if not the best. Also, another benefit of the glass is that you don’t get flavors getting impregnated into a glass cup like you can with some plastic versions.

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KeepCup Original – Plastic (BPA & BPS free)

Again like the frank green original if you are simply looking for a direct replacement for the single-use coffee cups supplied by your local cafes this is an excellent option that is durable, lightweight and available in many different colors. It is also available in 8oz, 12oz, 16oz, and was the world’s first barista standard reusable cup, meaning it has been designed from the ground up to be a direct replacement for the single-use cups ensuring it is compatible with barista coffee machines worldwide for ease of cafe use and speed of service.

KeepCup Thermal

And not to be outdone by frank green and to compete with the excellent Contigo Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug, KeepCup has also released a thermal version. Like with all thermal versions is on the larger size and I’m not quite sure why a 6oz version but no 8oz or 10oz but the Keepcup one does look amazing. It is almost like the best of the KeepCup Plastic blended with the Best of the Glass version so you don’t get any taste contamination, is just as nice to drink out of but is much lighter than the glass version plus keeps your drinks hotter or colder for longer. For all these reasons the KeepCup is our recommended thermal coffee cup

Contigo Autoseal Travel Mug Coffee cup

The Contigo Autoseal is the perfect travel companion that keeps your hot drinks hot for 3 hours and your cold drinks cold for 11 hours. It also has a lid that automatically seals between drinks to ensure you don’t spill the contents. As well as a Lock so you can throw it in your bag without worrying about it accidentally getting opened.

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HUSKEE Coffee cup

The huskee takes the environmental credentials of the reusable coffee cup to a new level, not only does it reduce the number of disposable cups used but also re-purposes coffee husk. This is a waste product from the milling stage of coffee production and the huskee is made from 50% coffee husk and 50% BPA free plastic, which also makes it very robust and durable. As a cup, the huskee is comfortable to hold, stackable
and easy to clean.

Update: Yesterday I visited a cafe that had actually replaced all of their drink-in coffee cups with the huskee. This is genius as I am personally not that keen on traditional china coffee cups and prefer the taste from a takeaway cup. I guess this was the idea all along and the reason why the huskee cup and the Saucer are stackable. As for taste, coffee from the huskee cup tastes much better than a normal china cup and at least as good as a takeaway cup if not better, especially with the lid off. I might have to re-think my top pick at some point, as the huskee probably should be giving the frank green original a run for its money in the takeaway cup replacement category, I also need to look into its green credentials a bit further.

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STOJO On The Go Coffee Cup – Collapsible Silicone

The Stojo takes portability to a new level with its Collapsible design. You can enjoy your coffee or other hot or cold beverage and simply collapse the travel coffee cup so you always have it with you. This tea or coffee cup also comes with a removable/collapsible silicone straw.

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Conculsion and FAQ

So which is the best coffee cup…well like most things it’s complicated and does depend on your specific requirements? I think the KeepCup thermal is possibly the overall winner but if you just want a basic cup without any thermal benefits, just to replace the disposable you use every day there might be a better option… anyway here are our winners for the different categories of reusable cups and travel mugs.

Which is the best thermal coffee cup or travel mug?

This is easy, the KeepCup Thermal 12oz is an amazing looking cup which takes all the best bit from their previous cups. If they had an 8oz or even 10oz version this would probably be the winner in every category.

Which is the best lightweight coffee cup or travel mug?

For me, the perfect size for my coffee is 8oz and the neat design of the Frank Green Original makes this the perfect lightweight single-use coffee cup replacement. No, it’s not going to keep your coffee hotter for much longer, you cant throw it in your bag and guarantee no leaks even though it will do a pretty good job but what you can do with a deposable cup you can do with this only many many times, therefore, saving the planet and some money

Which is the best none leak coffee thermal cup or travel mug?

This is an easy decision the only one of these that I would happily fill with coffee or other beverage, throw into my bag and not expect it to leak would be the Contigo Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug.