KeepCup was nice enough to send over a sample of their new glass tumbler to review recently (dubbed KeepCup Brew) and I’ve been giving it a spin at work and around the home. The older KeepCup model was made with plastic, and some complain that plastic retains odors and off flavors, making glass a significant upgrade.
If you’re not familiar with KeepCup, the brand bills itself as a sustainable alternative to the tons of to-go cups distributed by cafes everyday, and they have some pretty damning statistics to mull over before you place your next take-out order:
- International Paper estimates that annually in the United States over 58 billion disposable cups are discarded to landfill; that is, 158 disposable cups for every US inhabitant.
- 71% of the worlds paper supply comes from diminishing forests, not tree farms or the recycling bin.
- Very little recycled paper is used to make disposable cups due to health risk and contamination concerns. Because most disposable cups are coated with polyethylene, both composting and recycling of disposable cups is not common.
And there’s much more on their site.
KeepCup manufactures their cups with single materials to make recycling easier at the cup’s end of useful life. It’s a compelling idea, and a real environmental issue to be sure.
I like the concept and I found the construction to be solid. They sell several sizes corresponding to your favorite daily coffee – from tiny espresso cups up to lattes. The plastic lid protects you (and your precious coffee) from accidental splashes – but don’t be misled, it’s not a water tight seal that you can toss in a bag. If you hold it upside down some liquid will come out from between the seams. This is replaces a to-go cup, not a thermos. Similarly, this isn’t double-walled, so it gets quite hot – the thin silicone band does offer protection, but you’ll have to be careful where you place your fingers if you’re sipping very hot coffee.
I could definitely see myself stationing one of these at the office or in my car to take into cafes instead of using a paper to-go cup (I’d pick up a larger size than the one I was provided, though). If I was the type that picked up coffee on the way to work, this would also be pretty easy to integrate into my routine. I’m especially taken by the beautiful limited edition glass and cork version (see further below)!
You can find KeepCups sold (for roughly $12-$32USD) at many specialty cafes, and certain models are available on Amazon
Images of the limited edition cork model below provided by KeepCup:
1 comment
Christy Macaulay says:
Dec 2, 2015
I gave this 2 stars because it is a cup and it does function as a cup. However everything else about this cup sucks.
#1 I ordered from the Canadian site which states that orders over $70 have free shipping, I ordered over $100 worth of product and was still charged $14 + shipping. When I called them after ordering they told me that that was just for Australian customers.
#2 when it arrived at my door I was charged yet another $25 for customs as it was shipped from the United States. It does not say anywhere on their site that you would be charged more money because it is being sent from the United States.
#3 when I called in about these issues the woman said she was going to have to call headquarters to see when they had the banner up about free shipping and when I had ordered it to make sure that the dates line up, in effect calling me a liar.
#4 these cups just aren’t that great. Especially for the money that they charge for them. There are way better cups out there like contigo that are much less.