The top 4 reusable coffee cups

With a lot of coffee shops jumping on the BYO coffee cup bandwagon, reusable takeaway cups have became increasingly popular.

A large portion of café’s are now offering a discount if you bring your own reusable cup – and who doesn’t like a discount!

According to the University of Melbourne one billion disposable coffee cups are thrown into Aussie landfill every year, that’s 2,700,000 every day – no wonder reusable mugs are the latest trend!

The packaging on plastic takeaway cups can be very misleading for every day Aussies, with many cups claiming to be ‘bio friendly’ or even ‘compostable’, unfortunately that’s not entirely true.

Even though the cup itself might be recyclable due to the plastic membrane or lining of the cup it actually can’t be recycled and can often contaminate the entire load causing the whole lot into landfill.

So if you don’t have time to take a seat in the café – it’s time to find you a reusable cup that’s not just friendly on the environment but saves a few cents on your morning coffee.

From glass, ceramic, plastic and stainless steel we have broken down the best reusable coffee cups in Australia.

1: Glass

Glass is a very popular alternative when it comes to plastic.

PROS: It doesn’t stain or retain odours

Easy to clean

Silicone lids gentle to sip from

CONS: Doesn’t retain heat as well as other reusable cups

Can be hot

Easily breakable

The world’s first barista standard reusable cup, Keep Cup, was created in 2009 – now you can design your own cup to fit your personality. Starting from $30 there is a style for everyone.

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2: Ceramic

With many retail stores providing ceramic keep-cup options it is very accessible.

PROS: Microwave safe

Retains heat slightly better than glass

Doesn’t alter the taste due to the natural material

CONS: Fragile

Heavy

Can stain

Pottery for the Planet is a Queensland based company who are entirely plastic free! There beautiful handmade designs start from $33.

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3: Plastic

These sturdy reusable cups are more than what they seem.

PROS: Durable

Light weight

Sealable and well insulated lid

CONS: Easily stained / retains odours

Hard to remove lid

Can affect taste of product

Another Aussie company Frank Green have been changing the way we use travel mugs. By designing your very own cup you can even insert payWave to make your morning coffee that much easier. Prices start from $32.95

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4: Stainless steel

Keeping drinks warm and cool all year round you can’t go wrong!

PROS: Best heat retention

Hard wearing

Great for all sizes – no splashing

CONS: Hand wash only

Often too tall to fit under a regular café coffee machine

Can be hard to grip

Contigo is a well-recognised reusable water bottle brand who have recently branched out into the hot liquid movement. By using your Contigo travel cup and making a cuppa at home you save $365 a year on takeaway coffee. Prices around the $25 mark

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Whilst France is phasing out single use coffee cups aiming for a complete ban by 2030, sadly Australia has no plans to ban the disposable cup.

In the meantime there’s the perfect reusable cup out there for everyone.

Jacqueline Mey

Jacqueline is a Features Writer for that’s life! magazine. Previously working at Prevention, she has published works across Bella, Closer, Take a Break, Real People and that’s life! UK. She is also the host of Girlfriend’s Beauty Boss Podcast.