Half of the plastic used in the world today is for single-use disposable items. KeepCup
Despite the fact that paper coffee cups look pretty harmless and biodegradable, most are lined with a kind of plastic that makes them impossible to recycle.
You can pick up a reusable coffee mug for almost no money , or you can splash cash on a designer model. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s reusable, easy to clean, and BPA free. I would argue that a reusable plastic cup is better than a disposable one, and that a glass cup is better again, since glass can be recycled more easily than most plastics.
While visiting Hamburg earlier this week, I stumbled upon the coolest coffee shop. Codos Brewbar is a tiny sliver of a place in the Bohemian neighbourhood of Sternschanze. It has limited seating with only 5 barstools, one narrow bench outside, and the best coffee.

As Codos was literally two doors down from where I was staying, I stumbled upon it by chance. The interior was lovely and sparse with white walls, industrial hardware, and heavy wooden shelves dotted with colourful reuseable coffee cups.
I had been looking for new cup, as my older plastic one was missing its seal and looking worse for wear – and voilà! My first encounter with KeepCup.
I purchased two (one for me and one for Oli) in my favourite neutral shades (no surprises there :p) but discovered afterward that you can actually design your own KeepCup online at no extra cost!
KeepCups come in both original – lightweight and “unbreakable” plastic body; and a brew model – made of tempered glass. There are so many options to customise your KeepCup and really make it your own.
Plus, they’re dishwasher safe, and replacement lids, plugs, bands, etc. are available at a very low cost, so if something does go missing, you don’t have to throw away the whole cup.
Models come in lots of different sizes, and range in price from about £7-£15, which I think is completely reasonable.
I’m pretty sure you can buy these all around the world, but here are a few direct links:
Once you get into the habit of keeping your cup in your bag or shopping basket, you’ll never be caught out using a disposable cup again!
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