When we took the decision to ban single use coffee cups, we knew we’d need to find a brilliant, reusable alternative. We looked at loads of different suppliers but discovered the wonderful Ecoffee Cups. The cup is made of bamboo fibre, looks great and is a delight to drink from. The team at Ecoffee Cups have been super helpful.

Here’s what makes them so special.

The Problem

Very few people know it, but 2017 marked a somewhat dubious 30th anniversary: that of the modern single-use “paper” cup. In three short decades, we reckon over 2 trillion of them have ended up in landfill – in case you want to see those 0’s, that’s 2,000,000,000,000.

The average lifespan of a single-use cup is 13 minutes – and because of their plastic content less than 1% get recycled.

Ecoffee, like us, strongly believe that recycling is not the answer. In this enlightened era, there really is no excuse for single-use, and we should be focusing on reducing and reusing.

Enter: Ecoffee Cups

Ecoffee Cups are made from bamboo fibre. What’s great about bamboo is that it is the world’s most sustainable crop. It grows inches a day and is like a ‘cut-and-come-again’ salad – when cropped it doesn’t need to be replanted. It contains its own anti-pesticide, called ‘bambo-kun’ which means that its resistant to fungi and pests, and can sustain an ecosystem of insects and wildlife.

As for the sciencey bit, you’ll be pleased to know that the cup is BPA and phthalate free. Bamboo is also naturally sterile. This doesn’t mean that you never have to wash your cup, but it does mean that you won’t get a funny flavour that some reusable cups leave.

The lid and sleeve are made with food-grade silicone which is designed especially for hot liquids. Silicone is made from sand and is considered safer, and more environmentally friendly than plastic.

It’s all dishwasher safe and should last for years if you treat it nicely, but it’s not suitable for microwave use.

The best bit is that it has a re-sealable ‘no-drip’ lid so any accidents shouldn’t be too disastrous. It also feels great in your hand – they’re light but are sturdy little things (we gave one a right kicking to see how much it could take – but we wouldn’t recommend you do this).

It’s available in more colours and patterns that you can think of. We’ll be selling a few different colours, and there’ll be a Boston blue loan cup if you forget yours.

And if our selection isn’t enough for you, you can check out their huge range here.