Waste is a big topic of conversation in the coffee industry, especially at the cafe level. Much of this waste comes from to-go cups, and a lot of thought has gone into keeping those receptacles out of landfills. Many cafes have opted for compostable cups, some have done away with one-time use cups altogether, either requiring folks to bring their own reusable mug or creating a reusable cup exchange as London’s Prufrock Coffee has done.
And now there’s another contender whose primary mission is moving away from plastics altogether. Unocup is a brand new no-lid, foldable paper cup and it’s on Kickstarter now.
It’s coffee with a side of origami. The Unocup does away with the plastic lid entirely and instead utilizes three paper flaps that fold on top of one another to create a closure on the top of the cup (more commonly known as a lid). When fully closed, the folds keep liquid from escaping and feature a small hole for drinking. The flaps will also open and sit flush against the outside of the cup if you’re more of a lidless-into-the-aroma sort of person.
According to the Kickstarter, the “ability to fold backwards also means that baristas CAN perform latte art with [Unocup],” and, “in fact, baristas have expressed that due to its unique shape, it feels even easier to craft latte art!” Which I guess I kinda neat. But before you eyeroll too hard at the admittedly tenuous claims about better latte art (there is undoubtedly a latte art bro out there who just ordered these cups though), allow Unocup to TOTALLY REDEEM THEMSELVES with this absolutely amazing infomercial-tastic comparison.
Solid gold.
With a month left in the campaign, Unocup has raised $5,500 of their $14,500 goal. Should the campaign make, interested parties wanting to test the lidless waters can get as few as of the Unocups for $20. From there, rewards go as high as 2,000 Unocups for $899. For more information or to back the campaign, visit Unocup’s Kickstarter page.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
All media via Unocup
