For those who go out for coffee, Do you bring your own cup ?

Ooops! Feels bad to admit it but I never really thought about it. No I don’t and maybe I would, at least for regular refills (close to work and home).

I does sound like the proper thing to do. Not to much of a hassle since often carry one of those metal cups with lids from home anyway. Why not just refill it? I will try to be a better consumer for the sake of the environment etc.

No, not a chance. I buy coffee several times per day and there is no way that I will cart about a dirty coffee mug. There would be nowhere to carry it, pockets are out, and I don’t carry a briefcase, just a notebook computer.

An addendum: Years ago, back in the nineties, one of my favourite coffee venues allowed regulars to purchase a coffee mug that stayed on the premises. It had your name on it and was used every time you purchased. A change of ownership stopped that. As many coffee drinker are regulars, it could be a viable option nowadays.

@DarkScribe you could wash it. I do sometimes.

I don’t drink coffee, but I have carried my own bag for groceries and beer for about 15 years.

@johnpowell
Carry on

@DarkScribe My dad gets upset when his coffee mug gets washed. He calls it seasoning. (gross)

My only question would be, how would the shop know what size your mug is in relation to their sizes so they would know how much to charge? Probably not a big deal if you only get regular coffee, but lattes and other things are measured out and prices do vary on size. A small latte may have 1 shot of espresso, a large may have 3. I’m not against the idea, I’m just wondering how it would be worked out.

@DarkScribe If only all places did that… @Supacase between you and me and the lampost, how much is the difference between a small coke and a large for the shop? Coffee too – look at IHOP et al that have free refills. Cappucino or espresso? It’s a measured amount anyway – so it doesn’t matter what size mug you’ev brought. Maybe they should stop with the small, grande and grande grande BS and sell a regular size for the 4 bucks anyway – they’ve made their money the minute you said “coffee.” Then , we could use @DarkScribe ‘s idea of keeping mugs their, or carrying your own, without it making a dif. what the goddamn (BS) size is anyway – and save this planet.

Sorry, pissed off. BTW, I drink only black (mud) turkish coffee which I brew (or instant turkish when lazy) – no milk – no washing of mug. The oil resin ring left over is fine and only a rinse is necessary. Course, this type of coffee isnt for everyone – it’s strong and black, like a big espresso but with the grounds at the bottom. But it’s good for the planet – less washing and less soap in the water.

:-)

I don’t really want used cups where food/drinks are prepared.

I used to go to a coffee place that allowed a patron to bring their own mug. But how did they know how much coffee to charge for? Simple. They poured the coffee into one of their own cups (16oz or whatever) to measure it, and then poured it into the customer’s cup. The paper cup was then thrown away, saving nothing.

The only place I go regularly to get coffee, though, is the serve-yourself coffeepot where I work. I take my own mug there. (It’s a nice mug, aesthetically pleasing to me during my work day, besides saving trees.) And then I walk it back to my desk. The company provides cups, though, for the mul;titude of people who still don’t do the right thing.

If i were a coffee drinker This what i would choose

When I remember, I take my travel mug out with me when I am walking and planning to stop for a cup of coffee. My local “coffeery” has no problem looking at whatever mug I bring and guesstimating the size it is. Some of the clerks charge me for a small, a few for a medium – it’s not a huge issue.

At my pizza slice place, it’s all paper and I hate the waste.

I don’t buy coffee out enough to remember to take it, but I do have several mugs at work, and don’t use styrofoam there.

I have a hard time with the feel of the rim of the tops on travel mugs on my lower lip, and have yet to find one I am comfortable with, so I prefer the tops on the cups coffee shops give you. I did purchase an I Am Not a Paper Cup, but I have yet to use it.

I usually use a metal travel mug if I am taking-out. If I am “drinking-in,” then I ask if they have “real” (not disposable) mugs to use. Sometimes, when I use my travel mug, I get a special price (depending on the cafe), or they give me a larger coffee for a lower price.

My old school gave out mugs and changed the coffee machines to charge an extra 15 cents for a plastic/paper cup. I can’t imagine Starbucks making their coffee cheaper, because a cup would probably only cost them 1 cent, that would be 14 cent lost. I don’t see it happening the other way around either, because everyone would go mental for paying 15 cents extra.

During the week I take my own coffee in the morning to work (and have subsequent refills, if needed, of work coffee which is roughly the equivalent of motor oil) – I have something like what @sandystrachan linked.

Otherwise I usually only drink coffee in, so it goes in mugs.

I think the coffee shop here gives a discount if you bring your own…it’s been a while since I’ve been there, though – I hope they still do it!

@DarkScribe could you not attach a cup to your notebook case?

I love the idea of purchasing a cup for regulars. Perhaps you could bring that up to the new ownership.

@Supacase They have a re-usable cup they use in the coffee shop specifically for measurements. They then dump from that cup into yours. Those are the picky shops. Others just give you a bit extra, hehe.

To answer the question, I don’t drink coffee and rarely purchase tea. But I do have my own hot drink cup as well as a cold drink cup (which I use for water). I’m also a bit picky about which cups I use. I hate the taste of the metal and it does not matter if it stainless steal or cheapo metal. So or my water I use a glass mason jar (it’s only broke a couple of times, hehe). I don’t seem to taste the metal though with the hot beverage so I use a typical metal cup. My hubby has three he carries around. One for coffee, one for tea, one for water. He was an Environmental Studies major and he works for zero-waste at his current company. I also keep a cup at work for when I forget to carry my own.

I use my Philz Coffee-branded mug, for which the cup discount is a remarkable “20 oz. mug for the price of a small”.

And since discovering Philz, I haven’t been to another coffee place. Another Philz junkie I know is traveling. She just landed in Denver at 5 a.m., and wants coffee, but there’s no Philz to be found (there are only seven of ‘em in the Bay Area). It then occurred to me that I haven’t been out of town since forsaking all other coffee for Philz. Uh oh.

I don’t carry a thermos. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I’m always on the go and I’d have to carry a dirty/ dripping cup around in my purse or laptop case afterwords. If I ever do stay in the coffee place to drink my coffee, I get a mug instead of a paper cup if they offer them. It seems like only small/ independent places do that anymore.

@RedPowerLady could you not attach a cup to your notebook case?

Not realsitically.

When I was a kid, cars like Rover and Jaguar came with a set of silver plated folding/collapsible beakers in the glovebox. They were easily pocketable, but would not really be ideal for hot coffee – heat transfer.

@DarkScribe I remember collapsible cups, I played with them a lot as a kid. I know they have metal coffee cups that come with carabiner clips and you attach that clip to your briefcase, backpack, etc… But I can see how that would be a pain and perhaps dangerous to the notebook inside.

@RedPowerLady I liked those, too, but they aren’t practical for drinking. I think one more little thermal lunch bag with cutlery and a thermos mug is the way to go.

@Zen Ya, I agree, that certainly seems more practical.

I am an avid coffee drinker and will always have with me either the larger of these (i like that it’s recycled), or this bad boy. I love my coffee and if my buying one of these tumblers helps cut down on waste even better.

My backpack has an outside side pocket that is designed for easy access. Usually, I keep my water bottle in there, but sometimes, I put my travel mug in. If I keep the mug inside my bag, then I have to be more careful about cleaning and drying it. So after use, I sometimes switch its position with the water bottle, which I then put inside the bag.

Thought of this thread today going to work: paked a thermal lunch bag with a sandwich and apple, little water bottle I’d brita’d beforehand and a thermal (plastic) mug of coffee.

@Zen Lurve for you!

Usually I take coffee in my travel mug… if I wake up too late to make it, I’ll grab the travel mug and take it with me… we have a chain around here called Wawa… the coffee is heaven and you serve yourself… it’s the ONLY coffee other than home made that I buy.
(I have a mug here at work, and @frdelrosario we have motor oil coffee too, but sometimes I just NEED that extra cup o’ Joe, no matter how bad it is)

I tend to get tea (not too much of a difference) and I use my travel mug whenever possible. Carrying it around all day (since I’m on the go) doesn’t make it always the most practical solution, so I try to confine my tea drinking to the dining hall where we have reusable mugs anyway.

I use my travel mug where possible