disclaimer: I was sent an Upper Cup to review

I’m pretty sure everyone is now aware that the bazillion take away coffee cups that we power through every day aren’t actually recyclable and generally just add to land fill. This, of course, is a bad thing and bringing your own cup is now de rigueur. 

I work part time at a university and, on the days I work, I always stop by a coffee van on campus and buy a coffee before hitting the office. Until recently, it was because this was the only way of getting a decent coffee (we now have a proper coffee machine in our kitchen area) – but I continue to do so because the coffee van has friendly staff and awesome cakes. I’ve been taking a tatty old free (promo) cup so I was quite pleased to be offered something new and a little more permanent. 

The Upper Cup is an Australian made, BPA free cup by 321Water and GoLusty – and it’s been designed by baristas – with a concave bottom (apparently this is important for the pour).

As a long black drinker the most common issue I have is hot fingers. It also means that when I buy a takeaway coffee I’m twice as bad for the environment, as the baristas always ‘double bag’ the cups. Many reusable coffee cups have some kind of band around their middle for exactly this reason. The Upper Cup doesn’t … which was a bit worrying – but it has an insulate wall design – meaning no burnt fingers. You can’t even tell you’re holding a hot drink. It also means that the cup does a great job of keeping your drink warm (particularly if you put the lid on).

As I have maybe 200m to walk from the coffee to my desk, I don’t actually bother putting the lid on and I certainly don’t drink from it using the lid.  The lid is a very snug fit, so it’s worth practising with it a few times before using it with a cup full of hot coffee – particularly if you are going to take it off to drink!

Naturally, the cup is dishwashable and your favourite barista can write on it directly. The writing does come off easily but will survive a gentle handwash (and partially survive a dishwash).

There are a limited number of stockists in South Australia but you can also buy the cups online. I have a ‘small’ and this is the perfect size if you drink what is usually called a regular sized coffee. Although the size of a coffee when you head out is far from regular … 😀

Thank you to Upper Cup for sending a sample cup through. My finger tips are happy!