Coffee has been an indispensable beverage in daily life. To have an extraordinary cup of coffee, you not only need to pay attention to the quality of the beans but also the material for your coffee cup. So, what is the best material to use for coffee cups?
This article will help you take a look at some of the popular coffee cup materials on the market today and choose one that best suits your needs!
What Is The Best Material To Use For Coffee Cups?
Many coffee enthusiasts have agreed that ceramic is the best material for your coffee cup. The reason is that all of these materials (plastic, paper, glass, stoneware, stainless steel, and porcelain) except ceramic have more or less influence on the taste of your coffee.
In most cases, ceramic cups are not always suitable for you to enjoy coffee. It depends on your time, place, and work. Also, shape and design are two other things to keep in mind when you own a ceramic cup.
Let’s take a closer look at each coffee cup material below and its special characteristics along with the advantages and disadvantages to find the best answer!
In-Depth Reviews Of The Material To Use For Coffee Cups
Ceramic
Ceramic is the best material to use for coffee cups. It can be said that ceramic cups appear everywhere, from street eateries, your home, convenience stores, cafes to more luxurious places, such as restaurants, hotels, etc.
Do you know why they have such a wide coverage? It’s simple! That’s because ceramic cups are very affordable. You only need to spend a small amount of money to own a simple ceramic cup available in many different designs and sizes.
The ceramic material can create coffee cups of different shapes and sizes depending on the preferences of the user. For companies, choosing to use ceramic for cups or other products is not a bad choice because the logo can be easily printed on the surface. Using coffee cups with the company’s logo on them will create uniformity as well as increase the level of brand recognition for customers.
In addition to the above good points, the type of ceramic material also has a few points to pay attention to before choosing.
The first thing is about the design of the ceramic cups. They are all designed with a wider top than the base, making heat dissipation happen faster and helps your coffee cup quickly cool down.
This feature is certainly the most undesirable thing for a coffee lover. A cup of coffee that is no longer hot not only reduces the quality of the taste but also affects the drinking experience. One solution to this problem is to buy a cover for your ceramic mug.
In addition, the cup made of ceramic material is also more prone to dirt and breakage than other materials such as paper, plastic, etc.
Pros
- Various designs and sizes
- Cheap
- Easy to find and buy
Cons
- Heats up fast and cools fast
- Easily breakable
Stoneware
At first glance, you can easily mistake ceramic material with stoneware material. However, the main difference between them is the heating time.
Heating stoneware takes longer than normal pottery. Besides, because of the high firing temperature, stoneware products do not need to be glazed.
Products made from stoneware are quite expensive because of their unique appearance and longer forming time than ordinary ceramic products. It is one of the best coffee cup materials many people trust as gifts to friends or relatives.
Handmade stoneware cups always have a very unique and outstanding beauty. They are designed specifically with many drawings with different meanings based on the artist’s personality and the customer’s requirements.
The uniqueness of each cup made of stoneware is what makes it so loved by many users.
Because of the coffee’s high temperature, coffee cups made of ceramic are also more durable and don’t chip too easily. This characteristic is a big plus for those who follow the zero-waste lifestyle as stoneware products are made to last for years to come.
Like ceramic material, the taste of coffee does not change when you use a cup made of stoneware. However, the heat retention time of this material is not much longer than that of ceramic.
Pros
- Unique design
- Heat resistant
- Durable
- Hard to be outdated
Cons
- Not available everywhere
- Limited in design
Stainless Steel
If you are a coffee lover and want a cup that meets all your convenience requirements, is easy to carry everywhere, and retains heat well, stainless steel coffee cups are good purchases.
Stainless steel material helps you enjoy your coffee for a long time. You will also not have any problems holding a coffee cup made of this material because its surface is insulated, thus, remains cool and safe to hold. Traveling will become easier when you can carry your stainless steel coffee mug.
There are many types of stainless steel coffee cups in use today, such as those with lids, without lids, with straws. Depending on your preferences, you should choose the type of product that is right for you.
Although there are many advantages over ceramic or stoneware coffee cups, using stainless steel cups will affect the taste of coffee. So consider carefully before using this material when enjoying your caffeinated drink.
Pros
- High portability
- Good heat retention
- Unbreakable
Con
- Can affect the coffee taste
Glass
Perhaps glass will be the best material to enjoy coffee for those who love to see their coffee cup in its true color. The magical blend when you stir the three layers of milk, coffee, and foam is simply breathtaking.
Glass is a material that brings simplicity but is very elegant and luxurious, suitable for all living spaces.
Coffee cups made of glass score another point for not affecting the quality and taste of coffee.
However, the most obvious disadvantage of glass is its fragility. Those who love this material will have to be very careful when using glass products because it can be dangerous to users when broken.
Another point to note is that glass is a poor insulator, so the time to enjoy a cup of coffee for you is shortened.
Pros
- Keep the original coffee taste
- Add visual appeal to the drink
- Elegant look
- Suitable for all types of spaces
Cons
- Fragility
- Heats up fast and cools fast
Plastic
We need not say too much about plastic anymore; it’s a vital yet undesirable part of our everyday life. You can find products made from plastic anywhere, and plastic coffee cups are no exception.
Currently, plastic coffee cups with different colors and shapes appear in coffee shops, take-away restaurants, convenience stores, and supermarkets. They are durable, inexpensive, and single-use products.
However, like stainless steel, storing coffee with plastic cups will affect the taste of coffee, and worse, using plastic products many times can negatively affect your health.
In recent years, when environmental issues have been raised, the use of plastic materials in life is not recommended, considering its longstanding and severe impact on the planet.
Pros
- Very cheap
- Available everywhere
- Durable
- Not heavy
Cons
- Harmful to the environment
- Affect the taste of coffee
Paper
Today, when raising awareness about environmental protection is something we all need to care about, the use of environmentally friendly products is essential. Paper is one of them.
Paper cups appear to be a perfect alternative to disposable plastic cups. However, it is easy to see that in restaurants, every time you order a drink, each paper cup will come with a plastic lid. It can be seen that, although paper material seems to be more environmentally friendly than plastic material, it has not completely solved the problem of environmental protection. Therefore, you should still bring reusable cups whenever you go to cafes or restaurants.
Using paper material for coffee cups might give you a different experience. The image of people holding paper coffee cups in their hands has become very familiar on the street. Compared with other materials, using paper material for coffee cups brings convenience to customers.
The only minus point of paper coffee cups is their low ability to retain heat.
Pros
- More environmentally friendly
- Cheap
- Portable
Con
- Unable to retain heat in a long time
Read more: Can you microwave paper coffee cups
Porcelain
Along with ceramic materials, porcelain is also the most used material for coffee cups. Porcelain products have a very eye-catching, luxurious appearance and are designed with many different patterns.
Its disadvantages are similar to ceramic materials, but the sophistication in design and durability of porcelain products ensures the user’s preference for products made from porcelain unchanged.
Compared to glass coffee cups, porcelain cups are harder to break and have better heat resistance due to being produced at high temperatures. A special feature of porcelain is the traditional value that it brings. People often say that porcelain has a hint of homeland and culture.
Pros
- Sophisticated designs and elegant, luxurious look
- Traditional value
- Sturdy and resistant
Con
- Unable to retain heat in a long time
Conclusion
With so many materials and designs available on the market, choosing the perfect material for your coffee cup largely depends on your preferences and budget.
Through this article, we hope that you have an overview of each different coffee cup material and have your own answer to the question, “What is the best material to use for coffee cups?“.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that in addition to owning a coffee cup that meets your style, color, and size requirements, let’s choose a coffee cup that is friendly to the environment.
Almost 20 years already spent committed to coffee and more than 3 years of experience as a barista at Starbucks. Madelyn Doyle graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutritional Science from the University of California and finished the Coffee Skills Program at the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).