KeepCup - Melbourne based, Benefits World Wide
I’ve only met a few Australians, but each encounter is warm, friendly and just something tells me it’s going to be a good time - even if it's over a simple cup of coffee.
So when KeepCup Brand Manager, Adam, sat down with me at Blacktop Coffee in Los Angeles, I was instantly at-ease and delighted in hearing his accent.
“When I got here and I asked for a Long Black, baristas just gave me blank stares,” Adam laughs.
Adam had been in Los Angeles for nearly a week visiting their stateside warehouse in the Arts District and had fumbled over the term “Americano,” which in Australia is the “Long Black.”
“And now I am sure when I get back to Melbourne, I’ll start asking for Americanos,” he says.
Before I dive into the Australian culture of coffee - which truly impacts the world’s coffee culture, let’s begin with KeepCup - a brand directly impacting sustainability.
And they look good doing it - there is an endless array of colors you can choose one. My favorite, without question, is the cork cup pictured above.
“It’s the world’s first barista-standard reusable coffee cup,” Adam says.
“Barista Standard means it fits under the machine, it doesn’t disrupt their [the barista's] process; it’s a seamless transition, you hand them your cup and they take care of the rest.”
I know what many of us Americans our thinking - So, it’s a thermos. But not quite.
A thermos is built to hold larger volumes and to maintain heat for long periods of time. KeepCup isn’t in the business of keeping drinks warm, but rather making it possible to take good quality, just-served, mainly espresso, beverages to-go.
(Also, you can’t stick your thermos under an espresso machine. And if you have one, I’d like to see this baby thermos.)
Anyway, in Australia, and pretty much anywhere outside the U.S., espresso based drinks are the most popular choice of coffee for consumers.
That is why KeepCup is meant to carry something like a Cortado or Espresso Machiatto, and to be drunken quickly. Of course on this sunny LA day we enjoyed some iced beverages.
The original KeepCup, made from fully recyclable polypropylene plastic is available in 5 sizes, from 40z up to 16oz. Their glass Brew cup is available in 8oz and 12oz only, however with the growing demand for larger beverages in the US, there may be some additions to that range in the near future.
You can actually track your impact with KeepCup’s REUSE HQ.
“REUSE HQ is great platform for people to measure the impact they are making,” he says.
KeepCup is currently talking with a number of large companies to implement the program within their organization – this is pretty exciting.
“We want to integrate [Reuse HQ] into corporate organizations and track the impact they’re making by using KeepCups.
The difference they can make on the environment is a lot larger than say, one individual,” says Adam.
It’s no surprise that an Australian company is behind this #salutethereuser movement.