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A common question we frequently get asked which cups we would recommend to our customers; this is a tricky question as it depends on the heat of drink you intend to use. We stock a wide range of items from single-wall plain paper cups, to our latest triple wall 'Ultimate' hot cups. The primary difference is the insulating properties of the specific cup type. Find out best paper cups by clicking on โรงงานแก้วกระดาษ.

Our Plain White or Mocha Single wall hot cups are perfect for warm drinks; however piping hot coffee would perhaps be rather uncomfortable to hold without the use of a cup sleeve (available separately). Due to their single-wall construction there is no additional layer to insulate the heat of the beverage.

Double wall and hot ripple cups are specifically designed to withstand much high tempuratures, the dual layers work in a similar way to a thermos flask; trapping air and isolating the customer's hand from hot drinks. In addition to this, the extra cup strength is ideally suited to 'coffee on the go'.

With different high street coffee chains and drinks providers favouring different disposable cup materials, it is interesting to find out which is the most effective insulator. Perhaps the most appropriate way to discuss the insulating properties of a paper cup is to compare it with another frequently used takeaway cups, such as the common expanded polystyrene type. This can be done by carrying out a simple test to show whether the polystyrene or paper version kept the liquid it contained hotter for the greatest length of time.

Paper cups vs Polystyrene cups 

The heat retention test involves putting 200 ml of very hot water into a polystyrene cup and the same amount into a paper hot drink cup to find out which is the better insulator. For a wider comparison, you could also introduce a plastic cup into the equation to reveal how its insulation properties measure up. We all know each of these hot cups will provide a specific level of insulation, but this test will help show which is the best way to keep liquids warm.

How to Test the temperature 

You can use a thermometer to test the temperature of the liquid. Taking a temperature reading every minute for at least ten minutes, then again around 20 minutes and 30 minutes, will help to show whether the paper cup is indeed the best insulator. You can record these readings as a graph if you wish to make the results clearer.

Heat retention 

In an extremely similar test, cup and food container specialist Contexpan discovered that the liquid in both cups dropped in temperature very fast during the first five minutes, from around 100 degrees centigrade to around 90 degrees. However, at this point, the liquid in the polystyrene cup cooled at a slightly slower rate than the paper version, remaining at around 80 degrees after 25 minutes compared with the liquid in the paper cup, which had dropped to around 70 degrees.

The results 

The findings suggest that the polystyrene cup is the better insulator, with the paper cup in second place. A third cup, a plastic cup, was used in the Contexpan test and this presenting inferior insulation properties, with the water temperature falling to below 70 degrees centigrade after 25 minutes. However, some catering supplies companies are now using double-layered disposable paper cups with an air pocket in between to trap the heat and provide an extra layer of insulation. Further tests would need to be carried out to discover whether this gives the paper cups the edge over polystyrene ones.

From the findings above, we would most likely expect the greatly increased insulation of ripple/weave paper cups to put them in first place with this sort of experiment. The ripples act like a thermos flask, greatly increasing the heat retention of the cups. Further tests are required to conslusively prove this statement however.

Biodegradable Paper Cups 

Of late there has been a lot of emphasis on the use of Biodegradable hot drink paper cups. This has become a issue as traditional PE coated hot drink cups use non-renewable materials for their inner lining. Obviously this lining is required to make the cups watertight, so the only way to make paper coffee cups more eco-friendly is to replace the PE lining with an eco-friendly alternative.

The new range of Biodegradable Paper Cups use a PLA (Polylatic acid) lining instead of the traditional PE (Polyethylene) coating. Previously PLA has been mainly used on Plastic Glasses designed for cold drinks. This is because PLA would begin to dissolve if it touched a hot drink. The latest varieties are temperature treated to make it suitable for use with piping hot drinks; this advance has made the coating appropriate for use with paper coffee cups.

PLA vs PE coated cups 

There is lots of erroneous information on the Internet regarding the environmental benefits of using PLA coating, primarily regarding the disposal of cups at landfill sites. Contrary to popular belief neither the PLA or PE coated paper coffee cups rot at landfill sites. These sites are specifically designed to prevent material 'rotting' as such, as this process released potentially dangerous methane gasses.

A main benefit of PLA coated paper cups is that the coating is made from a renewable resource, this accounts for roughly 5% of the material used for an average single-wall paper cup.

In order to legitimately state the environmental advantages of using disposable paper cups it should also be noted that they need to be recycled using appropriate facilities. This is true of both PE and PLA paper cups. Nether type of paper cup should be disposed of in normal 'paper waste' collections, potentialls this could completely contaminate the entire recycling batch! Currently, the best way of recycling coated cups of this nature in the UK is through the save-a-cup scheme. Specific collections are organised for paper cups, ensuring that they make their way to a suitable processing plant. 

In 1994 Chemistry Professor Martin B Hocking undertook a study of disposable and reusable cups and their environmental benefits. Professor Hocking tested polystyrene cups, paper cups, glass and ceramic cups to find out which cups were the most energy efficient when produced and used. The study's findings were somewhat surprising - paper and polystyrene cups were found to be the most energy-friendly options. To produce a ceramic cup, up to 1006 times more energy is required than to produce polystyrene cups. The energy consumption used for ceramic cups is also larger due to the fact that the ceramic cups need to be washed between each use and the polystyrene cup can be recycled. In other words, the energy savings that you think you would get from reusing ceramic cups is never realized when compared to paper or polystyrene cups. The difference between glass cups and paper cups is less extreme, with the glass cup only taking 15 uses to match the energy consumed by the paper cup. Thus, if you use a glass cup more than 15 times, you can begin to conserve energy (compared to using a new paper cup each time). This study undertaken by Professor Hocking should make us realize the environmental benefits of reusable products such as reusable shopping bags, cups and reusable containers, but should also force us to question the choices we make when choosing the materials that reusable products are made of.

Production energy is an important factor to be considered when producing disposable or reusable cups and their overall environmental impact. There are other factors that also need to be considered in the production process, such as water disposal, possible toxins that the factories may release, how the factories obtain their materials for production to have environmental sustainability, and the end-life of each product. Polystyrene is not a recyclable product and can take years to breakdown in the environment. Paper cups are recyclable and breakdown faster, yet the factories that produce paper cups release high amounts of toxic effluents, their water use is high, and deforestation occurs due to the need of paper for production. Plastic cups are both recyclable and disposable, yet they require petroleum to produce, which is a non-renewable resource that can have terrible impacts on the environment, especially through spills and contamination that can harm our wildlife, soil, and air quality.

When it comes to choosing which environmentally sound products that we should use, we need to compare the items case by case. Are recyclable products best? What about reusable products like reusable grocery bags? Or are there cases where it is actually best to use a disposable product? As the cup example points out, you need to take into account the amount of energy and greenhouse gas emissions used to create the product AND continue using it versus using a disposable product. For example, even though stainless steel mugs rely on recycled materials, the damage they cause to the environment over their entire lifespan is greater then the ceramic mug. And, in nearly all cases, a glass cup is even more environmentally friendly. In most cases, purchasing reusable products will be better for our environment than continuing to use disposable products - especially those that consume finite resources like plastic cups and grocery bags. Another way to have a big impact is to look for items that are second hand or if you choose to buy new, make sure that the item is made from as many recycled parts as possible to reduce our environmental impact.