The idea behind the Cupffee edible coffee cup comes from Miroslav Zapryanov, company founder and CEO at Cupffee. As a student, Zapryanov began considering the environmental ramifications of plastic waste and disposable coffee cups and spent years developing the recipe in his own kitchen. Today, with a specialized machine and production process in place, this idea has materialized into a company capable of producing up to 2.5 million cups per day. The cups are manufactured in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Depending on the size (110ml for espressos and short drinks, 220ml for cappuccinos, flat whites and tea etc.) the cups have 56kcal or 105kcal. They are also lightweight, coming in at 14g or 26g respectively. Investment to drive market penetration​

After hundreds of hours in the kitchen refining their concept, the duo took it to market. Their start-up, Good- Edi, now offers an edible, biodegradable, plastic-free alternative to the standard polyethylene-lined paper cups used for coffee that largely end up in landfills or get incinerated. In 2015, UK branches of the fast-food chain KFC ran a promotion stunt to celebrate their collaboration with coffee company, Seattle’s Best. The promotion featured edible wafer and white chocolate coffee cups enveloped in sugar paper sleeves branded with the Colonel’s logo. Believe it or not, these kinds of recycling plants do already exist and are in place to solve the issue, however, the real problem lies with how we can actually get our cups to these plants. Behind the stunt was Etihad Airways, which aims to reduce its own single-use plastic items by 80% in 2022. Edible cups are made with oats and grains locally sourced from Australia. They are 100% vegan and a good source of fiber and vitamin B. Using edible cups won't affect the taste of the coffee. The edible coffee cups are made of natural and high-quality ingredients, so they are tasty and nutritious.Well, like in almost every case, it turns out that recycling these so-called recyclable cups is a lot more difficult than you might think.

But you’re right, there was a lot of R&D, a lot of trial and error in terms of specific ingredients. We found that sometimes you’d get one ingredient but then use the same ingredient from a different brand which would react slightly differently with all the other ingredients, so we really had to nail down what we wanted to use and even the brands that we wanted to rely on. For example, all the vanilla that we use in the cookie is all-natural vanilla from Tonga. So everything in the cup has no added preservatives, flavours or colours. It’s 100% natural. The use of plastic-lined hot beverage paper cups is set to increase more than 9 per cent in the three years to 2025, by which time consumption will reach 166 billion units a year, says Ismail Sutaria, a consultant with Future Market Insights, who is based in Pune, India. But why exactly are we so bad at recycling our takeaway cups? Why Normal Takeaway Cups aren’t being recycled An app on your phone reminds you if you’ve forgotten to return a cup, and if you fail to do so you are charged, in a similar vein to city bike rental services. Ploymateria Ltd states that its long service life plastic degrades in six months to three years, whereas the short life service plastic will degrade in less than six months – a significant improvement on the materials currently being used. Edible containers

What Are Edible Cups Made Of?

Still, the success of CupClub will be determined by how many sign-ups it gets, and it remains to be seen whether it will take off. Edible Is The Future Once you take them from the container, keep them in a cool and dry place. Place them inside an airtight container to maintain the crispiness and maximise their shelf life. Why Choose Edible Cups?

Known as Scoff-ee cups, the mug was crafted with wafer biscuits, lined with heat-resistant white chocolate, and a sugar paper wrapping displaying the KFC logo and colors. Because while a mug that is as environmentally friendly as it is tasty is definitely a winner in our eyes, the rest of the world remains unconvinced… Edible Coffee Cups: The Story So Far KFC 2015 Bulgaria-based Cupffee was founded in 2014 and moved into industrial production in 2018. The start-up, headed up by Zapryanov as CEO, makes its edible coffee cups from seven ingredients, including oat bran, wheat flour, sugar and oil. But what if we could munch on our cup instead of discarding it in the compost bin after enjoying our morning brew?

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Unfortunately, their fun and unique style also mean they could be an easy target for more of this, as well as ‘greenwashing’ in the coming years, with companies looking to boost their profile in the wake of 2022 plans to limit single-use plastics. Even just a small trial of an edible cup can give the impression a brand is willing or looking to change, but when the time to put in real investment comes… they’re often nowhere to be seen. Cupffee is designed for cold or hot drinks and can withstand temperatures of up to 85˚C. “The cup remains crunchy for 40 minutes and does not leak for 12 hours,” ​Zapryanov told FoodNavigator. “The Cupffee cups don’t alter the taste of the beverage – the taste is natural,” ​he added. And while the rise of the edible coffee cup feels like it’s come and gone, it still has never been topped due to its simple promise of no leftover waste, whether you eat it or bin it. Currently only available at some London offices and University campuses, CupClub, allows coffee consumers to buy their hot drinks in a reusable mug, and then drop it off at a collection point later. For those of you who are a little mathematically challenged, that means 99.75% of all coffee cups in the UK end up in landfills.