Air New Zealand photo.
If you’re looking for one of the world’s most progressive efforts towards reducing disposable coffee cup waste, you may need to set your sights on the sky.
Already serving more than eight million cups of coffee per year, Air New Zealand has begun piloting an edible coffee cup program — and passengers seem to be totally on board.
For the program, the airline has been working with fellow New Zealand company Twiice, a small, family-run outfit that produces edible cups designed for use with coffee. The cups themselves are composed of wheat flour, sugar, egg and vanilla essence.
Air New Zealand photo.
Twiice says the cups do indeed maintain their hold on liquids for as long as it takes to drink a cup of coffee — “and longer,” according to their website — and the cups are already in use in 14 cafes throughout New Zealand.
“It’s terrific that Air New Zealand has partnered with us to showcase to its customers and the world that a little bit of Kiwi ingenuity and innovation could have a really positive impact on the environment while at the same time delivering a really cool and tasty customer experience,” Twiice Co-Founder Jamie Cashmore said in announcement from Air New Zealand today.
The pilot appears to be on a small scale for the airline, which had already made the switch to plant-based, commercially compostable cups for all its coffee service on board and in airport lounges. Air New Zealand Senior Manager of Customer Experience Niki Chave said the airline is working with Twiice and other providers towards making the cups a long-term product for the airline.
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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This idea of edible coffee cups couldn’t get any more disgusting. Brilliant idea progressives…….save the planet from a 2 degree temperature change by the year 3000 but in the meantime we’ll spread every sickness and flu bug from eating our coffee cups that our hands touched and god knows who else from baristas to servers…..uggh. Look at the picture in this article. The flight attendant has his hand wrapped around the edible cup as he pours just before he serves it. And we all know how clean and sanitized air travel is. This idea is so moronIc.
Sanitation seems like a smaller, easier-to-resolve issue than 1) gluten intolerance, 2) vegans, 3) the carbon footprint of the ingredients that go into the cup, 4) food waste, 5) people who want coffee but don’t want a cookie. Much, much more information would be necessary to support that this is any kind of improvement on reusable or compostable cups.
Susan, Jeff, you are the primary reason that I never post, except this time. They are trying. Are you?
What about the people at McDonalds that touch your cup, and the wrapping of your “burger” (not legal to call it a hamburger if not all beef). The server who touches your plate, the cook who plates it all. My philosophy with employees has always been simple, and enforced. Do not bitch about or fault anything unless you simultaneously offer a solution. No exceptions.
I am reminded of the efficiency expert who came into my 315 seat brewpub. I traded him beers for his opinion. After a couple of weeks, he came back with an interesting finding. The one utensil that was most often needed was the spoon, the device dropped more than any other. And, all employees must wash hands after using a bathroom.
In my brewpub, my bar was 110′ long, and a dropped spoon required any server to walk back to the supplies area, past the bar, to get a new spoon. The expert detailed to me the time and steps wasted and suggested that each male server tie a string on his below-waist protuberance so that he could pull himself out for using the restroom without touching his privates. He further detailed how much time and how many steps this would save.
My comment was simple and straight to the “point” (yes I am a pun devote) . How would each guy put it back?
He said, “Simple, with a spoon.”