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Coffee Cups Are Next

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Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#301

Post by NLips »

verelo wrote: post #176
mrbonner wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At my workplace there are occasions when some people just push their own glasses, cups or bottle waters up touching the nozzle. It is so unsanitary. When we have the disposable cups this kind of issue wouldn’t happen.

"It is so unsanitary." Is it really that bad? As in, so bad it justifies the amount of waste the alternatives produce? I'm sure it's not the worst thing you deal with on a daily basis i.e. door handles are pretty gross.

A quick note on this:

Appeal to the building owners / maintainers for unplated, unpolished brass handles. The copper in brass (or other alloys of copper) is antimicrobial. Obviously the effect isn't immediate, clinical trials suggest it is immpresively high.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#302

Post by carlob »

exodus_de wrote: post #298
carlob wrote: post #294

As a European I really don't get take-out cups, in most Western Europe there are two options: either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing (both in a ceramic cup). If you see someone walking around with a pint of hot beverage, it's a safe bet they are American. I heard some American friend that it's part of American culture to control climate: drinks must…

Where the hell are you from "as a European"? In Germany you can get a take-out almost anywhere they sell coffee. Vending machines are ubiquitous. It's not just for "Americans". Having a coffee takes more than three minutes, especially if it's still hot. People don't necessarily have that kind of time in the morning. Or maybe they prefer to drink their coffee at a different place than where they purchased it.

I'm in Italy, but I've seen it throughout Southwestern Europe. If you are in Rome or in Paris, to-go coffee is advertised exclusively in English and cannot be found outside of tourist hubs. FWIW vending machines are popular here too, but they use small plastic cups with no lid.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#303

Post by genericlogic »

village-idiot wrote: post #205
8_hours_ago wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like dirty dishes have been a problem in every place I have worked. Have any companies wised up and installed a dishwasher in each kitchen, and have someone assigned to run them every night? Or even just pay someone to wash the dishes by hand?

You just need to convince everyone to get their own unique cup, and they’ll take care of it themselves. Just make sure there’s plenty of dish soap and replace the sponge at an appropriate cadence.

To greatly extend the life of your sponge, get it wet then microwave for 2 minutes. Let it cool off for a few minutes before handing. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/a18731/how-to...

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#304

Post by [deleted] »

carlob wrote: post #294

As a European I really don't get take-out cups, in most Western Europe there are two options: either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing (both in a ceramic cup). If you see someone walking around with a pint of hot beverage, it's a safe bet they are American. I heard some American friend that it's part of American culture to control climate: drinks must…

[deleted]

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#305

Post by prennert »

fouc wrote: post #150
satori99 wrote: post #96

A former workplace of mine mandated that no-one was allowed to use re-usable coffee mugs at all. This was done because of the mass of dirty, moldy cups that seemed to fill every kitchenette in a multi-floor building. The business was a media organization and it seemed to me like reporters were the worst culprits. The company provided styrofoam cups which were consumed at a enormous rate, and this was deemed to be a b…

Interestingly I remember seeing signs at Booster Juice company that talked about why they chose to keep using styrofoam cups for environmental reasons. Because the carbon footprint of producing non-styrofoam cups was apparently much higher.

That seems like they are optimising for a too narrow cost function. Carbon emissions are only part of the environment impact.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#306

Post by afandian »

mrbonner wrote: post #143
satori99 wrote: post #96

A former workplace of mine mandated that no-one was allowed to use re-usable coffee mugs at all. This was done because of the mass of dirty, moldy cups that seemed to fill every kitchenette in a multi-floor building. The business was a media organization and it seemed to me like reporters were the worst culprits. The company provided styrofoam cups which were consumed at a enormous rate, and this was deemed to be a b…

At my workplace there are occasions when some people just push their own glasses, cups or bottle waters up touching the nozzle. It is so unsanitary. When we have the disposable cups this kind of issue wouldn’t happen.

You trust the employees of the cup factory more than the employees of your employer?

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#307

Post by pjmlp »

carlob wrote: post #302
exodus_de wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where the hell are you from "as a European"? In Germany you can get a take-out almost anywhere they sell coffee. Vending machines are ubiquitous. It's not just for "Americans". Having a coffee takes more than three minutes, especially if it's still hot. People don't necessarily have that kind of time in the morning. Or maybe they prefer to drink their coffee at a different place than where they purchased it.

I'm in Italy, but I've seen it throughout Southwestern Europe. If you are in Rome or in Paris, to-go coffee is advertised exclusively in English and cannot be found outside of tourist hubs. FWIW vending machines are popular here too, but they use small plastic cups with no lid.

From my two years living in the Alps region, they are surely easy to find, written in French.

And if you go to Southeastern Europe, it is everywhere, mostly the iced coffee variant.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#308

Post by SJetKaran »

exodus_de wrote: post #298
carlob wrote: post #294

As a European I really don't get take-out cups, in most Western Europe there are two options: either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing (both in a ceramic cup). If you see someone walking around with a pint of hot beverage, it's a safe bet they are American. I heard some American friend that it's part of American culture to control climate: drinks must…

Where the hell are you from "as a European"? In Germany you can get a take-out almost anywhere they sell coffee. Vending machines are ubiquitous. It's not just for "Americans". Having a coffee takes more than three minutes, especially if it's still hot. People don't necessarily have that kind of time in the morning. Or maybe they prefer to drink their coffee at a different place than where they purchased it.

Yes, similar situation in Netherlands

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#309

Post by xorfish »

kristopolous wrote: post #226
bsaul wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this story i keep hearing about tap water beeing just as good as bottle one is really starting to get on my nerves. people don’t spend their money and carry huge loads of water bottles if they can have the equivalent for « free » at home. If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough, even in the cases where the origina…

Then put a $50 filter at the tap and you're good for probably $25,000 of bottled water. It's marketing that drives the preference. That's why most chronic bottled water drinkers I know surround their life with other bullshit irrelevant products. It's the same mechanics

How do you spend $25'000 on bottled water? Where I'm from it costs 16.5 cents per liter. That includes a 2 cent tax for recycling the PET Bottle.

$25'000 is more than you need in several lifetimes.

But then again, tab water here is excellent and also cool. So I don't see a reason why I should transport bottled water. It is much more convenient and cheaper.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#310

Post by vidarh »

bsaul wrote: post #223
cstrat wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just hurts to read... It is almost as bad as the somewhat inexplicable growth in bottled water in places where tap water is perfectly acceptable. In fact many of the branded bottles of water are not spring water but bottled tap water.

this story i keep hearing about tap water beeing just as good as bottle one is really starting to get on my nerves. people don’t spend their money and carry huge loads of water bottles if they can have the equivalent for « free » at home. If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough, even in the cases where the origina…

A few years ago I worked in an office where people had kept refilling filter jugs for years, and I just started using the tap because the filter was too slow and annoying. Took a few weeks and everyone had stopped using the filter - all it took was seeing someone else drink water from the tap, and gradually people would do the same I did and drink from the tap when the jug was empty and realize it tasted perfectly fine. Probably better than the filter, frankly - I don't want to think about how rarely that filter was replaced and the jug washed.

Point being that while some places do have awful tap water, a lot of people just drink bottled or filtered water because they see people drink bottled or filtered water and copy that without even stopping to consider if their tap water is good enough or not.

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