Why Did the Arabica Coffee Shop Switch Cold Cups to Paper?

%Arabica stores have been replacing plastic takeaway cups with kraft paper cups for cold drinks, a change rolled out gradually since last year as each shop used up its plastic stock. What began as a response to Hong Kong's plastic ban now appears in more regions. Customers report condensation, softer cups, a papery taste and less appealing photos.

Moisture from a cold drink condenses on the cup wall, and prolonged dampness weakens even tough kraft paper. Most beverage shops therefore use plastic cups for cold drinks to keep the experience steady over time. Staff also face slower output, so the arabica coffee store chain is balancing environmental goals against daily service.

Recently, many consumers have noticed that cold drinks at %Arabica stores are being served in kraft paper cups rather than the plastic takeaway cups used previously. According to reports, this change has been gradually implemented since last year, with stores switching to paper cups uniformly after using up their stock of plastic cups. What was originally thought to be a temporary measure taken only in response to Hong Kong's plastic ban now appears to have expanded to more regions. However, the use of paper cups for cold drinks has raised widespread concerns among customers, including condensation on the cup walls, the cup becoming soft, the papery taste affecting the flavor of the drink, and the impact on the visual appeal for photos. At the same time, store employees are also facing difficulties with output efficiency. How to balance environmental principles with the consumer experience has become the core controversy of this packaging change.

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Recently, a customer noticed while buying a drink at a %Arabica store that the cold drink they ordered was actually served in a paper cup typically used for hot drinks.

At first, the customer thought the staff had simply grabbed the wrong cup by mistake. But after asking, they learned that %Arabica is currently gradually replacing its original plastic takeaway cups with kraft paper cups, using the same type of paper cup for both cold and hot drinks.

Some users have revealed that %Arabica stopped supplying plastic takeaway cups to its stores starting last year, and each store naturally transitioned to kraft paper cups once its stock ran out. Initially, this change was interpreted as a response to Hong Kong's plastic ban, but feedback on social media shows that this practice no longer seems limited to Hong Kong stores, with many consumers reporting that the cold drinks they order are no longer packaged in plastic cups.

When the temperature of a cold drink is lower than the ambient temperature, a layer of water droplets condenses on the outer wall of the cup. When this moisture remains on the paper surface for an extended period, even kraft paper with relatively good toughness loses much of its feel. For this reason, most beverage shops typically choose plastic cups for cold drinks to ensure a good experience over time and to prevent takeaway cups from being softened by condensation.

Therefore, when consumers learned that %Arabica plans to fully promote paper cups and discontinue plastic cups, many said it was hard to accept. Some customers said bluntly that after a cold drink sits for a while, the usability of the kraft paper cup declines noticeably, and the cup body gradually becomes soft, making people worry that under the combined effect of condensation and the beverage, the cup might not hold up and could break or leak.

In addition, customers who are more sensitive to smells have expressed dissatisfaction with the scent of the paper cup itself, believing that the paper material interferes with the flavor of the drink. Consumers who care about appearance also pointed out that kraft paper cups lower the visual appeal of colorful cold drinks, making them less suitable for taking photos and sharing, and affecting the overall visual presentation of the beverage.

Faced with this feedback, %Arabica employees also feel troubled. Some employees explained that the headquarters' decision to eliminate plastic takeaway cups may be partly out of consideration for reducing plastic use and promoting environmental protection, and partly in the hope that consumers will avoid ingesting too many microplastics while drinking.

However, in actual operations, after the uniform switch to paper cups, employees can no longer quickly distinguish drink categories by cup type as they did before, and can only rely on the labels on the cups to confirm, which slows down daily output efficiency to some extent.

That said, some consumers also mentioned that certain %Arabica stores still continue to provide plastic takeaway cups. Some said they understand that %Arabica hopes to practice environmental principles by reducing the use of plastic cups, but the switch to paper cups for cold drinks still needs careful consideration.

They believe that it is somewhat inappropriate for the brand to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach across all stores because of specific regulations in certain regions, and that it should take into account the experience and actual needs of most consumers by retaining plastic cups that are more suitable for cold drinks.

Image source: Internet

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