Starbucks Earth Day Bring-Your-Own-Cup Event and Free Americano Coffee

What Happens at the Starbucks Earth Day Americano Coffee Event?

On April 22, Earth Day, Starbucks stores hold a bring-your-own-cup event during a set hour, and customers who arrive with a non-disposable container receive a free medium Americano. The first 30 customers can upgrade to a Berry Flavored Americano. Disposable plastic and paper cups are not accepted, though the container's material, shape, and capacity are otherwise unrestricted.

The free drink is capped at a medium cup's volume no matter how large the container is, so a customer who brings a bucket still receives that same amount. The event has become an informal showcase, with people arriving early and posting photos of water buckets, baby bottles, pickle jars, and gourds. It also fits the wider american style coffee habit of drinking espresso diluted with hot water.

Every year on April 22, World Earth Day, Starbucks rolls out its bring-your-own-cup free coffee event, and this year is no exception. Bring a non-disposable container to a store during the designated time slot and you can get a free medium Americano, with the first 30 customers eligible for an upgrade to a Berry Flavored Americano. Although the size is limited to a medium cup, there are no restrictions on the type of container, so this event has gradually evolved into an annual "BYOC Cup Showcase" for coffee lovers. From water buckets and baby bottles to pickle jars and gourds, all kinds of wildly creative containers make their appearance, with office workers quietly scoring freebies and attention-seekers seizing the chance to show off their cups. This article takes you through the highlights of this year's event to see which containers left the deepest impression.

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Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

World Earth Day was originally a date that was not easy to remember, but Starbucks shows up on time every year with a round of perks, which both promotes Mother Earth's birthday and earns itself plenty of advertising buzz.

As usual, today between 11:00 and 12:00, as long as you walk into any Starbucks with your own cup, you can get a free medium Americano, though disposable plastic cups and paper cups are not allowed. This year, to promote its newly launched flavored syrup series, Starbucks is letting the first 30 customers upgrade their Americano to a "Berry Flavored Americano."

The rules are the same as always: containers are unlimited, but the volume is capped. So no matter what material, type, capacity, or even shape of cup you bring, as long as you dare to bring it, you can walk in, but even if you haul in a giant water bucket, the barista will only fill it with a medium cup's worth.

So veteran fans all know that in this annual carnival, low-key office workers are just lining up for a free coffee, but for those attention-seekers who want to steal the spotlight, this is a rare "cup show-off contest." Because of this unique unspoken understanding among coffee people, today every year is not only a day for everyone to flock to Starbucks for freebies, but also, boosted by people spontaneously posting all kinds of "attention-grabbing" cups, the annual "BYOC Cup Showcase" has gradually become a regular feature of Coffee Workshop.

To get their free coffee as early as possible, quite a few clever contestants arrived on site ahead of time, standing in front of the bar waiting for the event to begin. As more and more people arrived with their cups, the line stretched into a long single file.

Enough chatter—let's pick out the most eye-catching ones from among these cups~