These Genius Coffee Cups Are Made from Actual Coffee

Given the sobering reports on the widespread impact of global pollution, the demand for more eco-friendly reusables is more pressing than ever. In response to the call to protect the environment, Berlin startup Kaffeeform has come up with reusable coffee cups made from used coffee grounds.

As Designboom notes, Kaffeeform’s innovative recycling project earned it the Red Dot Product Design Award of 2018. The process of converting grounds into cups begins with the collection of leftover coffee from area shops. The old coffee is then meshed with natural glues and wood particles retrieved from sustainable sources. The resulting mixture is a liquid that can be molded into cup form.

Coffee grounds don’t exactly sound like the most durable material, but the reusable cups are actually quite tough. They’re dishwasher-safe, can be used repeatedly, and are designed to last over a long period of time, which means they can hold their own alongside your favorite coffee mugs.

Kaffeeform offers a few select styles, including small espresso cups with a handle and complementary saucers and takeaway cappuccino cups, both available for sale on the startup’s website in sets of four, six or eight, or individually.

“As the global coffee consumption is steadily growing, the coffee grounds that are basically waste, will be available en masse,” Kaffeeform designer Julian Lechner tells Designboom. “Kaffeeform uses this wasted resources, to creative a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to products based on mineral oils.”

The recyclable coffee grounds approach is the latest attempt to make coffee consumption a more eco-conscious act. In 2014, the DO School in Brooklyn launched a reusable coffee cup program in an effort to reduce waste; Australia-based company The Keep Cup developed the world’s first barista standard reusable cup and 100 percent of this month’s online sales of its collaborative cup design with Sea Shepherd will go to the non-profit conservation organization.