The perfect cuppa

Just like everything else days, we like our coffee to come with convenience. But what we haven’t bargained for is the impact all this convenience is having on the environment.

A takeaway coffee is more often than not taken all the way to the local landfill.  And with more than a billion coffee cups piling up each year, the time has come to do something about it.

One Melbourne local is taking matter into her own hands by putting the right sort of cup in the hands of her customers.  With more than a decade’s experience working in hospitality, Alex O’Brien, owner of the Brunswick café Handsome Her, understands the quick consumerism culture she is up against.

By doing with takeaway cups in favour of the real deal – a proper ceramic mug- O’Brien is hopeful that customers will start to change their attitudes towards consuming coffee.

O’Brien is looking to get other nearby cafes involved in the initiative, and she’s already asked her local council about installing drop bins located along Sydney Road for customers to return the mugs. But it’s still early days.

One thing is for sure, though: now is the time to slow down and smell the coffee.  Chris Prindiville