It started with a Cup

It all started with a Keep Cup.

I was in the McDonalds drive-thru one day, getting my regular hot chocolate before work, when I saw the woman in front of me pass a bright pink keep cup through the drive-thru window!

I'd heard a bit about Keep Cups but didn't know how it all worked and if it was just going to be a huge pain in the butt.

I asked around and found out that McDonalds was selling KeepCups. I had to get one. I went back to the McDonalds in Ballarat where I'd seen the woman hand it over, and asked for one. They had some blue ones, it was $10 and that included my hot chocolate. #Winning! But I still had my heart set on a pink one.

I tried both Maccas in Melton, neither had ANY cups available, I tried 3 Maccas in Ballarat, 2/3 didn't even have any blue ones now. I kept telling myself, that's great, it means everyone's buying them right? Not that they didn't have many to supply in the first place..?

Also it dawned on me, why hadn't any of those Maccas asked me if I Wanted one when I'd ordered my hot chocolate every day for the last forever?? *sigh*

I was in Shepparton for a dance competition one night and we did the usual late night Maccas run on the drive home. We went in to get food and Ta Da! They had a pink KeepCup on display in McCafe! I excitedly asked the staff member for one.... to which she informed me they had none... until another staff member overheard and went in search and found me one! Woooo I finally had my pink cup!

Now, I'm a busy person and my priorities don't rate cleaning highly... so I now had a problem where I'd use my cup... take it inside to wash it... and then be without my cup (even by rotating through the 2) I needed more! And I needed to get some to harass my partner and family into using.

Then, one magical day, driving to Adelaide, I stopped in at the Maccas in Ararat. I thought I'd check with their McCafe if they had any, and lo and behold, KeepCups! Heaps of them!! 2 different pinks, 2 different blues and a big stock of each. I went on an embarrassingly excited rant about how Ballarat and Melton didn't have any and I bought 4! (Much to my partners embarrassment haha)

I now had a cup army of 6! Wooo hoo! (I may have done a Monica (from FRIENDS) on it and engraved numbers into the bottom so I could keep track of them haha) and now I was prepared for any coffee/hot chocolate moment! I keep 2 in my car now and rotate them through. I managed to coerce some friends and family into getting them too and hopefully some of them still use them.

Keep Cups are great! They can be washed in the dishwasher, don't spill and are a standard size. Components are all detachable and replaceable which makes washing or replacing super easy and less wasteful than buying a whole new KeepCup. They're also designed and made in Australia. Turns out too, they're also microwavable... in case you've let your coffee go cold.

Seeings how you can't buy them from Maccas anymore, you can buy them from most kitchen/homewares shops or direct from KeepCup, you can also design your own! https://au.keepcup.com/design-your-own-brew You can use any branded KeepCup at any coffee place (I'm sure Gloria Jeans love filling my Maccas KeepCup whoops haha)

Side note on Maccas (more to rant about them later) I have to make sure whenever I use my KeepCup at Maccas that I inform the drive-thru attendant that I have one, I also have to ensure they give me the 50c discount they offer, which many times I have been told that I was wrong and they don't offer that....they do! And for safety, make sure they've actually secured the lid on.

Also I tried to google when McDonalds Australia introduced KeepCups and tried to find out anything about the current program... and there's nothing. A couple of sporadic posts from 2015...Even on their website under "Macca’s® & the Environment, Being environmentally responsible is a key part of our business." there's Nothing!! *sigh*

Please share your KeepCup journeys or tips with me below.

Until next time.

-EnviroJen