One less paper cup on the way to the landfill ... almost

What inspired me to start this blog was coming back from Coffee Bean with a funny story about environmentalism gone awry.

At Christmas one of the former students at my work gave the editors Thomas Kinkade gift baskets with a mug, tea and sugar swizzle stick. Say what you will about whether mass produced art is really art, these mugs were great. Tall and thin, they were the perfect size for an experiment I'd been wanting to try.

One day I took my mug and walked next door to The Coffee Bean, where I treat myself to a latte about once a week. At the counter I told the girl, "Small mocha latte, half powder. And can you put it in my mug?" The young girl behind the counter looked a little confused, but said OK. My chest was bursting with pride. "I'm doing good for the environment," I thought. Then I watched in horror as they made my latte in a paper cup and then proceeded to pour the drink into my mug and THROW THE CUP AWAY. When I explained to them that I had wanted to save them from having to use a paper cup (which isn't recyclable), they claimed that the mug was too big to fit under their machine (hogwash! It's shorter than the commuter mugs they sell). I couldn't wait to run back upstairs to my office and tell my coworkers about my failed attempt and laugh at the idiocy of these alleged baristas. (And on top of it all, the commuter cup discount is only 10 cents. I'd been all ready for my green plan to be a bargain to boot.)

I'm happy to report that things are better now. The second time I tried, I held up my mug and said in a slow and clear voice, "I'd like you to make it IN my mug." And then the barista, one of the competent ones, made it in my mug just fine. Since then I've had no mix-ups. And last time I was there I discovered BYOM had gone from "secret" menu to mainstream. There on the drink blackboard was a note saying drinks made in commuter mugs get .10 cents off.

Half the time I forget to grab the mug when I go on my coffee run, but when I do remember I feel good about not killing a tree for a cup with a life span of a few hours. I just have to walk slowly so I don't spill coffee all over myself on the way back to my office.