Starbucks Launches Stainless Steel Cup Rental Service! High-Temperature Disinfection Protects Against Viruses?!

After seeing that Korea's approach wasn't quite workable, Starbucks locations in Seattle, London, Japan, Singapore and elsewhere rolled out cup borrowing programs. Customers buying a drink paid a $1 deposit for a reusable cup; return it to any store afterward and you got your deposit back plus 10 stars (reward points), redeemable for partial beverages or food once enough accumulated.

Not forcing deposits was one thing—but making them mandatory actually put customers off. So Starbucks changed tack and introduced cup-washing machines: pay the deposit with your drink, take the cup home and wash it after use, keep it, exchange it for a new one at any Starbucks when it wears out, or return it for your deposit back.

Yet many pointed out that this "environmental initiative" wasn't really eco-friendly... The cups were made of environmentally friendly PP material (polypropylene), but the collected cups still couldn't be recycled and kept generating significant waste.

So Starbucks Japan led the way in changing the rental cup material, launching a stainless steel cup rental service. The company observed that many customers bought Starbucks merchandise cups on impulse, then barely used them—still preferring disposable cups for takeaway... So they decided to kill two birds with one stone: don't buy them—rent them!

Ten Starbucks stores in the Tokyo area piloted the stainless steel reusable cup rental. Customers rent a cup by scanning the QR code on its base through the mobile app. Since these are rental cups, there's little design work and no Starbucks branding—only the cup maker's logo—but they still carry a minimalist industrial aesthetic.

To encourage rentals, Starbucks added a discount: buy a drink in a rented stainless steel cup and the price drops by 21 yen immediately.

The rental period is 3 days, during which the cup is yours to use however you like. Returns are simple: tap "return" in the app, and the system lists nearby participating stores by distance—hand the cup to staff there and you're done. After return, Starbucks runs every cup through high-temperature cleaning and disinfection, so customers needn't worry about virus or bacteria residue.

During the pandemic, many Starbucks stores suspended the bring-your-own-cup program to reduce transmission risk. Customer response to the stainless steel rental has been far better than the deposit scheme ever was, so Starbucks Japan plans to expand the service to other regions, confident more consumers will back this environmental push.

If the program ever came to Guangdong, we'd probably just see people rinsing their Starbucks cups with hot water before use, haha.

Image: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Reusable cups aside, what really makes a coffee worth carrying out is the beans. For everyday brewing at home, FrontStreet Coffee recommends starting with entry-level specialty beans that punch above their price: Ethiopia's washed Yirgacheffe Guodingding with jasmine florals, lemon acidity and berry tones, or the natural Sidamo Huakui—berry, floral, jackfruit, melon and honey notes from 21 days of raised-bed sun drying.

If you prefer a fuller, gentler cup, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon offers typical cream, peanut and cocoa flavors at a friendly price, while Indonesia's PWN Golden Mandheling—triple hand-sorted and machine-selected for minimal defects—brings a cleaner, smoother body with distinct woody fragrance and caramel sweetness.