A takeaway cup is something you hold before you ever taste the coffee. That feels like a good place to start when deciding what kind of cup to make.
As I build Coastal Pack here in Halifax, I want double-wall cups to be our everyday starting point. The reason comes down to a small detail you can’t easily see: the air between the layers.
A double-wall cup has an inner cup that holds the drink and an outer paperboard sleeve. Between them is a narrow air gap. That space does useful work.
Air conducts heat poorly. When it stays relatively still in a small gap, it slows heat moving from the hot inner wall towards your hand. Keeping the space narrow also limits the circulation that would otherwise carry heat across it. It’s the same basic principle behind many everyday forms of insulation. ¹
For a coffee cup, that means the outside can feel cooler than a comparable single-wall cup holding the same hot drink. The air gap helps slow heat loss through the sides, too.
It doesn’t turn a paper cup into a thermos. The cup can still get hot, and the result depends on its construction and the drink’s temperature.
What appeals to me is how simple the idea is. A little space between two layers can make an ordinary part of someone’s morning more comfortable.
That’s why I’m choosing double-wall cups as the starting point for Coastal Pack. I want to make cups that feel thoughtfully made from the moment someone picks one up.
Sometimes, the detail that matters is the space you leave.