How Much Does A Coffee Cup Weigh And What Materials From Which It Made? 

Coffee drinking has become a habit of many people all over the world as it helps them to enjoy a new day full of alertness and energy. In order to diversify their experience of drinking their cups of joe or based on the purpose of their consumption, individuals often drink this beverage in different kinds of mugs made from various materials. 

That’s also the reason why many people are curious about the answers to some questions like “How much does a coffee cup weigh?” and “How many kinds of coffee mugs are available in the market”. To find out, let’s comb through the details in the article below.

What Are The Cups For Coffee Made Of?

At present, more than 17 different kinds of coffee cups are sold on the market. These cups vary in how they are made, what they are used for, and how they look. 

There are a variety of materials that can be used to make coffee cups. You can easily find coffee mugs made of ceramic, porcelain, stoneware, melamine, glass, and stainless steel. 

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Different types of coffee in cups on dark table, top view

Also, although disposable plastic cups or paper cups are not popular and favored as they are considered bad for the environment, many stores and coffee chains all around the world are still using them. In fact, some disposable coffee cups are researched and made from eco-friendly materials, but most of them will still be made of plastics that are non-biodegradable.

Sorting Coffee Cups Based On Their Shapes And Functions

Depending on how they are meant to be used and their shape, coffee mugs can be put into five main groups: classic coffee mugs, travel mugs, tumblers, espresso cups, and demitasse cups.

There will be more types of coffee mugs based on how they are actually used, such as pour-over cups, classic mugs, novelty mugs, double-walled mugs, gold-plated mugs, Snack Tray combo cups, and personalized coffee mugs with your name on them.

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Many different arms raised up holding a coffee cup

An interesting point about coffee cups you may notice is that they are often tall, vertical, and a bit narrow on the top. This is because they are designed to keep heat in. Also, coffee cup handles are usually big so you can use your whole hand to hold them. In fact, coffee cups don’t usually get too hot, but they have a lot of liquid, so the large handle will help you keep your coffee cup safe and steady.

What’s The Weight Of A Cup Of Coffee?

To avoid confusion, we will only talk about the weight of a coffee cup that is empty and has no coffee in it. This also means that if you want to figure out how much the cup and coffee weigh together, all you have to do is add up how much coffee you brewed at home or bought at the store.

Fundamental units like grams, pounds and ounces are used to measure coffee cups. In this article, we’ll look at numbers based on pounds. If you want to convert to grams or ounces, you just need to do a few simple calculations following the below rules:

  • 1 lb = 453.59237 g, which means a cup of coffee in grams = weight in pounds x 453.59237
  • 1 lb = 16 oz, meaning a cup of coffee in ounces = weight in pounds x 16. 

Now, let’s get to the main problem. Based on the types of materials used to make coffee cups, we can estimate the average weight of a coffee cup as follows

  • Travel coffee cup (tumbler) made of stainless steel: 0.70 pounds to 0.86 pounds
  • Cappuccino coffee cups: 0.31 pounds to 0.38 pounds
  • Mugs made of ceramic or porcelain: 0.55 pounds to 0.88 pounds
  • Mugs made of glass: 0.52 pounds to 1.45 pounds
  • Stoneware coffee cups: 1.09 pounds to 1.51 pounds
  • Disposable plastic coffee cups: 0.02 pounds to 0.04 pounds

If you do the math, you’ll find that the weight of old ceramic and porcelain coffee mugs ranges from 0.55lb to 0.88lb, which is equivalent to 250 grams to 400 grams and 8.81 oz to 14.1 oz in grams and ounces, respectively.

How Much Does The Average Starbucks Coffee Cup Weigh?

When it comes to coffee cups, coffee lovers can’t ignore how unique and eye-catching Starbucks cups are. Starbucks has invested a lot of money into building its image and coffee brand around the world, so there will be no doubt about it. They even allocate a budget to producing coffee mugs in collaboration with well-known idols and celebrities, as well as customized cups based on what the customer wants.

Based on information and statistics displayed on websites selling Starbucks coffee mugs, the average weight of the brand’s ceramic coffee mugs is at least 1 pound (453 grams). Meanwhile, normal cold plastic Starbucks cups such as Grande size, which hold 16 oz of coffee, weigh only about 0.02 pounds (0.32 ounces or 9 grams). Of course, you should bear in mind that a Starbucks plastic cup’s weight also changes depending on its size.

The weight of coffee sold in ceramic cups is estimated to be between 350 ml and 470 ml whereas there are six types of cold plastic cups that hold different amounts of coffee including Demi (3 oz), Short (8 oz), Tall (12 oz), Grande (16 oz), Venti (20 oz), and Trenta (30 oz).

Simply put, a Starbucks coffee cup with coffee in it can weigh anywhere from 5.9 ounces (168 grams) to 32.9 ounces (933 grams), depending on the volume of coffee that people buy plus the weight of the mug. 

Final Thought

Obviously, it’s not easy to figure out how much coffee cups weigh because they are made from so many different materials and come in various shapes and sizes. However, this is also good news because it means you can diversify your experiences of enjoying your cups of joe. Have fun drinking coffee, and don’t forget to read my next articles.