Making disposable things out of plastic was probably one of the biggest successful mistakes in human history. Even the movie Wall-E, which came out 10 years ago, was a worryingly accurate prophecy for the need for environmental waste management. Coffee cups, water bottles, frozen-dinner trays and takeaways are, indeed, convenient but the waste that they generate isn't; hence the need for reusable bottles, tupperware and cups like the Elephant Cuppa - a reusable boba tumbler with straw cap.
The Elephant Cuppa is made of Ecozen, a bio-based plastic material, that is BPA free, shatter-resistant and durable bur lightweight. Because it's not made of PET, the Elephant Cuppa doesn't have a plastic smell and doesn't seem to get discolored even when sealed for a few days with liquid inside it. Despite not being made of glass, the Elephant Cuppa washes well like glass and, it retains a glass-like shine when wiping the water stains with a rag.
There are seven line measurement markings on the side of the tumbler, as well as a large Elephant Cuppa branding embossed towards the bottom of the tumbler.Being made of food grade, plant-based bioplastic, the Elephant Cuppa tumbler is non-toxic and more environmentally friendly than fossil/petroleum based PET plastic. This means, the Elephant Cuppa is both biodegradable and compostable, just like a banana peel; hence the Elephant Cuppa won't take decades to break down in a landfill like PET plastic does.
The Elephant Cuppa is designed for boba/bubble tea and smoothies but, it can also hold any hot drink (i.e. soups), as long as the liquid is not boiling hot (100° C). This means, the Elephant Cuppa is not suitable with freshly boiled tea or coffee unless it's cooled down. The Elephant Cuppa tumbler has a heat resistance of 90°C. The boba straw (thick one) is made of ecozen and has a heat resistance of 85°C. The standard straw is made of silicone and can withstand 100° C.
Included with the Elephant Cuppa tumbler are also two straws. One standard size straw for regular drinks and a wider straw for sipping chunky smoothies and bubble pearls. The wider straw has an 11mm diameter, which is enough clearance to allow the boba/bubble pearls to pass through the straw and not get stuck. The size of boba pearls is approximately 8.5mm in diameter.
Both straws have a smooth taper tip at one end and a slanted/angled tip at the other end of the straw; hence the straw has a pointy tip, which is a characteristic of boba straws and designed for poking through sealed boba teas. While a pointy straw isn't needed with the Elephant Cuppa, having a slanted straw makes sipping boba pearls out of the tumbler a little bit easier.
Another feature that makes the Elephant Cuppa stand out from the competition is the straw cap, which allows you to carry and keep the straws inside the tumbler. The straw cap is threaded and, it also has an o-ring gasket that creates a tight seal to prevent any spillages. The o-ring gasket is made of the same silicone rubbery material as the straws. The Elephant Cuppa tumbler lid also has an o-ring gasket which is easy to remove, thanks to the tiny pull tab.
The Elephant Cuppa straw cap even has a dedicated storage area (indented slot) on top of the tumbler lid to keep the straw cap clean. The straw cap fits snugly inside the recess so, no worries of it falling off. Being an eco friendly product, the Elephant Cuppa comes with a branded canvas fabric carrier bag for storing the tumbler. That said, there is no mention whether the bag is actually made of cotton canvas or synthetic material (i.e. polyester).
The Elephant Cuppa total weight (including both straws) is 200 grams. The weight break down is as follows: tumbler weighs 133 grams, the straw cap weighs 13 grams, the tumbler lid weighs 34 grams, the wide straw weighs 11 grams, the standard straw weighs 7 grams, the cleaning brush weighs 6 grams and the canvas bag weighs 48 grams.
The dimensions of the Elephant Cuppa 24.3 fl.oz version (pictured) is as follows: the straw cap measures 5cm long with a 22mm diameter. The tumbler measures 19.6cm high, 7.3cm wide and, it can hold 720ml (millilitres) of liquid. The wide straw measures 24cm long with a 1.1cm diameter, while the standard straw measures 23.5cm with a 0.5cm diameter. The wire brush measures 23.5cm long and has 7cm long brush section.
The Elephant Cuppa is actually made in Taiwan where boba/bubble (dark tapioca balls) originates from. The Elephant Cuppa tumbler is not microwavable but, it can be put in the top rack/shelf of a dishwasher. This is important to note because it can deform/melt like tupperware if the dishwasher's heating element is on the bottom rack.
A protective silicone sleeve is not included but, it will be available to buy as an add-on from the website after the
Elephant Cuppa kickstarter campaign finishes. The Elephant Cuppa is not yet available to buy but you can make a pledge for the 720ml version or 520ml tumbler version. Both versions have the same width so, it's just a height difference.
