Can we talk about these useless coffee cup lids?

on Feb 07, 2016, Updated May 12, 2023

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I wrote this post about useless coffee cup lids in July 2006. Yes, nearly ten years ago and guess what? I still have the same complaint. Just this week my entire hand was soaked with coffee by the time I got from my van to my destination. I decided to update and re-run my original rant because seriously. Get it together people!

I have had it! This is the United States of America. Global leader in all things convenient, inventor of the fried twinkie, embracer of the 44 oz. coca-cola and the quad-stack bacon cheeseburger. Why oh why can’t anyone invent a coffee cup lid that will FIT on my coffee cup and keep the coffee inside the cup?

My quest for the perfect lid started back in 2002, when I was taking the bus to class from my basement apartment to NC State. Usually, I would stop at the gas station on my walk to the bus stop and grab a cup of coffee for the road. Not a problem at first. You see they had normal cups with straightforward lids like this:

Photo Credit: Quinn Dombrowski

I felt this little spot was a gold mine, disguised as a gas station. This is because in months prior, I discovered that with the rise in popularity of the cappuccino, came the “new and improved” lid. Now there was a lid that could top your foamy drinks while keeping the whipped cream or foam intact while you drink. Like this:

Photo Credit: Ged Carroll

The problems with these coffee cup lids are 2-fold

NUMBER ONE! The new lids do not seal on the cup and often “pop” off just when you need it the most and usually spilling scalding hot coffee all over the hand and arm. *Yes, thank-you McDonalds for telling me my coffee is HOT HOT HOT. That’s why I GOT A LID.

Number TWO! If you don’t get a coffee drink that has foam or whipped cream to take up all the extra space in the lid, there is a very big gap which tends to create a little wave of coffee that comes out of the sip hole every time you take a step. Or worse, dripping out from under the lid because once the dry seal is a compromised, there is no going back. Your hand is definitely getting soaked. A definite disadvantage when walking from say, the bagel shop to class or oh I don’t know, from the car into work.

The obvious solution is to get a reusable mug and I have been on this quest for years with the same problem. Over the years, I’ve tried dozens of travel mugs. Not ONE of them has a good seal for long.

Since I originally wrote this post, I just gave up and take a regular mug with no lid wherever I go if I can. It is ridiculous to me that no lid actually results in less spilled coffee. But what do I know?