If you’re ordering paper cups for the first time, the first question you’ll hear is whether you need single wall or double wall. A single wall cup has one layer of paperboard, and a double wall cup has an extra outer layer. Which one is right depends on the drink you serve, how long the customer holds the cup, and what you want it to feel like.

Single wall cups

A single wall cup is the usual choice for vending, offices, events and bakeries that serve a lot of drinks. It’s cheaper than a comparable double wall cup, it uses less material, and it takes up less space in your storage.

The catch is heat. With a very hot drink, a single wall cup can be uncomfortable to hold, especially in larger sizes. Some businesses add a cardboard sleeve, and others use single wall only for drinks and sizes where it stays comfortable. Test the actual cup with the actual drink before you order.

Double wall cups

A double wall cup has a second layer around the main cup. The air gap between the layers keeps the heat away from the customer’s hand, so the cup is more comfortable to hold and keeps the drink warm for longer. It also feels more solid, which suits speciality coffee, premium takeaway and brands that want the cup to be part of the product.

You pay for that with a higher price, more material and more storage space. It’s worth it when the customer carries the drink for a while or the cup is a visible part of your brand. For a quick drink at a counter, it often isn’t.

The Comparison side by side

Both are also available as BIO (no SUP mark) cups, with a minimum of 30,000 pcs.

Which one for your café?

Think about your menu first: what you serve, how hot it is, whether customers drink in or take away, and how long they hold the cup. A busy café with a quick takeaway line will often do well with single wall. A speciality coffee shop where customers walk with the drink for ten minutes will usually prefer double wall. Many businesses use both, for example single wall for espresso-sized drinks and double wall for large hot drinks.

For events, the question is how long the cup stays in someone’s hand. A short indoor tasting needs less than a cup carried around an outdoor festival for half an hour.

Compare the whole cost, not just the cup

It’s easy to compare only the price of the cup, and that can mislead you. A single wall cup with a separate sleeve means buying and storing the sleeve and handling one more item at the counter. A double wall cup costs more but needs no sleeve and makes serving simpler. The single wall option may still be cheaper, but the gap is often smaller than the cup prices suggest.

Check the lid before you order

Two cups with the same volume can have different rim diameters, so they may need different lids. Before ordering, confirm the exact lid or lid reference, which cup sizes it fits, the pack size, and whether samples are available. Test the cup and the lid together as one product.

Custom printing

Both constructions can be printed, but a good result isn’t automatic. The design has to work on a curved, tapered cup. Think about where the logo sits, how the customer holds the cup, how large the text appears, how many colours you need, and whether you have several designs. A simple design that suits the shape of the cup usually works better than a crowded one.

Our Expertise

One of our customers is a bakery brand that serves coffee from its own vending machines. When they chose their cups, three things mattered. The first was colour. The golden colour of a baguette is part of their brand, so the cup had to reproduce it properly. The second was how the cup behaves in the machine. A vending cup has to be very smooth, because a cup that sticks while it drops can block the machine and leave a customer without a coffee. The third was the rim. Its size and quality decide whether the lid seals and whether the cup is handled reliably.

Most cups can do one of these well. We brought them together: the print colour, a smooth cup that runs through the machine, and a rim that is right in size and quality. The result is that their customers get their coffee the way it should be, in a cup that looks like the brand and doesn’t cause any trouble at the machine.”
Anton Baturyn, Managing Director, House of Paper Cups

Ordering with us

You can get the volume price without storing the whole order. We produce in the EU and in Asia, EU production takes 5 to 7 weeks, and we can keep part of your order in our warehouse near Prague free of charge and deliver it as you need it.

What we need to recommend a cup

You don’t need all the technical details to contact us. Tell us:

• the drink you’ll serve,
• the cup size,
• the approximate quantity,
• the delivery country

We’ll help you compare the single wall and double wall options that suit you.