A Belfast City Centre café is taking your morning brew to the next level with the introduction of edible cups.
The owners of Foggy Brew on Berry Street, who have been using biodegradable packaging for some time, introduced the cups after noticing the trend taking hold in Melbourne.
Speaking to Belfast Live, owner Stephen Conley explained that since they opened in 2019, they have always tried to stay ahead of the curve.
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"Myself and my brother Sean own the café," he said.
"We have been constantly trying new things. Sean lives in Melbourne and has been there for about six years.
"Melbourne is a massive city for coffee and it is the home of the Flat White. Sean had seen a few cafés in Melbourne starting to stock edible cups about a year ago and now nearly every downtown café in Melbourne has them as an option.
"The coffee game here is starting to get very tight as there is coffee shops everywhere so we thought this would be a great idea to bring in as they are vegan and 100% compostable."
Stephen said that the cups are low in calories and come in a 10oz and 6oz size.
"There is one company in the south which distribute them and we have been trying to source them for months but hadn't been able to get our hands on them.
"We found another supplier just outside of London who were able to send us some over.
"About 10% of the cups were cracked when they arrived because they are basically a thicker ice cream cone with either chocolate or caramel on the inside so if they are dropped, they are fragile.
"Sadly there isn't many local companies which stock these and at Foggy Brew we try to support local suppliers where possible.
"We have been slowly introducing them and unlike cafés elsewhere, we don't charge anything extra for the edible cups.
"Our coffee prices have been the same since we opened our doors in 2019 and haven't changed."
The edible cups will complement the increased food offering from the café with the recent introduction of salad bowls, noodle bowls and vegan options which Stephen described as a "no brainer."
The cups can withstand temperatures of 85°C for 40 minutes without getting soggy and come with a paper heat sleeve which is also 100% recyclable.
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