A reusable cup can mean three different things at the counter: bring your own, borrow one for a refundable deposit, or buy a cup to keep. The terms belong to the individual business. This guide explains Monmouth’s loan scheme at three London shops, Host Café’s published discount for your own cup, and a separate cup-purchase offer from Perky Blenders. These are checked examples, not a complete list of London cafés that accept reusable cups.
Monmouth: a £5 loan-cup deposit
Monmouth’s published scheme offers a loan cup for a £5 deposit, or you can bring your own. It says its shops no longer provide paper takeaway cups; coffee to stay is served in ceramic. The deposit is separate from the drink price, and Monmouth says there is no drink discount for either its loan cup or a personal reusable.
For a refund, return all four parts together—cup, lid, band and stopper—in reusable condition to any Monmouth shop, using the original payment card. There is no return deadline. For another coffee, the scheme allows you to exchange the loan cup for a clean one; returned loan cups go through a dishwasher/sanitiser. That describes the loan scheme, rather than a promise to wash customers’ own cups.
Sources: Monmouth: full reusable-cup terms
Where to borrow or return a Monmouth cup
Monmouth’s official shop list connects the reusable-cup policy to its Covent Garden, Borough and Bermondsey shops. Use the branch addresses below, particularly Dockley Road for Bermondsey. The company’s separate contact address is not the same destination.
All three currently list Monday-to-Saturday opening and a Sunday closure. Check the live opening hours before planning a return, and keep the complete cup and payment card together so the refund conditions are easier to meet.
Sources: Monmouth: shops, addresses and opening days
- Monmouth Coffee — Covent Garden
27 Monmouth Street, WC2H 9EU - Monmouth Coffee — Borough Market
2 Park Street, SE1 9AB - Monmouth Coffee — Bermondsey
3 & 4 Dockley Road, SE16 3AF
Host Café: 25p off coffee in your own cup
Host Café’s Discover page advertises 25p off each coffee bought in your own reusable cup. This is a reduction on the drink price, rather than a refundable loan deposit. The café is inside St Mary Aldermary Church on Watling Street, London EC4M 9BW; its Visit page lists ordinary weekday opening. Recheck before a weekend trip.
The reviewed policy does not specify a loan-cup return system or a service for washing your cup. Arrive with your own clean cup and ask about any details that matter to your order. Host also lists cups for sale, but the page does not establish a current purchase price.
Sources: Host Café: own-cup discount; Host Café: address and opening times
Perky Blenders: a cup-purchase offer is different
Perky Blenders’ Shift to Reusable page advertises 25% off buying a Perky KeepCup, using its published online code or showing the page to a barista in store. That is a discount on the cup itself, not 25% off the coffee poured into it. The page gives no end date, branch exclusions or stock guarantee.
Project 660 at 660 High Road Leyton is one branch where you can ask about this shared offer. Its own page confirms the address, but does not confirm stock or the offer at its till. Check before buying, and do not assume this purchase promotion creates a deposit or cross-shop return scheme.
Sources: Perky Blenders: published cup-purchase offer; Perky Blenders: Project 660
- Perky Blenders — Project 660
660 High Road Leyton, E10 6JP
Before you leave with a cup
Decide whether you want to carry your own cup or manage a loan. For a loan scheme, check the deposit, every part that must come back, the return locations and refund method. For a personal cup, check whether a discount applies to your chosen drink. These are separate questions from the base menu price.
Bring a clean cup and ask which drink portion it will hold; a larger cup does not establish an entitlement to a larger serving. If a café’s washing or acceptance rules are not published, ask rather than infer them from another business’s policy. Choose a cup you can use and look after without treating these examples as a measured environmental comparison.
Official policies and location pages checked online on 25 October 2026. No purchases, refund tests, visits or staff interviews. Offers, stock and opening times can change; confirm the linked terms before making a special trip. These sources do not establish a comparative environmental footprint or a universal savings claim. A shop’s absence here does not mean it refuses personal cups. How we research the guide.
FROM THE MAKER OF THIS GUIDE
