Lid‑Free Hot Paper Cup

A hot cup with the closure built in

The Ekoroll lid-free hot cup is one cup with an integrated closing system. The top of the cup wall is formed into three numbered flaps: fill the cup, fold the flaps in sequence and the cup closes with a sipping opening. There is no separate lid to order, stock or match to the rim, and no plastic lid on the drink.

For a coffee bar, the hot cup takes the busiest part of service, the lid station, out of the workflow. The barista fills, folds and hands over one item.

How the hot cup closes

1. Fill to the fill line. It is embossed into the cup wall, so it is visible from the inside while pouring and leaves headspace below the closure.
2. Fold the three numbered flaps in order.
3. Lock: the last flap tucks in and holds the closure in shape.
4. Serve with the sleeve: the folded flaps form the sipping opening.

The sequence is the same for every cup and every size, so new staff learn it in minutes.

Which hot drinks it suits

The cup is used for espresso-based drinks, filter coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Because there is no separate lid, the same cup works for dine-in, takeaway and room service.

Made for hot drinks

The hot cup is suitable for hot drinks up to 100 °C. Hot drinks are the hardest test for a paper cup: heat softens weak board and opens weak seams. In Ekoroll’s own repeated tests, closed cups filled with freshly boiled water (95–100 °C) held for one hour without leaking at the side or bottom seam. That covers tea made with boiling water, not only coffee. In a separate long-duration test, cups filled with water for more than a month showed no leakage, no softening and no water penetration.

The hot cup is served with a sleeve, which gives a comfortable grip with hot drinks. For delivery and carrying, a lid stopper closes the sipping opening; sleeves and lid stoppers are both available from Ekoroll. The cup itself is made from 300 g virgin-fiber cupstock.

Why it works in service

• No lid station: no stack of lids at the counter, no lids on the floor, no wrong lid on the wrong cup.
• One SKU instead of two: one purchase line per size and no running out of lids while cups are in stock.
• Fast handover: fill, fold and serve; the closure does not need to be pressed on.
• A closure that stays with the cup: it is folded from the cup wall, so there is no lid to knock off.
• Brand on every surface: the print runs over the folded flaps, which is where customers look first.

Sizes and specifications

The hot cup closes with a three-flap fiber closure and is used with a sleeve. All sizes are made from 300 g virgin-fiber cupstock. Tolerances: bottom ±0.5 mm, height ±1 mm, weight ±5 %. Carton data and the up-to-date size list are on request.

Coating and print

The cup uses a water-based (aqueous) barrier coating, PE-free and PFAS-free. Other coatings are available on request. The cup with water-based coating carries DIN CERTCO home compostable and industrially compostable (EN 13432) certification, held by the producing partner; copies are available on request. The water-based coated paperboard passed PPWR (EU) 2025/40 tests for PFAS, total fluorine and heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium); the SGS and Eurofins reports are available on request. In Ekoroll’s own repeated tests, closed cups filled with freshly boiled water (95–100 °C) held for one hour without leaking at the side or bottom seam. Cups are supplied in white or kraft paper, with full-wrap CMYK printing, or flexo from one color up to full color including metallic gold and silver. The minimum order for a printed design is 50,000 cups, and production typically takes about 3–4 weeks after artwork approval.

For cold drinks

The lid-free cold cup uses the same system with a ready straw opening. See the complete lid-free paper cup system.