The question around the sustainability of the takeaway coffee cup has inspired a creative, interactive installation from multi-award winning Shropshire-based roasters Hundred House Coffee, which will debut at this year’s London Coffee Festival (LCF) in September and then tour to coffee festivals around the UK, inviting participants to get involved and explore the boundary between sustainability and creativity. Visitors to the company’s stand will have the opportunity to create their own clay cup through the guided, tactile and sensory experience that is ceramics throwing, with the results being exhibited both physically at the festival and via digital platforms.

Taking a cue from the traditional Indian kulhar, a handleless terracotta drinking cup, Hundred House’s LCF installation is intended to bring together the coffee-loving community through the production of ceramic cups at the event. All cups made – successful or not – will be displayed at the festival, to create a diverse and broad visual representation of the event. Each cup will be photographed as it is produced, with participants’ creations also showcased via Hundred House Coffee’s Instagram posts and stories.

The installation is the first in a series of annual activations that form part of Hundred House Coffee’s non-profit Art + Industry programme, which supports the arts through coffee sales and gives back to the creative community, including design projects in inner city schools. The creators of the best cups at LCF will receive Hundred House Coffee beans, with the cups themselves being fired and sold to raise funds for the Art + Industry programme. The clay used to make the remainder of the cups will then be returned to the earth from which it came.

Collaborating with Hundred House on the project is open access ceramics studio CUP Ceramics. Based in Herefordshire, it provides space and facilities for communities to develop practical skills and gain therapeutic benefits through creating ceramics.

Hundred House Coffee co-founder Anabelle de Gersigny said: “As society makes a conscious shift from the throwaway to the reusable, we also encounter issues with a secondary level of consumerism – ‘reusable’ coffee cups that are then thrown away after a few months. As well as encouraging creativity from visitors to the festival, our installation for LCF 2021 is intended to reflect a more sustainable future for the coffee industry as a whole.”

Hundred House’s characterful speciality coffee is ethically sourced from sustainable, eco-conscious growers in Africa and Central/South America. With an adventurous range of blends and single origins, it’s the perfect choice for cultured coffee drinkers who appreciate something different.

The London Coffee Festival takes place between 23-26 September at the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London E1 6QR. Hundred House Coffee’s stand is G51 and the Art + Industry installation can be found at Z09.