What Is the Sleeve on a Coffee Cup Called?

Discover the surprising name of the cardboard sleeve on coffee cups with this video.

What is the sleeve on a coffee cup called? It’s called a Zarf! This term is not commonly known, even among native English speakers. 

A Zarf is a protective sleeve used to insulate your hand from the heat of a hot coffee cup. While we often take these little cardboard sleeves for granted, they play an essential role in our daily coffee rituals. The word "Zarf" originally comes from the Arabic word for a container or envelope, and it was historically used to describe ornate metal holders for coffee cups in the Middle East.

Next time you grab a coffee to-go, you can impress your friends by telling them about the Zarf. It’s a small but fascinating piece of coffee culture that most people don’t know about.