Paper cup sizes for cafés and restaurants in the UAE

Paper cup sizes are sold in fluid ounces (oz), but menus are written in drinks: a small karak, a regular latte, a large iced coffee. Richoos stocks paper cups in nine sizes from 2.5 oz to 16 oz, in single wall, double wall, ripple and kraft, plus paper juice cups for cold drinks. This guide gives each paper cup size in ml, the drinks it suits, the wall type to choose, and how many cups of each size to order.

Buying guideUpdated 29 September 2026About 15 minutes to read

The four paper cup sizes most coffee shops start with. Karak and tea counters add 6 to 7 oz, and gahwa takes 2.5 oz.

We supply these cups from Ajman to karak and tea cafeterias, coffee shops, juice shops, restaurants, hotels, caterers, cloud kitchens, bakeries and supermarkets across the UAE, whether you’re opening a café in Sharjah, restocking a cafeteria in Ajman or planning cups for an event in Dubai.

Paper cup size chart (oz to ml)

The ml column uses the standard conversion from US fluid ounces (1 oz is 29.57 ml), rounded. Real brim capacity varies a little from one cup line to another, so if your recipes are in ml, ask us for the exact figure for the cups you order.

Single wall cups cover all nine paper cup sizes. The other lines focus on the sizes coffee shops sell most: 4, 8, 12 and 16 oz for double wall and kraft, 8, 12 and 16 oz for ripple, and 6 to 12 oz for paper juice cups. You can order all of them from the paper cups page, next to the rest of our paper products.

oz, ml and the fill line

The size printed on the carton is the cup’s name. An 8 oz cup is what most suppliers and cafés call a small. Brim capacity is what the cup holds filled to the very top, which is close to the oz conversion but not always exact. What you serve is less again: hot drinks are poured below the rim so they can be lidded and carried without spilling, milk drinks need room for foam, and iced drinks share the cup with ice.

When you build a menu, decide how much you pour first, then pick a cup with space above it. A drink you pour close to 7 oz goes in an 8 oz cup, not a 7 oz one. The same logic applies at every size: a 12 oz latte with a thick layer of foam needs the full 12 oz cup, and an iced latte that holds the same coffee and milk plus ice moves up to 16 oz.

If your menu lists drinks in ml, keep a note of the pour for each size next to the espresso machine. It makes training new staff easier and stops cups being overfilled during a rush, when spills are most likely.

Paper cup sizes by drink

2.5 oz and 4 oz for gahwa, espresso and tastings

Arabic coffee is poured a little at a time, so a 2.5 oz cup works at majlis gatherings, weddings, Ramadan iftar tents and corporate events where finjan cups aren’t practical. Supermarkets and exhibitors use the same size for espresso shots and free tastings.

The 4 oz cup is the usual takeaway espresso or macchiato cup. We have it in single wall, and in double wall and kraft if you want a very hot shot to stay comfortable to hold.

Single wall paper cups2.5 oz4 oz6 oz6.5 oz7 oz8 oz10 oz12 oz16 ozWhite or printed. Quantity 1000.View single wall cups

6 oz to 8 oz for karak, tea and short coffees

Cafeterias and tea counters across the UAE serve karak, suleimani and milk tea in small cups. Our single wall cups come in 6, 6.5, 7 and 8 oz, so you can match the cup to your pour instead of rounding up. A cafeteria that pours a generous karak can move from 6.5 to 7 oz and stay with the same cup line.

In coffee shops, 8 oz is the usual small for flat whites, cortados and short lattes to go, and every Richoos cup line comes in 8 oz. Ripple cups work well at 8 oz for takeaway because the ridged wall gives grip without a sleeve.

Ripple paper cups8 oz12 oz16 ozWhite, black or brown. Quantity 500.View ripple cups

10 oz and 12 oz for everyday coffee

Most coffee shops use 12 oz as the regular size for lattes, cappuccinos, Americanos and hot chocolate. Double wall, ripple and kraft cups come in 12 oz. Single wall cups come in 10 and 12 oz, and the 10 oz works as a medium between a small and a regular. Paper juice cups in 10 and 12 oz suit fresh juice and soft drinks.

As the regular size, the 12 oz paper cup is usually the one a coffee shop uses up first, so keep more of it than any other.

Double wall paper cups4 oz8 oz12 oz16 ozWhite or black. Quantity 1000.View double wall cups

16 oz for large coffees and iced drinks

Use 16 oz for a large hot coffee, and for iced coffee and iced lattes, which need room for ice. Iced drinks sell all year in the UAE, so a café’s 16 oz cup often does double duty for hot and cold drinks. Single wall, double wall, ripple and kraft cups all come in 16 oz, so you can keep the large size in the same style as the rest of your menu.

Kraft paper cups4 oz8 oz12 oz16 ozSingle wall or double wall. Quantity 1000.View kraft cups

Juice, smoothies and anything bigger than 16 oz

Juice shops serving fresh juice, smoothies and layered fruit cocktails can use paper juice cups in 6, 8, 10 and 12 oz. For bigger cold drinks and shakes we also stock clear and printed plastic juice cups in 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20 and 24 oz, under plastic products. Clear cups show layered juices and fruit through the side of the cup.

Paper juice cups6 oz8 oz10 oz12 ozWhite or printed. Quantity 1000.View paper juice cups

Paper cup sizes by type of business

Most businesses need three or four paper cup sizes, not all nine. These are the usual starting points for the customers we supply.

Three common setups, with the cups, lids and straws that go with them:

Single wall, double wall, ripple or kraft

The same paper cup size can come in several wall types. They differ in how hot the cup feels in the hand and how it looks on your counter.

If most of your hot drinks leave the shop, choose double wall or ripple for every hot size and skip sleeves altogether. If most are drunk at the counter or in the office, single wall is enough and covers more sizes. Kraft is a style choice: pick it when your bags, boxes and branding are already brown, so the cup matches the rest of the order.

The Richoos paper cup range

These are the cups in this guide, with the sizes and options listed on each product page, plus the lids, straws and plastic juice cups that go with them.

Single wall cups2.5 to 16 oz9 sizesWhite or printed. Quantity 1000.View product Double wall cups4 oz8 oz12 oz16 ozWhite or black. Quantity 1000.View product Ripple cups8 oz12 oz16 ozWhite, black or brown. Quantity 500.View product Kraft cups4 oz8 oz12 oz16 ozSingle or double wall. Quantity 1000.View product Paper juice cups6 oz8 oz10 oz12 ozWhite or printed. Quantity 1000.View product Plastic juice cups8 to 24 oz7 sizesClear or printed. Quantity 1000.View product Cup lidsPaper cup lidsJuice cup lidsPaper cup lids in white or black, juice cup lids and salad bowl lids.View product Paper straws6 mm7 mm8 mm10 mmEight colour options, including wrapped white.View product

Lids and straws

A lid fits a cup’s rim diameter, not its capacity. Two 12 oz cups from different lines can need different lids, and cups of different sizes that share a rim can take the same lid. Richoos sells lids for paper cups in white and black, separate lids for juice cups, and lids for salad bowls. Tell us which cups you’re buying and we’ll confirm the lid for each size. Before a big order, test a few cups and lids together with your hottest drink.

Our paper straws come in 6, 7, 8 and 10 mm widths and eight colour options, and our plastic straws come in 6, 7 and 8 mm, including wrapped and spoon straws. Thick smoothies and shakes need a wider straw than juice or iced coffee, so juice shops usually keep two widths.

How many cups of each size to order

Order each paper cup size in proportion to what you sell:

1. Count a normal week’s drinks by size from your till or POS.
2. Add extra for your busy periods, such as Ramadan evenings, weekends, school holidays, events and the cooler months when outdoor seating fills up.
3. Round up to full cartons and keep the size you sell most well stocked. Running out of your regular cup costs more sales than holding a few spare small ones.
4. Order lids for the same quantities as their cups, and check that each lid matches its rim before the order ships.

The drink numbers in these three examples are illustrations, not averages. Swap in your own.

Most Richoos paper cups are listed in quantities of 1000, and ripple cups in 500, so a ripple-cup coffee shop orders twice as many lots for the same number of drinks. Store cartons somewhere cool and dry, off the floor, and use older stock first.

Cups for events, Ramadan and catering

Events use paper cups differently from a café. Guests take several small drinks rather than one large one, and a cup is often left behind and replaced. When planning cups for a wedding, a majlis, a corporate event or a Ramadan iftar tent, count guests by the number of drinks each will have, then add a margin for cups that get put down and forgotten.

• Gahwa and tea at gatherings: 2.5 oz for Arabic coffee and 6.5 or 7 oz for tea and karak, all single wall.
• Coffee stations at exhibitions and conferences: 8 oz double wall or ripple, since guests walk around with their drinks.
• Water and soft drinks: 7 or 8 oz single wall or paper juice cups.
• Juice stations at iftar: paper juice cups in 8 or 10 oz, with straws for thicker drinks.

For a large event, order a few days early and confirm the lid fit for any size you haven’t used before. Customers outside Ajman collect orders from our Ajman location, so build pickup time into the plan.

Common mistakes when choosing paper cup sizes

• Choosing the cup by its capacity instead of your pour, which leaves drinks filled to the brim and spilling when lidded.
• Using one size for everything. A karak served in a 12 oz cup looks half empty, and a latte squeezed into an 8 oz cup spills when it’s lidded.
• Buying lids separately without checking the rim, then finding the lids don’t click on.
• Serving hot takeaway drinks in single wall cups without a sleeve or a second cup.
• Stocking large sizes in the same quantity as the regular, so the storeroom fills with cups that sell slowly.
• Ordering a new size in bulk without trying a sample first.

Custom printed paper cups

Custom printing is available on most Richoos products with a very low minimum order, so a new café can print its logo from the first order. Single wall cups and paper juice cups are already listed in printed versions. A printed 12 oz cup gets seen most, since it’s the size customers most often carry out of the shop. Send us your design and quantities and we’ll confirm the options and lead time.

Before you print, settle the sizes and the wall type. The design has to fit each size you print, and printing only the two sizes you sell most is a common way to start.

Checklist before you order

• The pour for each drink on your menu, in oz or ml
• The paper cup sizes that fit those pours, with room above for foam or ice
• The wall type for hot takeaway drinks: double wall, ripple or kraft
• A lid confirmed for every cup size and line
• Straw widths for juice, smoothies and iced drinks
• Quantities per size from your sales, rounded to full lots
• Printing: which sizes, your design, and the lead time
• Samples requested for any size you haven’t used before

Buying paper cups in the UAE from Richoos

Richoos has supplied packaging and disposables to UAE businesses since 2007, from Richoos General Trading LLC in Jurf, near China Mall, Ajman. We deliver to your door in Ajman. Customers in Sharjah, Dubai, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and the other emirates collect their orders from our Ajman location.

We quote each order based on the cups, sizes, quantities and printing you need. The minimum order depends on the product category, and samples are available on request, so you can test sizes and lids first. Lids, straws, food boxes, bags, containers and tissues come from the same supplier; see the full Richoos catalogue.

Glossary

Fluid ounce (oz)

The unit paper cup sizes are named in. One US fluid ounce is 29.57 ml.

Brim capacity

What a cup holds filled to the very top. The size on the carton describes this, roughly.

Serving volume

What you pour, a little below the rim.

Rim diameter

The width across the top of the cup. It decides which lid fits.

Single wall

A cup made from one layer of paper.

Double wall

A cup with a second paper layer and an air gap, so hot drinks stay comfortable to hold.

Ripple wall

A cup with a ridged outer wall that adds grip and insulation.

Kraft

Brown kraft paper, used for cups with a natural look.

Sleeve

A paper band slipped around a single wall cup to protect the hand from heat.

Paper cup sizes FAQ