The rules regarding free tea or coffee at Waitrose's cafés have changed this week.

The move from the posh supermarket comes as part of a revamp of its hot drinks offer.

Shoppers with myWaitrose card holders will still be able to get a free drink to take-away, as long as they bring their own reusable container because paper cups are no longer being provided.

But those of us who have enjoyed sitting down in the café with a free hot drink will not be able to do so any more, reports our sister website GloucestershireLive.

Tor Harris, head of sustainability and responsible sourcing at Waitrose, said: “We realise this is a major change, but we believe removing all takeaway disposable cups is the right thing to do for our business and are confident the majority of customers will support the environmental benefits.

“It underlines our commitment to plastic and packaging reduction and our aim is to deliver this as quickly as possible.”

Waitrose said scrapping free hot drink in its 180 in-store cafés was to avoid customers without a reusable cup (and therefore unable to use the self serve machines) putting increased pressure on its hospitality areas.

It said that instead, myWaitrose members who purchased a tea or coffee in a café would be offered a choice of food options to enjoy for free or with a generous discount.

These will vary each month, but for the first month myWaitrose members will be able to choose from either soup, bircher muesli, almond croissant or a loaf cake slice to have for free with their beverage.