Drinking straw with descriptive drink label

Abstract

A drinking straw is marked to describe a particular type of drink in order to aid users to quickly and accurately identify drink contents. For example, the drinking straw may include text indicating soda, tea, coffee, or other designation of a drink. The drinking straws described herein provide servers, bartenders, and consumers with an easy-to-use tool for projecting what type of drink is in any cup, without having to rely on the drink's look or taste.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A drinking straw having two openings and a straw body, the drinking straw comprising:
 a drink label positioned proximate to an opening of the drinking straw, the drink label specifying a particular type of drink.   
     
     
         2 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label comprises text describing the particular type of drink. 
     
     
         3 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label comprises a picture or a logo illustrative of the particular type of drink. 
     
     
         4 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the particular type of drink comprises at least one of a generalized drink category, alcohol category, mocktail, specialty drink, health ingredient, or alcoholic or non-alcoholic designation. 
     
     
         5 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is within 0-3 inches away from the opening of the straw. 
     
     
         6 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is within 1-3 inches away from the opening of the straw. 
     
     
         7 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is etched on the straw body. 
     
     
         8 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is printed on the straw body. 
     
     
         9 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is applied via a label on the straw body. 
     
     
         10 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is lasered on the straw body. 
     
     
         11 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the drink label is inked on the straw body. 
     
     
         12 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the straw body is at least one of a plastic, paper, wooden, metal, glass, silicone, bamboo, aluminum, hard plastic, compostable plastic, or stainless steel straw body. 
     
     
         13 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the straw body is either ASTM D-6400 or STMD 6468 compostable plastic. 
     
     
         14 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , further comprising a second drink label positioned proximate to a second opening of the drinking straw. 
     
     
         15 . The drinking straw of  claim 1 , wherein the straw body comprises a bend, angle, or expander. 
     
     
         16 . A drinking straw having two openings, the drinking straw comprising:
 a straw base circumferentially colored in a first color;   a label area circumferentially colored in a second color that differs from the first color, the label area proximate to an opening; and   a drink label positioned in the label area, the drink label specifying a particular type of drink.   
     
     
         17 . The drinking straw of  claim 16 , the second color of the label area is white, and the drink label comprises text in a black font indicating the particular type of drink. 
     
     
         18 . The drinking straw of  claim 17 , wherein the first color is a color that is a color of the particular type of drink. 
     
     
         19 . The drinking straw of  claim 16 , wherein an internal face of the drinking straw is colored in the first color 
     
     
         20 . A method of manufacturing a drinking straw with a drink label, the method comprising:
 forming a straw body with two openings; and   marking the straw body with the drink label proximate to an opening of the straw body, wherein the drink label comprises text designating a particular type of drink, wherein said marking comprising at least one of printing, applying a label, etching, lasering, inking, drawing, or painting the drink label.