Jay Sorensen is an American inventor, real estate broker,[1] and entrepreneur best known for inventing the coffee cup sleeve in 1991,[2] and founding Java Jacket, a company manufacturing coffee cup sleeves, in 1993.[3]
Sorensen managed a "family business" gas station in Portland, Oregon until Shell Oil ceased operations there. He then worked in real estate, but by his own account "wasn't very good at it".[4] [5]
Sorensen had the idea first in 1989, when he was taking his daughter to school and burnt his fingers due to his drive-thru restaurant coffee, dropping the full 12 ounces into his lap.[6] He later invented it in 1991, and patented it in 1995.
Sorensen formed Java Jacket in 1993 and it was an instant hit. His wife Colleen also worked for the business.[7]
Today, Java Jacket sells over one billion coffee cup sleeves a year.
Sorensen offered the product to Starbucks, which had interest in the product, but Sorensen did not accept the conditions of operating- Starbucks demanded exclusive rights and spent eight months "dragging its feet" about the product, wanting alterations and trying to "play hardball on price".[8] [9]
A patent war began between Java Jacket and Starbucks; Sorensen called the Starbucks version "a direct infringement of ours" and filed a cease-and-desist order. Designing around Sorensen's patents, Starbucks was eventually able to create the Coffee Clutch, a product like the Java Jacket.[10]