Hi,

This might be a silly question, but I'll ask it anyways.

Does anyone know which brand of porcelain espresso cups are used at high-end cafes like Stumptown?

You know the ones with nice thick walls, brown on the outside, white on the inside. There are many online that fit this description, for example, Sweet Marias has these (http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/ ... -each.html) or OE has these (http://www.orphanespresso.com/Inker-523 ... _4759.html).

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

ACF. However, sadly, it is my understanding ACF went out of business. You still may be able to find some at Great Infusions (http://greatinfusions.com). ACF is what I use and I really like them.

Todd

Those cups you linked to are nice, and some cafes use them. A lot of cafes use ACF cups. However, ACF is apparently out of business now.

http://greatinfusions.com/espcupcart.html

Nuova Point cups are also popular. And recently, several cafes like Intelligentsia and Verve have been going with these very modern cups from Not Neutral.

http://www.notneutral.com/index.php/din ... s-set.html

There are probably hundreds of different cups out there. See the long thread here about the eternal search for the perfect cup.

Thanks for the answers! So the cups I asked about are ACF which are now out of business. Bummer, but it's ok since I don't need to buy new cups right now.

ACF and Nuova Point are standard barware cups. Along with Inker and D'ancap, that makes up the majority of classic style cups found at cafes.

ACF is out of business, much to my disappointment. But apparently great infusions is replacing ACF with Nuova Point, and should have stock in this month. Ive been wanting to buy a bunch of multi colored tulip demi's, so Ive been waiting to see what NP has to offer. SweetMarias has them too.

OrphanEspresso is the distributor for Inker. They sell a wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes, and from what I read on their site I think they can get whatever cup you want if Inker makes it. I only have one Inker cup, its the Demi from Vivace. Nice, but on the bigger side. Ideal Machaitto cup.

D'ancap makes a lovely cup shape.. Torino IIRC. Gimme used these for their Demi's, but they sold out and told me through email, IF they decided to make new cups, they would be something modern and unique, not the classic tulip. I had two, but one was broken(!), but its definitely one of my favorite cups. I think Prima Coffee sells the D'ancap cups, plain white.

TerraKeramic makes some SEXY cups. Bright vivid colors, handles and rims are titanium, perfect shape.. They'd probably be the most owned cup if they weren't ~$30 a piece. Still.. very nice cups. Demi and Cappa size, and a mug.

And last, the classic Illy cup is a wonderful cup as well.


Im a bit of a cup nut. I really wont drink espresso out of anything but barware style porcelain. The inside should be curved, and the porcelain should be thick. I hate thin cups that aren't curved inside and are too tall for espresso(commonly found at any store that sells home goods). Im just glad I haven't started collecting Illy Collector cups.. thats an obsession on its own!

JmanEspresso wrote:....TerraKeramic makes some SEXY cups. Bright vivid colors, handles and rims are titanium, perfect shape.. They'd probably be the most owned cup if they weren't ~$30 a piece. Still.. very nice cups. Demi and Cappa size, and a mug.....

The Terra cups & mugs are fantastic. My wife gave me two of their mugs and one espresso cup years ago and they are all incredible. The mugs are definitely looking a bit "seasoned" though after 4-5 yrs of service with the titanium accents wearing off in spots....

Thanks for the info!

I have one Inker cappuccino cup, ISHIA style, in mint green (love that color btw). I think based on recommendations above and my experience with the mint green I'll buy more Inker cups in various colors when I finally save up to buy a Pharos.

The notNeutral cups seem to be gaining in popularity lately.

If you check out the espresso supply companies that sell cafe and barista supplies, you'll get a good idea of the cups out there.

I have Nuova Point porcelain form Sweet Maria's, both tulip and bowl espresso mugs and tulip cappuccino mugs. They compare well to the ACF porcelain at my local cafes.