Your favorite cups (demitasse), if you could choose only one set..... - Page 2

[mobleyfan]

My favorites are indeed the Bodum Pavina. The ones I have hold almost exactly two ounces but this thread is making me wanna double-check that. My second favs are a tie between the Intelligentsia logo demi my fiance bought me when we were at Intelly in Chicago and a couple of Vivace sets that my Father brought me from his visit there. I do find the superior heat retention of the double wall glasses a big plus. I can enjoy my espresso a little longer without it getting cold.
-Sam

[roadman]

Note: Lino commented that he bought a set awhile back too. Beware of a pinhole where the glass blower's tube was removed on the bottom. He immersed the shotglass while washing it and now has water trapped inside producing a "fishbowl" effect!

Looks like he got a defective cup. I bought one like that and Bodum just swapped it for a good one.
Jon

[Worldman]

My favorites are indeed the Bodum Pavina...I do find the superior heat retention of the double wall glasses a big plus. I can enjoy my espresso a little longer without it getting cold.

Don't you gulp down your espresso within seconds of its being prepared? If not, why not? Really, am I alone in consuming a single or double shot within <1 minute of its preparation?

I appreciate my thick walled Nuevo Point espresso cups but more for their temperature stability during the 50 to 60 seconds it takes to enjoy the nectar. I can see that the double walled cups might have better heat retention...I just wonder why it is necessary.

Also, the double walled Bodum cups look awesome!

Len

[KarlSchneider]

Don't you gulp down your espresso within seconds of its being prepared? If not, why not? Really, am I alone in consuming a single or double shot within <1 minute of its preparation?

Len

Len,

We may be a cohort of two but I also finish my espressi in such a short time frame, in two sips, that I do not see the importance of heat retention. One of the implications of the word espresso is quickness as in an express train letter. Such things not only get to us quickly but are also aimed a quick consumption.

A year and a half ago there was a heated discussion of heat retention on CG. An Australian chemistry prof measured temps and found no factual proof of significant differences. The argument continues. I find no difference on this issue of taste experience related to heat between my very thick Nuovo Point (0.356") and my Rosenthal (0.082"). I like both for other reasons.

KS

[HB]

I find no difference on this issue of taste experience related to heat between my very thick Nuovo Point (0.356") and my Rosenthal (0.082").

Not everyone likes their espresso super-hot. The double-walled Pavini glasses draw very little heat from the liquid and require no preheating. The difference in initial temperature compared to modestly warm ceramic cups is very noticeable. One of my espresso cup warming quirks is warming only the bottoms, i.e., for me, ideally the lip of a ceramic cup is close to room temperature and the bottom is very hot. To produce this effect requires thick cups and prewarming by filling halfway for 20-30 seconds before the pour. I like the contrast of a hot cup in my hands, a cool ceramic lip on the lips, and warm espresso (~160F while drinking).

I only have time for this sort of pickiness on weekends. Usually it's slurp-n-go to the next shot during the week.

[Fr. John]

Though I mostly agree that heat retention is a non-issue, I do appreciate some retention. I sometimes drink my espresso over a period of 10 minutes or so, in which case retention is a plus (having grown up on Arabic coffee, finishing the drink quickly is not important or even practiced).

On the other hand, I am not a great fan of the Nuovo Point cups. IMO they are too thick with a barely usable handle because of this. I think a happy medium would produce equally good retention with better function.

[KarlSchneider]

Not everyone likes their espresso super-hot.

One of my espresso cup warming quirks is warming only the bottoms, i.e., for me, ideally the lip of a ceramic cup is close to room temperature and the bottom is very hot. To produce this effect requires thick cups and prewarming by filling halfway for 20-30 seconds before the pour. I like the contrast of a hot cup in my hands, a cool ceramic lip on the lips, and warm espresso (~160F while drinking).

I only have time for this sort of pickiness on weekends. Usually it's slurp-n-go to the next shot during the week.

Dan,

I quite agree; super-hot espresso is not my preference.

I do very much the same thing as you and like a warm bottom of the cup and cooler lip. I do this with all my cups from thickest to thinnest. I find this also important in my Americani which go into cappuccino cups or non-traditional mugs like the one peacecup shows above (only larger).

I have to confess I have never tried any of the glass cups. I look at them and have yet to be sufficiently tempted. The thought you raise of the texture of espresso in glass as opposed to porcelain does interest me more that the visual element of glass.

KS

[KarlSchneider]

On the other hand, I am not a great fan of the Nuovo Point cups. IMO they are too thick with a barely usable handle because of this. I think a happy medium would produce equally good retention with better function.

I have two reasons for liking the Nuovo Point cups. The first espresso I ever had (in 1968) came in a working-class / student cafe in Vienna and they used those cups. I think of them in these terms -- working-class - student - peasant. My cups increase in elegance steadily up to the paper-thin logo-less Rosenthal's. I find different coffee roasts work better in different style cups. I have three different Lavazza tulip cups (different designs and weight and handle styles and producers) each of which "locates" me in very different kinds of cafes.

Although I find the current Illy logo cups made by IPA to be very inferior in workmanship I would say they are perhaps the best compromise style on the simple to elegant continuum. If, you are willing to have logo cups.

KS

[Worldman]

On the other hand, I am not a great fan of the Nuovo Point cups. IMO they are too thick with a barely usable handle because of this. I think a happy medium would produce equally good retention with better function.

Huh? You do understand that you are not supposed to put your finger through the handle. Rather, it is to be pinched much as a teacup handle is pinched between the thumb and first finger.

Also, I find that I often just grab the sides of the cup as if it had no handle.

I guess with me it is that peasant, poor, student thing mentioned by Karl that endears these cups to me.

Len

[Fr. John]

Got a couple sets of the Pavinas as a gift. Really glad I listened here. These are quite nice.

[kbuzbee]

As espresso is a total experience, I am finding the choice of cups does influence the end result. Like many I do drink my espressos quite quickly. Not as a requirement but simply because they are delicious and small. Two sips at most.... I tend to inhale after the first sip to enhance the flavor but the whole exercise is 10 - 15 seconds.... I started using some cups handmade in Mexico. Blue green at the bottom to tan at the top with a flat side opposite the handle. These are still my cup of choice for Brikka coffee as they are larger (3 oz) they hold a 2 cup Brikka perfectly.

I followed this with a variety of shot style glasses. These showed off the crema nicely but added nothing much beyond that... I now use Illy cups... Either one of the Fabre cups:



Or my Salgado cup



Both are wonderful enhancements to the morning routine.... I do keep them in a pan of warm water. Even though the drinks lasts a very short time, failure to do this will cool it off immediately.

Ken