Totally dig that look. It looks like it's very heavy around the middle. The inside wall appears to not follow the outer contour. Way cool.

Back in the 70's, my mom bought a set of these beautiful little hand-painted 2.5oz cups in Seville, Spain. They've been sitting in cabinets for all that time until I came along and put them to good use.



I doubt you can find anything like that anywhere any more, but I just had to share. I think the deep blue color is just mesmerizing and contrasts so well with the dragon.

oofnik wrote:Back in the 70's, my mom bought a set of these beautiful little hand-painted 2.5oz cups in Seville, Spain. They've been sitting in cabinets for all that time until I came along and put them to good use.

Wow! Mesmerizing is right... I would have a hard time actually putting those to use.

PhaetonFalling wrote:I don't know about you, but I like the cups to be clear. Theres something very very pretty about pouring a good shot and being able to see it all happen.

diab0lus wrote:They keep my drinks hot longer than preheated ceramic and they look nice on top of my Silvia. I love these cups.

Goes to show how personalized cup selection is. I cannot relate to glass or stainless steel cups; the tactile sensation of brushed metal against my lips sets my teeth on edge, and the temperature of glass spikes so fast, it burns my mouth. I'm a ceramic cup guy to the core.

Those Danesi cups look good for taking in the aroma of espresso. Nice...

Jesawdy asked, and I thought others may be interested:

The Danesi cups are not listed on the Cora site, but if you give them a call they have them.

oofnik wrote:Back in the 70's, my mom bought a set of these beautiful little hand-painted 2.5oz cups in Seville, Spain. They've been sitting in cabinets for all that time until I came along and put them to good use.

I doubt you can find anything like that anywhere any more, but I just had to share. I think the deep blue color is just mesmerizing and contrasts so well with the dragon.

Ooooooo. Those are awesome! My kitchen table top appliances, KitchenAid stand mixer/blender/food processor/pots/pans and even dishes are cobalt blue. Those cups would match perfectly.

I have crawled through thousands of eBay cup listings (do a search for cup and see how many hits you get) over the past few months and found a few that spiked interest but not enough to purchase. I even wander through the local thrift store now and then looking for that $10 surprise lever espresso machine and cups. No luck yet.

HB wrote:Goes to show how personalized cup selection is. I cannot relate to glass or stainless steel cups; the tactile sensation of brushed metal against my lips sets my teeth on edge, and the temperature of glass spikes so fast, it burns my mouth. I'm a ceramic cup guy to the core.

I don't care for the glass either, which is why they normally only get used when testing so I can see the shot. I don't care for the SS because I can taste the steel when drinking from it. I do have a set of fine china 6oz cups (with matching china plates) but they are so thin and delicate they bleed heat very fast and I am afraid of breaking one if I look at it too hard.

I too prefer the ceramic. It has heft, relatively thick, sturdy and just appears to hold the heat the best. I have never stuck thermocouples in cups and measured the rate of heat loss, nor do I care to which is why I say it appears to hold heat better.

It is funny how selecting ones cups is more difficult than picking a machine and grinder. The search continues, off to eBay again to graze.

cannonfodder wrote:Ooooooo. Those are awesome! My kitchen table top appliances, KitchenAid stand mixer/blender/food processor/pots/pans and even dishes are cobalt blue. Those cups would match perfectly.

Wow, well these cups would certainly work in your kitchen!
It's actually a tea set. I've got the pot that goes with it as well. A quick Froogle search for 'cobalt blue cups' pulled up this place. Surprisingly similar to what I've got. Same deep blue, same shape even, but different design. The price is not too bad, either.

cannonfodder wrote:It has heft, relatively thick, sturdy and just appears to hold the heat the best.

What I like most about thick ceramic cups is how you can heat the lower 2/3 and still have a cool rim. I've burned my lips a couple times at cafes that heat the cups to overflowing with steam boiler water.

I bought my Danesi cups on that bastion of free enterprise e- something or another. Got a complete brand new set of 6 espresso, 6 capa and 6 latte cups with saucers for, well you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you... I've never seen a deal like this since there. Gotta' love those new sellers!

But, a quick Google turned up these guys for the Danesi inclined:

http://www.podmerchant.com/espresso-pods/cups.html

OTOH, the designer Illy's are (mostly) collectable-