The Correct Espresso Cups

boodles

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Jun 29, 2006
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I get very irratated here in South Africa when i visit coffee shops and they give me my espresso in a .. regular coffee cup. It makes my blood boil.


My question, just to confirm, should a single/double espresso be served ONLY in those... espresso, small cups (not sure what they are called).
 

mrgnomer

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Jan 22, 2006
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Canada
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boodles said:
I get very irratated here in South Africa when i visit coffee shops and they give me my espresso in a .. regular coffee cup. It makes my blood boil.


My question, just to confirm, should a single/double espresso be served ONLY in those... espresso, small cups (not sure what they are called).

Best cups, as far as I know, are round bottomed, dense or thick walled and hold about 2oz. Heat retention is one of the goals with good espresso. Espresso is delicate and should be enjoyed right away in a preheated cup that keeps it at a good temperature to preserve body and crema.
 
We use two different style demitasse cups for espresso- both are 2 oz- thick ceramic. Aesthetica aside, there are other good reasons to drink espresso from these smaller cups- primarily related to aroma and heat retention of the drink. I can fully understand boodles comments- in Indonesia it is rare to get espresso served in demitasse cups (more often 8oz mugs) and mre often than not, the espresso comes out as a regular coffee anyway :?
 
Jul 17, 2006
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Oswego, IL
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Most demoralizing espresso experience was when I "thought" we had time to sit down in the shop and enjoy ourselves, so I ordered a double espresso. My wife however had other ideas (errands) and we had to change the order to go.

Drinking espresso from a styrofoam cup was the absolute worst. :evil:

I don't recommend it to anyone.
 

MrBox

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Feb 21, 2006
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Statesboro, GA
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Many places have espresso based drinks but don't serve straight shots.

As an avid espresso drinker, asking for a shot from a shop that doesn't do much if any shot business i've gotten some wierd looks. On person even said are you sure? Thats all you want. That was the sign that I wasn't at the right place.

Going to a new coffee shop can be an experience. I always look for the espresso cups before I order one. I even usually ask how is your espresso? If I don't see them I usually will not oder one.

If I really need an espresso I'll order a shot in the dark. Cause a bad straight shot is really a bummer.

To think to serve me a double shot in an 8 oz mug or cup is insaine

Why even have espresso on your menu board if you aren't going to do it right.

JM
 
Right on J.M! A word of warning...forget about ordering an espresso in Indonesia...a 8oz cup for a double espresso here maybe too small! :grin: The overwhelmong problem here is we are still very much at the beginning slope of specialty coffee. The first day Starbucks opened here some 3 years ago, the knowledge of how a specific espresso/espresso based drink name corelated to what you got served was nil. There were some interesting customer relate complaints to espresso itself . "Pellet" (or stingy in English) was often muttered when the espresso came out. Often the cutomers carried the espresso demitasse over to the milk counter, grabbed a paper cup, added 500ml of milk- "THATS an espresso!"
:evil: Drives me crazy!
 
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