From our range, you'll generally find cups falling into two categories. Measuring cups for machine calibration purposes and cups to simply serve your delicious brews in.
More and more people are investing into have a beautiful home coffee setup. They may purchase a French Press, Chemex, Pour Over setup or a Moka Pot. Then, they will accompany that with a milk frothing from Subminimal, Bialetti and Bellman, a set of Coffee Scales, Thermometers and a Manual Grinder.
A popular misconception is that coffee mug do not influence the coffee experience...wrong. There are many different sizes, materials, handle or no handle and plenty more to choose from. What about durability? These are all options that can influence the final result of your brew!
Cups vary in size and material. Generally espresso's are served in 90ml cups, and milk based lattes, flat whites and cappuccinos in 180-220ml cups But this will vary on personal preference. Personally, we love the look and feel of Acme-and-Co's new range and with cups and saucers being able to be bought separately, this allows for fun and colourful creations.
Don’t forget presentation is nearly as important as taste! Throw away the chipped and damaged mugs that you have been holding onto. Reward yourself and your visitors with beautiful mugs from Fellow, Rocket, Kinto and Yield.
However, in terms of price point it is still hard to beat the Rockingham / Premier Tazze range of cups. Our personal favourite ceramic coffee mugs and our best sellers are from Fellow. We stock a great range of sizes and varieties for all coffee types!
What Coffee Cups should I use?
To answer this question, we would first look at the type of coffee you are making and then match it with the appropriate cup. Obviously, there is room to move within these recommendations based on your preferences however, in a general sense, they will follow these sizes:
- Ristretto: 90ml or 2-3oz cup
- Espresso: 90ml or 2-3oz cup
- Long Black: 180ml or 6-8oz cup
- Macchiato: 110ml or 4oz cup
- Piccolo Latte: 110ml or 4oz cup
- Cappuccino: 180ml or 6-8oz cup
- Latte: 220ml or 8oz Ideally glass
- Flat White: 180ml or 6-8oz cup
- Mocha: 180ml or 6-8oz cup
What is the best material for a coffee mug?
There is a huge range of coffee cups available all with different sizes, shapes and materials. Often, we get the question, which is best? This question has many answers, and we will look at the pros and cons of different materials making up these cups.
To be broad, we would say that there are four main coffee cup materials.
- Ceramic
- Glass
- Hard Plastics
- Steel
Ceramic: Our preferred mug as its chemical makeup creates a naturally insulating and thick wall that prevents coffee or tea from cooling quickly. There are also a large array of brands that do beautiful styles, designs and patterns on ceramic and has become quite popular.
The feel when drinking from ceramic is one that cannot be replicated very easily either, a study and satisfying feeling. The downside for ceramics, which is also shared with some other vessels, relates to its fragile nature. Yes, for clumsy people this means that it will shatter if you push it off the bench or even lightly knock it on its side.
Glass:Glass is a great option for holding your morning cup of coffee and we love it for quite a few reasons. You can purchase glasses in many different styles and commonly, you would see most lattes being served in such glasses. Another reason is due to glass itself doesn’t depart any smells or tangs to your beverage that may influence the flavour. This may be due to the nature of glass properties and how easily it can be thoroughly cleaned.
On the other hand, there are two major downsides to glass. There is a clear difference in heat retention when you compare glass to something such as ceramic, and obviously the vessel will be one of the most fragile materials available.
Hard Plastics: Often, we will see that the majority of Keep Cups or reusable coffee mugs made from hard or recycled plastics. They are quite versatile, durable and lightweight cups, which make them perfect for the day-to-day coffee runs. Good quality cups will have superb heat retention, whereas cheaper vessels may be thin and unable to hold heat well.
We truly appreciate what this material brings to our cups, however, we cannot help noticing the smell or aftertaste that becomes present after a few uses. This really depends on the quality of the cup you purchase, but you may notice that even after cleaning with hot water and soap, that a unique smell remains.
Steel: These are quite unique in that they will primarily exist in travel mugs and thermoses. These designs are often engineered really well to maintain a hot beverage for up to a few hours. This is a fantastic idea for those who are doing long road trips, hikes or adventures of any kind.
You should note that your travel mug or thermos will not look as fashionable as a beautiful ceramic mug from Fellow, but they will keep your coffee much warmer over a long period. The good news is that what you sacrifice with style, is made up for in durability. Often steel vessels are near impossible to destroy and can be kept in good condition for years.
Overall, there is such a variety of cup styles and sizes that you can choose from, that you don’t have to settle for just one. Whether you are at home curled up on the lounge, using a keep cup at your local café, or travelling across the country - you have plenty to choose from.
We would only suggest picking a cup based on your personal preference and what you want from your optimal mug whether it be ease of cleaning, heat retention, durability or even style!
As we know by now, there’s a little more to brewing coffee than just putting a coffee capsule into a machine and hitting a button, well for a quality cup of coffee anyway. All of our accessories are meant to complement and significantly enhance your brewing experience and ability! Usually, you’d begin your espresso process by using a Dosing tool to weigh the appropriate amount of beans with your Coffee Scales before grinding your fresh coffee!
Your coffee grounds will be put back into your dosing cup and transferred into your Portafilter Basket which may be a single, double or triple! The Distribution tool will help you to evenly distribute the grounds within the Filter Basket prior to using a coffee tamper to compress the grounds. By placing your portafilter onto a Tamping Mat you’ll prevent damage to the portafilter handle or bench, simply place 10-30kg of even pressure down on the tamper and twist to polish. Lock the portafilter into your machine, use the scales under the spout with whichever cup, glassware or reusable cup you prefer and commence brewing.
Now when texturing milk it's important to use the correctly sized milk jug for the amount of milk you require. Once you texture the milk, use a milk Thermometer to get the ideal steaming time for whatever milk you’re working with and if in a cafe you might have the option of a Milk Jug Rinser which is incredibly convenient for the post brew clean! A chocolate shaker is a must for those mocha or cappuccino lovers. When the shot is pouring, make sure to use a barista timer or your scales to measure for the perfect extraction, we recommend 23g in and 46g out at an extraction time of 25-30 seconds. Knock the puck out in either a Knock Box at home or a Standing knock tube or in bench shoot if you’re in a cafe!
Now every machine deserves a good clean, check out our range of Blind Filters, cleaning brushes, cleaning products and chemicals! Everyone loves having a few beans up your sleeve so be sure to check out our favourite Coffee Storage units for home or cafe! If you've got a passion for coffee, well there's nothing tastier than some cupping, use some of our coffee Cupping Tools, such as bowls and spoons to bring this professional experience into your own home!
