Without an espresso cup you can’t experience espresso.
However, not all espresso cups are going to bring you the espresso experience you desire. Espresso cups come in a wide variety of designs and having tried a few of them we can confirm that a small difference in the shape of an espresso cup makes a big difference to the taste of your espresso. This is true even when you try different designs from the same cup manufacturer.
The second thing about espresso cups is to make sure you warm them before use. The thick porcelain walls of an espresso cup will suck all the heat out of 30mL of espresso almost instantly if you have not pre-heated the cup, unlike a coffee of say 200mL where it is still important to warm the cup, but not critical as it is with espresso. The thick walls of an espresso cup then have the opposite effect when they are pre-heated, and help to maintain the temperature of the espresso once poured.
While you can pre-heat your cups on the warming tray of your espresso machine, the only downside can be that the rim becomes unpleasantly hot for your lips when you go to drink the espresso. So if time permits the ideal way is to fill your espresso cup with boiling hot water (easy if you have a tap on your espresso machine) before you load your portafilter basket. Don’t fill it to the top though, or again the rim will be unpleasantly hot; stop pouring in water at least 10mm from the rim. Leave the hot water in the espresso cup for about 10 seconds, and if you are feeling fastidious you can even dry the cup before you pull your shot.
A flat internal bottom to the cup will break up the crema as the espresso enters the cup. Look for a cup that has an elliptical internal shape that extends all the way to the centre of the inside of the cup such that there is no flat surface in the inside of the cup.
Similarly you do not want the highly fashionable ultra thin and tall espresso cups, which is a real shame as we love the look of them. When you pour into this internal shape the espresso lies in layers, rather than mixing, which is generally regarded as undesirable. An internal shape that is approximately elliptical ensures the espresso ‘self-mixes’ as it enters the cup, ensuring the taste of your espresso is more homogenous from start to finish.
An internal shape that follows the shape of an egg is roughly what you are seeking in your espresso cup.
Finally, while you want a nice thick walled cup to hold the heat when you pre-heat it, paradoxically you want a thin rim to place your lips on. A thick rim to the espresso cup adversely affects the enjoyment of the espresso.
Whoever your favourite coffee roaster is you can dramatically improve your espresso experience by ensuring you have the correct cup.
Our espresso cups have all of these design requirements to ensure optimum espresso enjoyment and are very reasonably priced. You can find them here.