Project & Development
In addition to our standard range composed by more than 40 lines, every year we develop and produce almost 400 new items among shapes and decals.
The know-how acquired in the coffee business and the expertise of our staff, allow us today to accompain and support the customer during the development of new products, including full analysis of difficult subjects like production, cost and timing evaluation.
It is our pleasure to list below a brief description of some important characteristics that should be taken in consideration in the development of a new cup, based on our acquired know-how.
The shape of the cup must be designed in order to enhance the taste, aroma and appearance of the espresso. The inside bottom of the cup must reproduce the classical oval shape, to avoid the breakage of the coffee cream, and to preserve longer a nice colour. A taller and slimer cup shape is preferable for blend composed by arabica coffee, while for for blend composed by robusta coffee, a shorter and larger cup is more suitable. The ideal inside capacity is 65 cc, to contain 20-25 cc of espresso coffee.
The thickness of the porcelain help to calibrate the temperature of the espresso (the cup must be dry and at a temperature of 40 °C before serving the coffee), slightly reducing the temperature at the beginning, and later maintaining it during the coffee tasting. The lower part of the cup must be thicker (to better maintain the heat), while the top part must be thinner, to offer a softer and more comfortable contact with the lips.
Speaking about espresso cups for the professional user, some characteristic are essential, like a comfortable use for the barista and a good endurance for the frequent washings.
The handle must be comfortable and must guarantee an easy handhold. The thickness and the shape must be compact and strong to guarantee a high endurance. It should also allow a comfortable handhold with two fingers, avoiding the middle finger to touch the body of the cup, that holding a temperature of 40-50 °C, would caused an upsetting feeling.
The top edge of the cup and the external edge fo the saucer must be slightly rounded, to improve the cup porcelain endurance and prevent chipping.
The round of the saucer must accomodate the cup in a steady and comfortable way, to facilitate the barista during the preparation and the service of the coffee.
The shape of the cup and saucer must be elegant but not exceedingly fancy, as it should not distract the consumer from the inside contents (the coffee), and in order to maintain all the above requirements for the shape to guarantee good performance and a nice coffee taste.
The preferable colour for the inside of the cup is the brillant white typical of the feldspar porcelain, because it helps to facilitate the coffee evaluation and enhance his colour due to the strong chromatic contrast.