Hi folks, my coffee journey is currently exploring coffee cups. I've been collecting illy and Francis!Francis! art series cups for a few years and have lately been focused on the cups used in cafes. Is anyone aware of market research/analysis of the coffee cup world?
William, I can tell you that no cafe I've ever been to would dare use an Illy art (hand drawn) cup. In my experience, cafes usually feature heavy duty white, or occasionally brown industrial strength "buy 'em by the gross" cups/saucers, etc. My "research" would consist of visiting perhaps 50 quality cafes. (serving proper prepared espresso, using properly roasted coffee, prepared by properly trained baristi)
Some cafes may use the non hand-drawn Illy labeled cup, which are only a wee bit more per unit. However, I've not visited some of the really hip, 3rd wave cafes in Vancouver, CA, or those in our "great northwest;...Portland Oregon, Seattle, WA, etc.
I'd be surprised if ANY cafes is using a hand decorated cup of Illy's value.
Same experience down here in New Zealand. Many/most of the cups in cafes down here seem to be from ACF (Italy) and/or IPA (who make many of the illy cups). I'm curious about market size and suppliers.
William, I can tell you that no cafe I've ever been to would dare use an Illy art (hand drawn) cup. In my experience, cafes usually feature heavy duty white, or occasionally brown industrial strength "buy 'em by the gross" cups/saucers, etc. My "research" would consist of visiting perhaps 50 quality cafes. (serving proper prepared espresso, using properly roasted coffee, prepared by properly trained baristi)
Some cafes may use the non hand-drawn Illy labeled cup, which are only a wee bit more per unit. However, I've not visited some of the really hip, 3rd wave cafes in Vancouver, CA, or those in our "great northwest;...Portland Oregon, Seattle, WA, etc.
I'd be surprised if ANY cafes is using a hand decorated cup of Illy's value.
I would agree with Robert here. I haven't seen many people in the commercial world use illy art cups in a cafe environment. haha. I will say some cafe's do showcase higher quality porcelain than others though. I know at my cafe, (opening next month) I'm using NotNeutral drinkware. The same manufacturer of the Intelly latte bowls that are so iconic. (minus the red strip & intelly branding of course). I think there's a fine balance between the aesthetic/function of a cup to the patron, and the cost of replacing said cup. I know mine were upwards of $10 a cup. When you think of your selection. Traditional Latte bowl, capp cup, demitasse, and drip coffee mug. X a few dozen for each type. It get's pricey. Patrons break cups. That's just part of the game. I guess each cafe has to weigh how important that experience is to their customers. I will say the majority of what i see in the industry is ACF amongst the higher quality cafes, and IPA.
As for market research of this stuff? Not sure where you would find that. Although it would be very interesting to learn. :)
Thanks Jonathan, the numbers you quote are exactly the sort of thing that got me started on this....Sitting in a nice cafe with a blank napkin and noticing a large number of cups on the machine, I idly started doing some high level mathematics and began to realise that cups (and other tableware) must represent a significant component of a cafe's setup and ongoing costs. Here in NZ, a larger percentage (at least compared to my experience in NA) of coffee drinks are served in-house in ceramic rather than in disposable cups. And, for me, the cup can really make a differance in the overall coffee experience. Well, I'll keep looking and report back anything I find. I have found an excellent list of coffee cup manufacturers compiled by Greg Sherwin click here
I know one local caffe bar (italian first wave style, not third wave) recently had to switch from acf cups to nuovapoint because apparently acf is going out of business. I also heard that nuova point ( of which I have a set of espresso cups) are no longer exclusively made in Italy but in china. I also have a set of lavazza cappuccino cups made by iPa that are really nice. Lastly, check out inker cups available at orphan espresso. I bought a couple and really like them as well.
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