Best espresso cups 2023: a barista's advice

A good espresso cup is a coffee station essential.

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The best espresso cups complete your coffee ritual. These miniature mugs are often overlooked, but if you like to drink your coffees in intense, rich shots, you'll want to make the investment.

When you order an espresso in a café, they will always serve you an espresso in an espresso cup. This is because the crema can sit higher up, filling up your cup, rather than sitting sadly at the bottom of a latte mug. The same should apply at home.

If you're designing your own coffee station in your kitchen, you'll want to invest in some of these useful little mugs. Depending on your décor, you might opt for a stainless steel set, a stackable design, or a well-insulated glass cup.

As a barista, I've handled a range of espresso cups, full of thousands of espressos. For me, it's important to see the espresso and to keep it warm, but it's always helpful if the espresso cup looks good too.

Best Overall

Size: 2 ozDimensions: 2.5" x 2.5" x 2.5"Material: glassDishwasher safe: yesCups per set: 2

De'Longhi makes incredible espresso machines, so it's no surprise that they also make the best espresso cups. In fact, these are the ones that I use at home, because I can check that the color of my espresso is perfect whilst the double-walled insulation keeps them warm.

Best affordable

Size: 4 ozDimensions: 7.3" x 4.2" Material: porcelainDishwasher safe: yesGlasses per set: 4

This simple set, affordable, but effective set is made from professional-grade porcelain. That means it's not only useful for espressos, but it can go in the oven as a container for small deserts like tiramisù. The saucers make a pretty display set, too.

Best traditional

Size: 3 ozDimensions: 3.5" x 2.5"Material: stonewareDishwasher safe: yesCups per set: 1

If you're looking for durable espresso cups, stop here. My editor Alex swears by these. They're chip-resistant, microwavable, and even oven-proof. The glaze makes them incredibly easy to clean, and they're difficult to scratch. However, a couple words of warning - they're fairly expensive, and while the glazed cups always look incredible, the matte options pick up fingerprints.

Best stackable

Size: 2.5 ozDimensions: 2.5" x 2.4" x 2.5"Material: porcelainDishwasher safe: yesCups per set: 4

This set is perfect for your coffee station. Complete with a storage stand and miniature saucers, you can stack all of your cups neatly away. I love the rainbow set which you can buy on Amazon too. It's not from Sweese, but it's almost identical.

Best insulated

Size: 2.5 ozDimensions: 3.1" x 2.8" x 2.5" Material: borosilicate glassDishwasher safe: yesCups per set: 1

Double-walled glasses are the best for keeping your espressos hot or your iced espressos cool. The soft, smooth silhouette of these modern cups looks simple, but don't be deceived, this can even handle being microwaved.

Best stainless steel

Size: 3ozDimensions: 2.5" x 2.2" x 2.5"Material: 18/8 stainless steelDishwasher safe: yesCups per set: 4

Stainless steel is durable, stylish, and easy to keep in excellent condition. Although this design is reminiscent of Italian 90s-style silver demitasse cups, it's crafted to modern specs: double walled and made with non-toxic materials.

Best glass

Size: 2.5 ozDimensions: 2.8" x 3.5" x 2.5" Material: borosilicate glassDishwasher safe: yesCups per set: 2

These hand blown, lightweight borosilicate glass espresso cups are some of the most durable and insulating on the market. I love how tall and slim these are. They look elegant and delicate, but you can put them in the freezer and microwave.

Best design

Size: 2.5 ozDimensions: 3.5" x 2.5" x 2.5" Material: porcelainDishwasher safe: yesGlasses per set: 1

If you want to make a true style statement, you'll need these espresso cups. The porcelain handle is inspired by waves in a simple and yet striking take on the classic espresso cup. These are designed for pure elegance.

Best bamboo

Size: 2.2 ozDimensions: 7" x 2" x 2" Material: bamboo and ceramicDishwasher safe: yesGlasses per set: 4

Bamboo is renowned for its natural strength and durability. These cups are microwave safe, crack resistant and lined with ceramic. The green set adds an organic tone to any coffee station and all the cups stack neatly on top of each other like a bamboo trunk.

I would recommend looking for cups which will insulate your espresso, so that it doesn't cool too quickly. For that reason, ceramic and glass are two of the best materials, especially if the glass is double-walled. However, porcelain, bamboo, and stainless steel all have their own merits.

An espresso is typically 1 oz, whilst a double shot is 2 oz. If you'll want to add sugar or a splash of milk to your espresso shot, you will want a cup which is at least 2 oz, ideally 3 oz.

It doesn't matter about the exterior, but white or clear cups tend to be best suited to coffee connoisseurs. This is because the bright, glossy white or clear walls allow you to check the color of your coffee in contrast to the crema. This tends to be the best indicator of how flavorful your coffee will be.

If they are double-walled, glass cups are an excellent option. They'll allow you to check the color of your espresso as well as keeping your coffee warm too. However, you'll have to work hard to keep them clean, and if they aren't double-walled they'll quickly lose temperature.

You can't underestimate how pleasing espresso cups are to drink from. Making espressos in one of the best coffee makers and serving up your morning shot of coffee in one of these luxury cups is the final flourish you need if you're designing your own home coffee station.

I use the De'Longhi cups, because they're excellent insulators and easy to clean. However, seeing the style statements offered by some of these bamboo and porcelain cups, I might need to start creating a new collection. Whether you're sipping alone or sharing with a crowd, these cups will add the final flourish to your coffee mornings.

Normally, at Homes & Gardens we test everything before we recommend them to you. However, in this instance, I wasn't able to test every single cup. In an absence of hands-on experience, I researched a range of customer and expert reviews to find out how easy these cups are to hold, how well they keep your coffee warm, and how nice they are to look at. I also use the De'Longhi cups already, so I can personally vouch for them. If you would like to know more about how we test you can visit our dedicated page.

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Laura is our eCommerce editor. Before Homes & Gardens she studied English at Oxford University. Alongside her studies, she qualified as a barista and trained as a master perfumer. This makes her our certified expert for all things coffee, candles, and fragrance. She has passed our five-step tests to become a certified Customer Advisor, making her our resident expert. Laura has worked for luxury retail brands, reinforcing the importance of quality and style over quantity and fads. She looks for products which have been designed with thoughtful finishes.

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