Cups

Choosing a cup by the drink you pour

Capacity is the first thing to settle, because it decides which drink a cup suits. Our cups hold from 50ml to 496ml, and we list the capacity of every one. An espresso needs very little room, so look to the small end of the range. A cappuccino or flat white wants a medium cup with space for the froth, while a large latte or a long cup of tea needs one of the bigger sizes. If you take milk, allow a little extra, as a cup filled to the brim is hard to carry to the table. To check the cup you already reach for, fill it with water, pour it into a measuring jug and compare the figure with ours.

Checking a cup's height against your coffee machine

If you make coffee with a machine, height matters as much as capacity. Our cups stand between 5cm and 10.5cm tall and measure between 5cm and 15cm across. Measure the gap between the spout and the drip tray, allow a finger's width spare so the cup slides in easily, and compare that with the height on the product page. The same check works for a shelf or cupboard with little headroom. Width changes how a drink behaves too: a wide cup gives more surface for froth and lets the drink cool a little sooner, while a narrow one keeps it hot a touch longer.

What stoneware means for a cup

Almost every cup we stock is stoneware, and a few are made from other ceramics, so every one is ceramic. Stoneware is clay fired at a high temperature, hot enough for it to partly turn to glass, so it leaves the kiln dense, hard and far less porous than earthenware. That makes it a good everyday material for something handled as often as a cup. It has a reassuring weight in the hand and it takes a glaze well, so it suits reactive glazes and painted patterns alike. A cup that goes from kettle to table to sink several times a day needs exactly that kind of strength.

Reactive glazes that vary from cup to cup

Many of our cups carry a reactive glaze. A reactive glaze changes in the kiln as its minerals melt and move, so colour can pool in the hollows, thin over the edges and break into speckles or streaks in a way that cannot be repeated exactly. The product notes on several of these cups say so plainly, and it means two cups of the same design may differ in shade. A few have a crackle glaze, with a fine web of lines across the surface. If you prefer a single even colour, a few of our cups come in a solid coloured glaze instead.

Hand-painted cups and the colours we stock

Alongside the reactive glazes, we stock hand-painted cups, where the pattern goes on with a brush, so expect small differences from one cup to the next. A few more are decorated by hand over a solid glaze or carry a printed pattern finished with hand-painted details. In colour, you will find multicoloured designs, blues and greens, with a few cups in browns, greys and warmer shades of orange and rose. A few Christmas designs suit December, from a festive breakfast to mulled drinks after a winter walk.

Washing and warming your cups

Every cup we stock is food safe, and almost every one is dishwasher safe. Most are microwave safe and most are oven safe too, but some are not, so check the care rows on each product page before a cup goes in. Like any ceramic, stoneware dislikes sudden changes of temperature, so let a hot cup cool before you rinse it under the cold tap. Tea and coffee can leave a ring inside a cup over time; a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water, rubbed with a soft cloth, lifts it. If you would rather wash hand-painted cups by hand, warm water, washing-up liquid and a soft sponge do the job.

Laying out cups for breakfast and for guests

Many of our cups come in sets, most often sets of four, which covers a family breakfast or a small table of friends. A few come in pairs, threes or sixes, and a few designs come with a saucer. A set keeps the table even, but cups need not match: a run of blues and greens sits well together, and a single hand-painted cup can mark a favourite seat. Set them out with a teapot, a jug of milk and a plate of biscuits, and keep the cups you use daily on an open shelf by the kettle, where they are easy to reach.