Does the coffee cup affect the taste? Cup Shape, Rim and Aroma Cup Selection Guide

You may spend time adjusting the grind size, water temperature and powder-to-water ratio, or even changing the filter cup for different coffees, only to end up pouring the finished product into any cup at hand. When neither the coffee beans nor the brewing parameters change, is the cup really just a container?

Pour the same coffee into different cups, and the coffee itself will not suddenly acquire a new floral aroma or sweetness. However, the contact between the rim of the cup and the lips, the way the liquid enters the mouth, the distance between the nose and the liquid surface, and the cooling rhythm may all change the way we receive the same cup of coffee.

Therefore, choosing a cup is not about finding a magic cup that "makes all coffee taste better", but first figuring out what you really value. After reading this article, you should be able to decide which type is more suitable for your drinking style: an everyday mug, a thin-rim cup, a pour-over cup or an aroma-oriented cup.

Choose a cup in 30 seconds: first look at the purpose, not the brand

If you just want to buy a good coffee cup, you don’t need to understand all the cup theory first.Capacity, location of use and cleaning habits, it has been possible to eliminate most of the unsuitable choices. Only when these basic conditions are met, the cup rim, cup rim and aroma space are worthy of further comparison.

Before buying a cup, answer three questions

First: What are you drinking? How much do you drink each time?

Capacity is the easiest part to understand and the easiest to choose wrong.

• Approximately 60–90ml: Espresso, small sip or split cup comparison
• Approximately 150–230ml: General single cup pour-over or specialty coffee drinking
• About 250–350ml: a large cup for daily drinking, milk coffee, or direct hand brewing

If the cup is too small, frequent pouring is required; if the cup is too large and there is too little coffee, the liquid level will drop lower. These ranges are just a starting guide and still need to be matched with your actual brewing volume.

Second: Do you value convenience, entrance, heat preservation, or aroma?

Different needs will lead you to completely different cups:

• Pay attention to convenience and heat preservation: first look at thickness, handle, lid and durability.
• Pay attention to the entrance: Look at the thickness of the cup rim, the curvature of the cup body and the flow direction of the liquid.
• Pay attention to the aroma: You need to pay attention to the space at the cup mouth, the position of the liquid level and the distance between the nose and the coffee.
• Pay attention to the sense of utensils: differences in appearance, glaze color, weight and workmanship will affect whether you are willing to use it every day.

Third: What trade-offs do you accept in your living habits?

Even if a cup has a special design, if the maintenance method required is not suitable for daily life, it may end up just staying in the cabinet.

Before purchasing, please confirm:

• Can you use a dishwasher or microwave?
• Is it easy to clean the cup bottom and internal structure?
• Is it necessary to avoid rapid hot and cold conversions?
• Is the cup body thin and you need to be careful when bumping it?
• Do you need to wait for pre-sale production?
• How brands deal with shipping damage and structural issues

What kind of drinker are you?

Everyday convenience

You mainly drink large cups of coffee or milk coffee, often drinking slowly while working, and pay attention to heat preservation, durability and machine washability. A regular mug or thermos is usually better than a specialty drinking cup.

Daily hand brewing type

You brew about 150-230ml each time. You want the capacity to be just right and comfortable to drink, but you won’t often divide the same coffee into different cups for comparison. A ceramic or glass cup with a suitable capacity, no odor, and a comfortable feel is usually sufficient.

Aroma exploration type

You will pay attention to the floral, fruity aroma or processing method on the bean bag, and you will also compare the changes of the same coffee from hot to cold. You are willing to divide the coffee into two cups and smell and drink it alternately. At this time, the cup rim, cup rim and aroma space begin to have a clearer value.

Utensils and collectibles

You value the glaze, the feel, the origin, the story of how it was made, and the differences in each piece. Handmade ceramics can become a collection or gift choice, but you should still confirm the capacity and usage restrictions first, rather than buying based on appearance.

When is a regular coffee cup sufficient?

If your main needs are to hold coffee, be comfortable to drink, easy to clean, and suitable for daily servings, an ordinary ceramic or glass cup with a suitable capacity, no odor, and a comfortable feel is enough.

A special cup shape is not a requirement for good coffee, nor can it replace fresh coffee beans, proper grinding, clean water, and stable brewing.

If you have never thought about comparing the differences in different cups of the same coffee, nor have you paid special attention to how the aroma changes with temperature, you already have the answer here: just choose a cup that meets the capacity, cleanliness, and daily use.

When is it worth paying attention to aroma-oriented cups?

Some users will encounter another type of problem:

• Bean bags are written to have floral or fruity notes, but it’s hard to detect them yourself.
• The coffee is very fragrant when you first pour it in, but after you drink it halfway, the aroma seems to be getting farther and farther away from you.
• Start comparing the performance of washed, sun-dried, honey-treated or different temperatures.
• Already have a stable brew and looking to explore the next tasting variant.
• When drinking more expensive or familiar coffee, be willing to sit down and concentrate on drinking it.

Only when you start to pay attention to these issues, the aroma-oriented cup will no longer be just a cup with a special appearance. What it deals with is not "how to brew coffee", but how the aroma, liquid and nose meet during the drinking process after the coffee is brewed.

Aroma orientation cups do not have a fixed shape. Different designs may use wide mouth, narrow mouth, internal curvature of the cup, concave cup mouth or other structures to change the relative positions of the liquid level, inlet and nose.

What can and cannot be changed about cup shape?

A study involving 276 specialty coffee drinkers and professionals found that different cup sizes affected participants' ratings of aroma, sweetness, acidity and liking. It is worth noting that just because certain sensory characteristics became more intense, it did not mean that the average participant would prefer that cup.

The UCC has also conducted sensory studies using the same coffee with different cup types and pointed out that the shape, weight, tilt angle of the cup, and the distance between the liquid surface and the nose when drinking may affect people's feelings.

These studies support that "cup shapes are worthy of comparison," but they do not prove that any particular cup is necessarily better, nor do they prove that the stronger the aroma, the more people like it.

Cup size may change the way you experience it; it can't add flavors to the coffee that aren't there, nor can it correct stale beans or a wonky brew.

Before buying an aroma-oriented cup, test it with a cup at home

Rather than believing any brand's description of the cup shape, it's better to verify whether you really care about the differences. Just divide the same coffee into two cups with different shapes, and you will get an answer that is closer to you than any product introduction.

1. Choose a coffee you are familiar with.
2. When finished brewing, divide the same amount into two cups.
3. Try to keep the starting time and temperature of the two cups as close as possible.
4. Smell first, then drink alternately.
5. The aroma intensity, pleasantness, mouthfeel and cooling changes were recorded respectively.

If you can't feel or care about the difference, a regular cup will suffice. If you feel the difference but want a cup suitable for a wide range of daily use, look for a more balanced cup shape. If you enjoy focusing aromas, comparing coffees, and watching temperature changes, it's worth continuing to learn about aroma-first design.

If you really care about aroma, how far can you go in cup design?

At this point, the question is no longer "Which coffee cup is the best", but: Are you willing to accept the trade-offs of smaller capacity, hand washing and more meticulous maintenance in order to observe the aroma more carefully?

If the answer is no, ordinary ceramic cups are enough; if the answer is yes, it is worth taking a look at an actual design case: how Coffee Stage developed the "distance between the nose and the coffee" into Sharing Cup Alpha and Beta.

This design process can be divided into two consecutive problems.

The first question: How to keep your nose naturally close to the cup when drinking?

Coffee Stage first responded with the recessed mouth of the Sharing Cup Alpha. When the user drinks from the concave side, the nose will be closer to the cup more naturally, reducing the need to deliberately bring the nose close to the coffee.

Alpha's direction is to strike a balance between aroma, taste and daily use.

Second question: The more you drink the less coffee you drink, what should you do when the liquid level drops?

After Alpha was actually used for about half a year, the designer noticed that although the recessed cup mouth brought the nose closer to the cup, the liquid level would still drop as the coffee was reduced in sips. Even if the nose remains near the mouth of the cup, the distance from the coffee-wetted surface gradually increases.

Coffee Stage thus raises another question: Is it possible to bring part of the coffee-contacting surface closer to the nose without adding detachable accessories or changing the daily drinking steps?

This question ends up being the central aroma pillar of Sharing Cup Beta.

What does Sharing Cup Beta actually change?

Beta has the same exterior dimensions as Alpha. Beta adds a one-piece central aroma column that is approximately 5cm high and 2cm wide within the same shape.

When a small amount of coffee contacts the cylinder, a thin liquid layer can be formed on the three-dimensional surface. The design is to bring part of the surface wetted by the drink closer to the nose, rather than creating an aroma that is not present in the coffee.

The central structure takes up part of the space in the cup, so the Alpha can hold about 230ml, and the Beta has a marked capacity of about 190ml. Hand brewing users may see a water volume reading close to 190g on the electronic scale; this is a measurement context of water volume, and does not represent the weight of the cup, nor does it mean that it is recommended to pour to the mouth of the cup every time.

When the cup gradually tilts from an upright position, the recessed mouth keeps the nose close to the cup; the central cylinder also changes its relative position with the cup body. The four angle pictures show the continuous drinking process, not the four fixed postures.

Every design result has corresponding trade-offs

Beta currently has no dedicated independent scientific research. The above content is based on the original design intention, daily use of the brand and internal observation, and should not be confused with general cup shape research.

Alpha or Beta? Two orientations, not high and low

If you want a cup to match a wider range of coffees, Alpha will be safer; if you already know that you value aroma and enjoy the differences in the same coffee in different cup types and temperatures, Beta's structure will have a clearer value.

If not Alpha or Beta, what else can I choose?

The Sharing Cup series is not limited to aroma-oriented cups:

• S Size: Approximately 60–65ml, suitable for Espresso, a small amount of hand brew, tea or wine, priced at HK$168.
• M Size: Approximately 170g as indicated on the page, suitable for medium-sized drinks and portioned drinks, priced at HK$238.
• L Size: Approximately 300–330ml, suitable for daily drinking or direct mixing. Price: HK$298.
• Alpha: About 230ml, focusing on fragrance and daily balance, priced at HK$388.
• Beta: About 190ml, focusing on more concentrated aroma exploration, priced at HK$458.

If you need machine washability, microwaveability, impact resistance, long-term heat preservation, or immediate availability, the full range of Sharing Cups may not be the most appropriate answer.

Things you need to know before buying

• Sharing Cup is designed and handmade in Hong Kong.
• The current glaze colors include mountain blue, night blue, dusk mountain purple and ember gold black.
• Handmade items may vary slightly in glaze colour, texture, capacity and size.
• The entire series cannot be placed in the dishwasher, and it is not recommended to put it in the microwave oven.
• It is recommended to hand wash with clean water, soft sponge and neutral detergent.
• Avoid wire brushes, highly abrasive tools and rapid heat/cold transitions.
• It is currently a pre-sale product and is expected to be ready in approximately 30-60 days from the time of order placement.
• Actual time may be affected by order quantity, glaze color and kiln firing results.

Regarding black clay, special glaze, firing range and Hong Kong production process, you can read Sharing Cup’s craft article separately and will not repeat it in this article.

Finally: It’s not which one is best, but what you want to observe

An ordinary coffee cup can perfectly meet most daily needs. Only when you start to pay attention to the cup rim, liquid level, nose position, and changes in the same coffee at different temperatures and cup shapes will the aroma-oriented cup have a clear meaning.

The reason for choosing Beta is not that it is best for everyone, but that it solves the problem of "how close the aroma can be brought" and makes it a cup that can be picked up and used every day.

View the full range of Coffee Stage Sharing Cup S, M, L, Alpha and Beta

References

• Carvalho & Spence: The shape of the cup influences aroma, taste, and hedonic judgments of specialty coffee
• UCC: Research on Cup Shape and Coffee Sensory Evaluation