Black Cat Project Cups by Intelligentsia Coffee: The Small Latte Cup

    So, Intelligentsia with Notneutral  has come out with a new line of coffee cups. Right now there is three to chose from; the cappuccino cup with a capacity of  6oz, the small latte cup which holds 8oz and the large latte cup that has a capacity of 12oz. I also found on notneutral’s site, that they have an espresso cup and coffee cups coming soon. The “coming soon” cups have the same design as the existing cups offered, excluding the Intelligentsia logo. Now, whether Intelligentsia will have them is unknown to me but I think that it would be a safe bet that they will.
    I bought the small latte cup back in April, at that time they sold them individually, as it is they only offer them in a set of two. Because I bought only one cup at first and now that they are only sold in a set of two I now have an odd numbered set and no way to fix it aside from breaking one. I do plan to buy the other sizes (and buy one more set of the small latte so I will have 4 oh ya 5). I thought I would buy the cup in the middle before the cappuccino or the large latte primarily because I knew I would use the small latte cup the most. I will review the other two sizes separately when I buy them.     
    On to the review. The following is for the small latte cup and saucer only. The cup holds a little over 8oz to the brim, and 7oz comfortably with out worrying about spilling with every little movement. The cups are nice and heavy, between 12ozs and 13ozs and that heft will help hold heat better. They are made of  “fine porcelain” according to notneutral and they look and feel very nice in your hand, definitely not a cheap cup. The handle is well thought out, there is a wide portion to rest your thumb with your index finger in the loop and the middle finger under the loop, supporting most of the weight. The cup has a nice balance in the hand and for me is not fatiguing to hold. Also, the lip has a nice taper and is not to thick making it easy to drink from. As for the durability, well, I have dropped one while washing it in my sink, though not a massive drop it did survive; I have yet to break any. The cups are dishwasher safe but truth be told, I don’t like dishwashers for my nice cups. Some cups will fade and they tend to get scuffs and scratches so I hand wash all my cups. However, the decision is yours whether you “dishwasher” them or not. The small latte cup is perfect for a traditional latte, one part espresso and two parts milk. So for a double shot of around 2ozs, with the milk 4ozs, and the micro foam for some nice latte art (though I struggle at pouring good art) this cup is perfect. Finally, the look of the cup. There is the Intelligentsia red star on the inside at the bottom, and a red stripe on the outside at the bottom around the circumference of the cup. Flip the cup over and the words “black cat project by notneutral” is on the bottom. The saucer is simple, one size really fits all according to Intelligentsia (no first hand knowledge of that) which is cool. The saucers ridge is a nice fit and holds the cup quite well. The saucer has a valley between the rim and the ridge. So, if you spill the liquid it will not get on your table nor will the liquid get to the bottom of the cup and be dripping on you as you drink. Together the cup and saucer have a retro look to them which I like. Overall a great, esthetically pleasing cup to enjoy your coffee from or anything wet really.


                                                                                       
Pros
1.Heavy, holds heat well.
2.Easy to clean, dishwasher safe.
3.Great aesthetic.
4.Does come with matching saucer.
5.Perfect size for a traditional latte.
6.Easy to hold and drink from.

Cons
1.Heavy, could for some, become tiresome with it full.
2.Only is sold in a set of two.
3.Only comes in one color, I thought that the cup would be really cool if it was black with the red stripe(given that it is the “Black” Cat Project)
4.Kinda pricey $34 for a set of two.
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Black Cat Project Cups by Intelligentsia Coffee: The Small Latte Cup by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.