Reading Roaste blogs really pays off!

Reading Roaste blogs really pays off!


I have always wanted the “Illy Nude cups” that came out a number of years back.  You often see photos of them in prominent places including on the cover of Illy’s famous coffee book because they are so simple, elegant, and display the coffee well.  


There was one major problem.  They no longer made them (these are part of a collector’s series of cups that are always limited runs) and the used ones were far too coveted.  The cheapest I had seen was over $100 for a set that was not in mint condition.  I do not want to collect cups for collections sake – only for use so that seemed too steep for me as did all the Illy collector’s cups.  


Then I made the mistake of reading Sam Law’s blog about the cups being re-released and his picking up a new variant on them.  (The traditional ones were clear and there were super cool new ones that were partially frosted.)  He seemed to have thought long and hard about which to buy and opted for the frosted.  He inspired me and I decided to pick up the non-frosted ones.  I figured I would sell two of the four (they go for around $70 for four) to someone like me who did not want to put $70 into cups, but did want the cups and then it would be around $35 and that would normally still be too much for me to justify, but then my rationalization kicked in!  


I figured these would sell out quickly so it was now or never and if I used $35 in ebeans to buy coffee that I would have bought anyway, I could tell myself I bought the cups with ebeans and paid the cash for coffee (something I do not feel guilty about).   See I told you I was a champion at rationalizing.


I then dropped Sam a quick email to see if he preferred the ones he got or if he’d rather trade one of his for one of mine and he was up for the trade so the net result is his blog post means he and I each have two really cool cups.  I would be happy with either one, but I am really happy to have both.


It is not obvious in the photos, but they are not exactly the same shape and the frosted one is a little more delicate, but it is not obvious that either shape or construction is better than the other.  So you can compare I’ve included a photo of each one below.


Also curious is the spoon they include which is as flat as a butter knife!  (I've included it in the photo so you can see).

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