How to Order Custom Porcelain Espresso Cups with Logo for Cafés and Coffee Brands

Custom espresso cups can be a simple way for a café, coffee roaster, restaurant, hotel, or lifestyle brand to create a more consistent branded experience. But when the cups will be used repeatedly in a commercial environment, there is more to consider than simply adding a logo.

The cup material, capacity, logo decoration, gold detailing, saucer, packaging, sample process, and dishwasher requirements should all be confirmed before production.

This guide explains what to consider when ordering custom porcelain espresso cup and saucer sets for a coffee business or branded product line.

1. Start With the Cup and Saucer Specifications

The first step is to decide exactly which cup and saucer you want to customize.

For espresso service, a small porcelain cup paired with a matching saucer is a common format. An example specification might be an approximately 75–90 ml cup, depending on the intended serving size.

However, capacity alone is not enough.

Before requesting a quotation, confirm:

• Cup capacity

• Cup height and diameter

• Saucer diameter

• Cup shape

• Saucer shape

• Cup and saucer color

• Material

• Whether the cup and saucer are a matching set

• Whether the product is intended for commercial food service

If true porcelain is important to your brand, state this clearly when requesting a quote.

Porcelain, stoneware, and earthenware are not interchangeable descriptions. If your specification requires porcelain, ask the supplier to confirm the material of the specific cup and saucer being quoted rather than assuming that every white ceramic espresso cup is porcelain.

2. Decide How the Logo Should Be Applied

Logo decoration is one of the most important parts of a custom coffee cup project.

A supplier may offer several decoration methods depending on the product and artwork.

Common options can include:

• Ceramic decal transfer

• Screen printing

• Fired decoration

• Other ceramic-compatible printing processes

For a café that uses the cups frequently, ask how the decoration is finished and whether it is intended to withstand repeated washing.

The important question is not simply:

Can you print my logo?

A better question is:

What decoration process will be used, and how is it expected to perform under repeated commercial use?

The answer can affect both the appearance and long-term durability of the finished cup.

3. Provide the Actual Logo Artwork

A quotation becomes much more accurate once the supplier has the actual logo.

Ideally, provide a production-ready vector file such as:

• AI

• EPS

• SVG

• PDF

A high-resolution PNG may also be useful when vector artwork is not available.

If the logo contains multiple colors, unusual shapes, fine lines, or small text, the supplier should review the artwork before confirming the decoration method.

Do not assume that a logo that looks good on a screen will automatically reproduce at the same size on a small espresso cup.

4. Specify the Logo Position and Size

The logo position should be defined before production.

For example, you may want the logo:

• On the front of the cup

• On both sides

• Inside the cup

• On the saucer

• On the center of the saucer

• Around the outer edge of the saucer

You should also specify the approximate logo size.

A simple instruction such as:

Logo centered on the front of the cup, approximately 25 mm wide.

is much more useful than simply saying:

Put our logo on the cup.

If you have a reference image, mark the desired printing area directly on the image.

5. What About Metallic Gold?

Many coffee and lifestyle brands want a more decorative appearance using metallic gold.

There are several different design possibilities, such as:

• Metallic-gold logo

• Gold cup rim

• Gold saucer rim

• Gold logo plus standard-color logo

• Gold details combined with a black or white cup

Gold decoration should be discussed separately from standard logo printing.

Most importantly, if the cups will be used in a café or restaurant, ask whether the specific gold decoration is suitable for the intended dishwasher environment.

Do not automatically assume that every gold decoration has the same durability as standard ceramic decoration.

If commercial dishwasher use is important, ask the supplier to specify any limitations of the gold decoration.

6. Commercial Dishwasher Use Should Be Confirmed

A café may wash the same cups many times every week.

Therefore, dishwasher performance should be part of the specification rather than an afterthought.

When requesting a quotation, ask about:

• Porcelain durability

• Decoration durability

• Dishwasher suitability

• Commercial dishwasher use

• Possible fading or wear

• Gold decoration limitations

• Available testing or supporting documentation

The supplier should distinguish between the durability of the porcelain itself and the durability of the decoration applied to it.

A cup can be physically durable while the decorative finish has different washing limitations.

7. Consider Custom Packaging

If the espresso cups are being purchased for café use only, standard protective packaging may be sufficient.

But if the cups are being sold online, used as gifts, or included in a branded retail collection, custom packaging becomes much more important.

A coffee brand might request:

• Individual boxes

• Black gift boxes

• Full-color printed boxes

• Logo printed on the lid

• Gold logo

• Printed inner packaging

• Protective inserts

• Cup-and-saucer compartments

For example, a premium coffee brand might want a black retail box with a gold logo.

Before requesting a packaging quote, provide:

• Box dimensions if already known

• Box color

• Logo

• Logo color

• Text

• Artwork

• Interior printing requirements

• Insert requirements

• Quantity

Packaging can have its own minimum order quantity and setup requirements, so it should be quoted separately from the porcelain set.

8. Ask for a Physical Sample Before Mass Production

A physical sample is particularly useful for custom porcelain products.

There are actually two different sample questions:

Blank sample

A blank cup and saucer can help confirm:

• Shape

• Size

• Capacity

• Color

• Finish

• Weight

• Saucer fit

Decorated pre-production sample

A decorated sample allows you to evaluate:

• Logo size

• Logo position

• Color

• Printing quality

• Gold decoration

• Overall appearance

These two samples serve different purposes.

If the final product will have a custom logo and gold detailing, a blank sample alone cannot fully demonstrate what the finished product will look like.

Ask the supplier whether the decorated sample requires a setup, artwork, tooling, or decoration charge.

9. Request More Than One Quantity for Comparison

When requesting a quotation, it can be useful to ask for at least two quantities.

For example:

• 50 sets

• 150 sets

This helps reveal how much of the total cost comes from the product itself versus fixed setup or customization costs.

A larger quantity may also reduce the unit cost, but the actual difference depends on the product, decoration, packaging, and production requirements.

For a new café or coffee brand, comparing several quantities can help determine whether it makes sense to place a small first order or purchase a larger batch.

10. Ask for a Complete Cost Breakdown

A useful quotation should make it possible to understand the actual landed cost.

Ask the supplier to separate, where applicable:

1. Cup and saucer set

2. Logo decoration

3. Additional colors

4. Metallic-gold decoration

5. Gold rim

6. Tooling or setup

7. Sample cost

8. Custom packaging

9. Packaging setup

10. Freight or courier shipping

11. Any other applicable charges

This is especially important for small orders.

A product may have an attractive unit price but still have setup or sample charges that significantly affect the first order.

11. Food-Contact and Compliance Documentation

If the cups will be used for serving coffee commercially, documentation may be important.

Depending on the market and intended use, buyers may ask for information relating to:

• Food-contact safety

• Material specifications

• Lead and cadmium compliance

• Product testing

• Glaze specifications

• Decoration specifications

• Dishwasher testing

The exact documentation available depends on the supplier, factory, product, decoration process, and destination market.

Rather than assuming that a generic certificate applies to every product, ask the supplier whether the documentation specifically covers the cup, saucer, glaze, and decoration being quoted.

12. A Practical Custom Espresso Cup Specification

A buyer can make the quotation process much easier by sending a complete specification.

For example:

Product: Custom porcelain espresso cup and saucer set
Cup capacity: Approximately 80 ml
Material: High-fired porcelain
Cup: Matching porcelain saucer
Quantity: 50 sets initially
Logo: Custom HGC logo
Logo position: Front of cup
Logo size: To be confirmed from artwork
Decoration: Durable ceramic decoration
Gold option: Metallic-gold logo and/or gold rim
Packaging: Individual custom black gift box
Box branding: Gold logo and brand text
Sample: Blank sample + decorated pre-production sample
Use: Café / commercial service
Shipping destination: Florida, USA

This gives the supplier enough information to begin checking the actual production options rather than providing a generic product price.

13. What to Send the Supplier

Before requesting the final quotation, prepare the following:

Product

• Preferred cup capacity

• Cup and saucer reference image

• Material requirement

• Preferred color

Logo

• Logo file

• Logo colors

• Logo position

• Approximate logo size

Gold decoration

• Gold logo

• Gold rim

• Gold saucer detail

• Any reference image

Packaging

• Box style

• Box color

• Logo

• Text

• Artwork

• Insert requirements

Quantity

Give the supplier the actual quantity you are considering.

If you are unsure, ask for multiple quantity levels such as 50, 100, and 150 sets.

Shipping

Provide the destination ZIP code or full shipping address so freight can be calculated.

14. Final Checklist Before Ordering

Before approving production, confirm:

• Correct cup capacity

• Correct cup and saucer shape

• Porcelain material confirmed

• Logo artwork approved

• Logo position approved

• Logo size approved

• Decoration method confirmed

• Gold decoration confirmed, if applicable

• Dishwasher requirements discussed

• Packaging design approved

• Sample approved

• Final quantity confirmed

• Production lead time confirmed

• Shipping cost confirmed

• Food-contact documentation reviewed where required

• Final production artwork approved

Custom porcelain espresso cups are relatively simple products, but a commercial café or branded coffee business should treat the project as more than a basic logo-printing order.

The most important step is to define the complete specification before asking for the final price: cup material, capacity, logo artwork, printing position, decoration method, gold details, dishwasher requirements, packaging, quantity, sample requirements, and shipping destination.

Once these details are confirmed, the supplier can provide a much more useful quotation and the buyer can compare the actual cost and production options before committing to a larger order.