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Espresso coffee cups are only sort of coffee cups. They’re like a shot glass version of a coffee cup, which does make sense as they are not supposed to be used with coffee, but rather with espresso. Yes, they certainly look like little bitty coffee cups, but it’d be rather frustrating trying to get a caffeine buzz from a cup that was so tiny. After all, the purpose of coffee for most people is to get energized quickly, without sleeping.

Differences Between Espresso Coffee Cups And Other Coffee Cups

Espresso coffee cups come in much smaller sizes than a regular coffee cup. There is not, however, any exact standard for the sizes of espresso coffee cups. Often, the only thing separating espresso coffee cups from cappuccino, latte, and every other coffee cup type thing is the manufacturer’s designations. Every single one of these types of cups have little saucers that match the cups.

Why Espresso Coffee Cups Are So Tiny

The reason that espresso coffee cups are so very small in comparison to normal coffee cups is because the espresso that they are intended to hold is a lot stronger than normal coffee. As a matter of fact, espresso generally has about three times as much caffeine as normal coffee. Since how much caffeine is in any cup of coffee is highly dependent on the bean and the manner of grinding, this is just an estimate. If you try various brands and coffee blends, including espresso, you’re sure to get different results from each one.

What Is Espresso?

Espresso is not actually a type of blend or bean, but a method of preparation. Density is the biggest difference between regular coffee and espresso. This incredibly dense and strong coffee comes from forcing pressurized water through fine coffee grounds. Once you see the stuff, which has the consistency of a thin syrup, you understand why most people would not want an entire standard coffee cup of espresso at once.

Can One Cup Coffee Makers Make Espresso?

Although there are some facsimiles, one cup coffee makers can’t really make true espresso. Espresso requires a lot of water pressure, and a one cup coffee maker isn’t really designed for that. An espresso coffee pod will generally fit just fine, it just won’t come out quite right. With K-Cups coffee, you can purchase blends that are labeled as espresso and are stronger than most. Although these solutions will produce stronger coffee, they’re not really worth getting the espresso coffee cups out since you’ll probably still want a regular coffee cup worth of the stuff. ESE coffee pods, ironically, usually don’t work all that well with 1 cup coffee makers, preferring espresso machines with adapters instead.

Want to learn more about espresso coffee cups? Check out Great Coffee Cups.

Let’s imagine, or assume, that you have no coffee maker at all. Considering one cup coffee makers are nearly as common as the more traditional brewers, and they’re not even priced all that differently, you would have to make a decision. Does it make more sense to purchase a one cup coffee maker as opposed to a traditional brewer? Consider these points when making your decision.

Coffee In The Office

At first glance, it seems the only real option in the office would be a traditional coffee brewer, possibly an industrial sized one. A one cup coffee maker just seems like it would be overworked. However, if you really think about the way people drink coffee, this might not be the case. Most people arrive with their coffee cup, or a disposable coffee cups, and take whatever is available, but not everyone. If you have an office of picky types, especially a smaller one, than you might actually save money with the ability to make single cups at a time instead of the “stale” coffee getting thrown out constantly. If this sounds like your office, then a one cup coffee maker will probably be your best option.

The Freshness Factor

A traditional brewer will always lose the freshness contest unless you either throw away every partially used bag, or use everything that you open every day. The 1 cup coffee maker, on the other hand, specializes in this exact situation. Coffee pods are wrapped individually, so opening one won’t affect any of the others. They’re vacuum sealed and have long expiration dates, so you can store quite a few of them as well. Unless your office burns through a package of coffee, the whole thing, every day, a one cup coffee maker will always win this one. The freshness advantage is even clearer at home.

Options When You Want Them

Sometimes, even though you don’t feel like driving, and you really shouldn’t spend the money anyway, you really want some sort of specialty coffee. A one cup coffee maker wins the day here, especially K-Cups coffee and T-Discs. With little to no extra effort, you can make whatever specialty coffee you have on hand. If you’re the type that frequents the coffee shop for just this reason, you can look forward to saving a lot of time and money this way. Employees at work can also take advantage of one cup coffee makers without having to go to a special machine three floors up, or drive to a coffee shop.

The Cost Of A One Cup Coffee Maker

Despite what many seem to think, the price one cup coffee makers aren’t all that expensive when compared to a quality traditional brewer. Sure, office version might cost a bit more in the beginning, but there’s savings to be had down the road. The savings may be even more at home since the initial cost isn’t as much, but the savings might be even more. The best way to really know which will work better for you will be to take these points, in addition to your personal situation, and compare the options.

For more information about coffee cups, check out Great Coffee Cups.

Everyone is trying to save the planet, which is a very good thing. I’m sure we’ll all look back at some point and say, “Wow, and we thought that was enough?” but for now it’s just good to see that “going green” has become a commonly accepted goal of both individual people and businesses. Because of this, some of the most basic items in every business are being reconsidered. Even those that are only interested in saving money are now looking at things differently now that the greener option may also be the cheaper one. Let’s take a look at disposable coffee cups, and see why people even still consider them.

Why Do Fast Food Restaurants Still Use Disposable Coffee Cups?

Disposable coffee cups, for the most part, are purchased by only a few types of businesses: restaurants and, in some cases, offices. When it comes to a fast food restaurant, there’s not much of a choice. Since they can’t expect customers to return coffee cups, they have to give them the product in a container that is expected to be tossed. Unless someone develops a really innovative solution, fast food restaurants will have to continue to operate this way, creating a constant demand for the disposable coffee cup.

Sit-Down Restaurants Could Go Greener, But Is It Worth It To Them?

In sit-down restaurants, however, the main reason they are still used is due to cost. In many ways, this may be a false savings. The price may be cheaper up front, but you’re paying for those disposable coffee cups over and over again where you could, instead, be washing and re-using. However, this would also involve paying someone to wash those coffee cups. Would it be worth it in the end? I suppose that depends on a lot of factors, such as how much you pay your dishwasher, if you use a dish washing machine, and just how much those disposable coffee cups cost you. There’s no doubt, however, that doing away with the disposable cups would be better for the environment.

Why Do Offices Still Use Disposable Coffee Cups?

As a courtesy, many offices, such as lawyers and doctors offices offer free coffee to their visitors. This is, in some ways, similar to the fast food dilemma. Do you expect your clients to bring their own cups, or do you provide them with disposables? In the case of an office lobby, however, the solution is a bit simpler. Because the coffee is free, these offices have no financial stake in whether or not their customers get their coffee. Ironically, removing the disposable coffee cups, and therefore taking steps to help the environment, would probably be seen as rude by their customers.

No Excuse For Offices That Have No Visitors

Is there really a point for offices who don’t see visitors much at all to still have disposable coffee cups on hand? Not only is this wasteful, but it’s expensive, too. There’s no reason that a company can’t provide permanent, washable coffee cups to their employees instead of paying for disposables over and over again, and that’s if employees don’t already have their own cups, as many do who have their own desks. These companies would very quickly see a money savings when they stop ordering disposable coffee cups.

Deidre likes to write articles about cheap coffee cups and customized coffee cups.

Compared to other types of flooring, laminate definitely stands out as being quite durable. There are, though, a few ways in which laminate floors will warp, and a few reasons why. Let’s examine the type of warping that is called peaking. Laminate floors which are peaking look as if they are rising, like there is something coming up from underneath the floor. The resultant effect is a bit disturbing. Some people immediately think there is something wrong with the foundation in their home, or that, somehow, water has gotten under the laminate floor, but this is unlikely.

The Causes Of Peaking

There’s a couple of reasons why your laminated floor could be peaking. You should make it a priority to know exactly why it is happening if you want to fix things correctly. Some make the mistake of assuming that something that caused a friend’s laminate floors to begin peaking is the same reason theirs is. This sort of assumption will cost a lot of time and money.

Peaking Can Be Caused By Lack Of Space For Expansion

Everything around us expands and shrinks, and your laminate flooring is no exception. For this reason, laminated floors should always have the appropriate amount of space at their edges, before the molding. If there is no space, the planks will instead push up against one another. Once there is enough pressure, the planks will begin to rise. Although often minor at first, if this is ignored for a long enough time, a floor can develop a hump or hill.

Fixed Moldings Will Cause Peaking

Even if the planks have plenty of room for expansion, the laminated flooring can’t get to it if the moldings are attached to the ground. This can cause a nightmare as tracking down the secured molding can be difficult. As laminate flooring is supposed to float, meaning remain detached from both the moldings and the subfloor, that one solid point could be anywhere. Amateur installers are especially guilty of this as they sometimes connect their laminate floor to their molding to try to stabilize it while installing and, sometimes, they just don’t know you’re not supposed to do that.

Peaking Can Be Caused By Boards Which Are Longer Than Specified By The Manufacturer

This one only pertains to some manufacturers of laminate flooring, and generally happens the least. When you have one board that is longer than it should be, the effect can be similar to when there is not room enough for expansion. This is an easily avoidable issue, and won’t happen as long as no single plank is longer than the manufacturer recommends. If you didn’t install the floor yourself, though, you may have difficulty finding the name of the manufacturer. Luckily, since this is usually only an issue when there are areas that are 40 feet long or longer, most people can consider this a non-issue unless they have a very big home, or are experiencing peaking in a hallway. But, if you just can’t find where the laminate floor has been fixed to anything, then you might be left with pulling up planks to find manufacturer markings.

Check out Laminate Floor Facts for more information on everything about the laminate floor.