11.11.11
ESPRESSO YOURSELF
Selfridges reveals our obsession for downsizing has reached new heights (or rather lows) as sales of espresso cups overtake those of traditional mugs for the first time
Pip Studio’s pink espresso cup and saucer £10.95, available from Selfridges
Selfridges, the world’s best department store reveals that our obsession
for downsizing has found its way into the kitchen cupboard, as sales of
espresso cups overtake traditional mugs for the first time, selling twice
as many as their loftier counterparts.
Sales of espresso mugs measuring just five centimetres (half the size of the humble mug) are currently double on the year (2011 compared to 2010) at Selfridges’ stores nationwide and online, as Brit’s become a nation of Italian coffee drinkers. Selfridges’ best selling espresso cups include Pip Studio’s cup and saucer £10.95 and Le Creuset’s mini espresso mug £7.95.
Whereas ten years ago, a kitchen wouldn’t have been considered functional without a kettle, today’s culinary work surface isn’t considered complete without a sophisticated coffee machine. Selfridges’ coffee machines which start from £125 for Lavazza’s Saeco A Modo Mia in retro orange, and rise to £1,995 for Jura’s Aluminium Impressia Z7 which turns your daily coffee routine into a spectacular event, are currently trading 20% up on the year (2011 compared to 2010). Lavazza is the retailer’s best selling brand, celebrating sales over 85% on the year (2011 compared to 2010).
Christopher Gardner, Buying Manager Cookshop and Dining said: “While the world believes we are a nation whose lives revolve around the great British cup of tea, our sales show clearly that we're becoming a land run on coffee. With espresso cups outselling tea mugs for the first time, and sales of Italian coffee machines on the rise, our customers are becoming real coffee aficionados searching out single estate beans and snapping up the paraphernalia needed to create barista quality coffee at home.”