Barista Exchange

the world's premiere online community for the specialty coffee industry

We recently bought a little over a dozen 16oz Porcelain proGrade sengWare mugs from visions espresso to decide if they were the answer to our seemingly endless mug search (16oz well shaped mugs are hard to find!). But after 2 weeks of use, over half of the mugs are already chipped in multiple places around the rim. We don't seem to be extra hard on them, just normal cafe use and washing. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas or advice ?

Tags: chipped, cups, mugs

Share

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I have had mine for 2 years and only chipped one. Out right broke a dozen, they don't do well when hitting concrete! We hand wash, no dishwasher here, so I can't speak to that.

Reply to This

Out of several dozen 12 oz. SengWare mugs, I've lost about five to chipping. I've lost more to outright breaking. Niagara stuff (they bought out the Buffalo line of diner china) has a five year chip guarantee, I sure wish they made the right stuff for coffeehouses! We use their plates, they're great.

Reply to This

We used sengWare in our shop for two years without more than an occassional chip.

Reply to This

We had some sengWare cups... yeah they chipped too. BUT they recently beefed up their ceramic! sengWare is having them made somewhere else now, as I believe I was told by Visions at Coffeefest last month. They definitely felt, and looked, more sturdy. Maybe someone else will come along with a review of the new sengWare stuff soon... Hope this helps.

Reply to This

Yes, we got ours from them at coffee fest and they are supposed to be the new, more durable, chip resistant model. Maybe we should find a stock of the old version that everyone has done well with :(

Reply to This

We have been using sengWare for about 2 years in our cafe. I have had only 2-3 mugs chip. Usually staff breaks them while washing or something else.

Reply to This

Try contacting them?

Reply to This

It's not you. Evidently the company changed its claybody and cups are not properly vitrified. I have gone through more than a dozen cases in the past six months. Today we opened a box of four and all four were chipped within hours. Visions replaced a number of them, but with more of the same. I am actively trying to find new cups/saucers. Very frustrating.....

Reply to This

carma have you had any luck with finding new mugs? Our second case is now completley broken and there is no way i'm ordering more!

Carma said:
It's not you. Evidently the company changed its claybody and cups are not properly vitrified. I have gone through more than a dozen cases in the past six months. Today we opened a box of four and all four were chipped within hours. Visions replaced a number of them, but with more of the same. I am actively trying to find new cups/saucers. Very frustrating.....

Reply to This

I've lost quite a bit of Sengware cups due to chipping (when washing) and dropping them. Also, one time I had a whole shipment of cups arrive chipped or with broken handles...but the company made good by shipping replacements. I am currently looking for a "thicker" alternative, but can't find any that have the 'vibrant' colors that Sengware has....

Has anyone discover a vendor that has thicker, colorful (yellow, red, etc.) cups? Please advise... Thanks!

Reply to This

There was a company at SCAA that had VERY nice cups in a variety of colors. They were in the hall next to the Barista Competition. Does anyone remember who they were?

Reply to This

I use to use Seng Ware that I bought from Visions up in Seattle and had the same problem. I know they have discontinued selling it. Maybe because of that fact. Anyways I switched over to Rattle Ware which I bought from ESI also in Seattle. It is a little more costly but we use it in a high volume atmoshphere and have never chipped one yet. Broken a couple but that's normal. I know it's a little late since you already purchased it but for future reference I guess. Good Luck!!

Reply to This

Reply to This

RSS

Sign in

E-mail

Password
 or Sign Up
By signing in, you agree to the amended Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Forgotten your password?

Latest Activity

Joseph and Ryan Calderon are now friends
9 minutes ago
lemme throw you a couple observations from my first month of being open: 1) i bought a 3 group LM GB/5 used, cause it was a good deal and in good condition. my initial plan was to buy a new 2-group linea and PID mod it, but the used GB/5 was cheape…
32 minutes ago
it IS an explicit requirement by the north carolina health department, at least, and i think it applies in other states. brady you may have not had a health inspector tell you that, but it is in the regulations. any cloths used for wiping surfaces h…
1 hour ago
Gord Doucette and Ruth Hall are now friends
1 hour ago
1 hour ago
Brady, thank you for the response. You made a great point about the opening week needing the higher capacity. I would imagine the opening week, as a first impression, would be critical in putting a shop's best step (and product) forward to encourag…
1 hour ago
For spectacle and build quality there is nothing to match the KVDW
1 hour ago
I believe your conclusion is correct. If your growth and profitability curves match most cases that I'm aware of, you'll be less able to afford equipment after 1 year than you are before you open. Buy good quality equipment at the start that will me…
2 hours ago
Agreed, it is best as a subtle hint to complement another flavor. I like pairing it with a nut flavor, caramel, or vanilla... but only in levels that do not totally overwhelm the coffee. If you have a softer apple flavor available, it is a nice comp…
2 hours ago
Totally agreed. KvdW + LM all the way.
2 hours ago
I understand the philosophy, and know that some shops do this, but this doesn't seem to me to be an appropriate use of the sanitizer. Remember that Quats is a sanitizer, not a cleaner. Sanitizer is meant to sanitize solid surfaces that are already…
2 hours ago
Mike Morand added a discussion
I was reading through some business plan literature and an example of a business that planned to buy smaller-capacity equipment, a lower-quality register system, etc with plans to purchase higher capacity and quality equipment in the future as the c…
2 hours ago
AJ Barish and Travis Ring are now friends
3 hours ago
Is there some consensus on a preferred method for cold tea prep? I would imagine the product is different with each method, but is there a majority and minority camp? Just curious.
3 hours ago
Alex Lens added a blog post
39th wedding anniversary gift ideas Last night a crew of volunteers at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) successfully tracked Santa over the span of 31 hours as he crossed the globe at speeds up to 2,326,413 miles per hour. Consid…
3 hours ago
Alun, are these the hills you will be tramping over next month? The hills you are inviting us to join you on? I'm getting short of breath thinking of the 38C temp and 98% humidity. [If I was 30 years younger...] I just noticed our neighbour over the…
4 hours ago

bX Job Postings

Jobs

Post a Job! $10 for 30 days

Click here to order your Barista Exchange T-Shirt!

© 2009   Created by Matt Milletto

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service

Sign in to chat!