Caribe coffee cups without handle
April 28, 2013 3:09 PM   Subscribe

Help me replace my mother's beloved Puerto Rican coffee cups.

For decades, my mother has had a set of these white coffee cups without handle, made by a pottery called Caribe in Puerto Rico: picture 1, picture 2, picture 3.

Over time, cups have been lost or broken and now only a couple of cups remain. I want to help my mother replace the lost cups, but trawling eBay and also Etsy every once in a while for the last few months has been without result. Is there any other way I might find these cups?

Or if I can't find identical cups, something very similar would do. We have actually been searching for similar cups for years with little result. Our cups are small but thick, and the handle-less white cups we find are usually bigger or more square-shaped. But something similar must exist somewhere out there?
posted by Bektashi to Shopping (13 answers total)
 
You might want to try the Caribe listenings at Replacements, Ltd. I've replaced handpainted mugs from them before that I was sure nobody would ever have.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:24 PM on April 28, 2013


Best answer: You are looking for "cupping bowls" or bouillon cups. They are common in the coffee industry for doing controlled tastings.
posted by furnace.heart at 3:31 PM on April 28, 2013


This look exactly like the teacups of many a (US-)Chinese restaurant to me. If your town has a Chinese or other Asian supermarket, you might look there for a substitute.
posted by Rash at 3:36 PM on April 28, 2013


Ack, the link didn't post. Bouillon cups on amazon.
posted by furnace.heart at 3:36 PM on April 28, 2013


Those look to be shaped like the custard cups I have in my diner china collection. If you can't find better replacements, not only would restaurant-ware custard cups be visually similar - they'd be affordable and damn near indestructible. Here are some incredibly similar Buffalo China Custard Cups. These are what I have. These are also similar, and called ramekins, but ramekins usually have flatter bottoms though that can be a good search term.
posted by peagood at 3:46 PM on April 28, 2013


Maybe size matters? There's no reference in the photos. How big are these cups?
posted by Rash at 3:47 PM on April 28, 2013


Caribe was made by Iroquois/Sterling. Here's a collector site (not for only this pattern)--you might also try various antique/collectible dealers in San Juan.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:05 PM on April 28, 2013


Rash, unless that lighter is some bizarre size, there is a pretty good reference.
posted by miles1972 at 4:30 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


Maybe too silly, but I find my thick-walled, handle-less Anthora cup very satisfying.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:05 PM on April 28, 2013


This looks identical, but there's only one: Caribe Bouillon Cup.
posted by Houstonian at 8:59 PM on April 28, 2013


Here are a couple of Caribe cups from a seller on Etsy (these are pink and grey but look really similar).
posted by belau at 9:05 PM on April 28, 2013


Navy ships sometimes have cups without handles.
posted by Cranberry at 12:57 AM on April 29, 2013


Response by poster: Thanks for all the help! Armed with the term "bouillon cup" I have found several almost-identical cups (unfortunately all in restaurant supply wholesale stores. I don't think my mother needs three dozen new cups). But this helps a lot!
posted by Bektashi at 9:15 AM on April 29, 2013


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