For  the Launch of Espresso di Manfredi by Piazza Doro in 2000, Stefano Manfredi and Julie Manfredi Hughes commissioned Rod Bamford, one of Australia’s most highly regarded ceramic artists, to design a set of cups to reflect and accompany the Manfredi espresso experience.

Using the Italian café tradition to define the volumes, Bamford set out to create an espresso cup, a cappuccino cup and a latte beaker. Manfredi believed the café latte in particular required a return to the drinking of the latte from a traditional porcelain footed beaker.

“Everything involved in the experience of drinking our coffee says something about our  culture- from the location and style of the café to the drink itself. Like plating up food in a restaurant, the cup your coffee comes in is of great significance to your experience. Our intention is that when people order Espresso di Manfredi, they will always be served a great coffee and  that they will enjoy  the café   experience  as well”, says Stefano Manfredi.

The Cup Suite by Ceramica di Manfredi is a high quality hard white porcelain suite of cups and beakers featuring the innovative Universal Saucer (one saucer for all the cups in the café- space saving, efficient and cost effective) and the Espresso Beaker and Latte Beaker . The addition of the Tazzalta Mug came later due to café  demands for a larger coffee-drinking vessel and adheres strictly to the volumes of a double espresso.

The process of creating The Cup Suite  was a detailed and lengthy task that began with Rod Bamford making the prototypes by hand and rendering in digital and cad format . Bamford  worked hands on with the global  manufacturing factory process in a developemental and teaching capacity, whilst constant attention to quality control is maintained by Manfredi Enterprises. The Cup Suite by Ceramica di Manfredi is subject to international design registrations and patent .

In 2004 to celebrate the first  5 years of Espresso di Manfredi  by Piazza D’Ooro , artist and rock legend Reg Mombassa was commissioned to produce an original  decal for the  cafe latte beaker for the first  Artist Cup Collection

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Espresso di Manfredi by Piazza D’Oro, Vince Frost and his team at Frost* design were commissioned to produce anniversary  artwork for the Tazzalta Mug and theUniversal Saucer. The new design uses bold, typographic treatment, reminiscent of the text based works of Rosalie Gascoigne. The art has also been applied  to new packaging and  across a range of café accessories.