The Little Dipper: Rainbow (Single)

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THE RAINBOW SPOON STORY

I’ve always had a fraught relationship with cupping. (Being corrected on tasting notes, embarrassed, not knowing what bergamot tastes like.)

So I wanted rainbow cupping spoons, to disarm something that scared me. The spoons remind me that I can be myself - femme, biracial, bisexual, kinda sensitive, more collaborative than competitive - and also do my job and taste coffee. All those things are possible at once!

Umeshiso got its start when I realized a lot of other people felt how I felt. A lot of folks started asking for rainbow spoons,so I started mailing them out to anyone who asked. Many who asked were BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), nonbinary and trans folks, disabled folks, women, femmes, and of course everyone holding multiple marginalized identities.

After sending out 75 spoons, I could no longer afford to provide them for free! But I wanted to keep doing it. So I made this shop, where I offer my spoons on a sliding scale. Just choose the price that is comfortable for you.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I think we’re all in this together, cupping the rainbow.

(And yes, these cupping spoons are also perfect for ice cream, cereal, soup, and anything else you can eat with a spoon!)

QUESTIONS ABOUT 🧮 SLIDING SCALE , 📦 SHIPPING, 📏 SPOON DIMENSIONS, OR 🤔 WHAT THE HECK IS CUPPING? PLEASE READ ON!
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🧮 SLIDING SCALE: Everything on my webshop is priced on a sliding scale. Just choose the price that is comfortable for you. My goal is to make each item as accessible as possible, to folks from all different parts of the coffee industry. It works because the community observes the honor system: those who are able to pay more make it possible for others with less resources to pay less.
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📦 SHIPPING: CURRENTLY SHIPPING TO US AND CANADA ONLY. This is due to major USPS service disruptions affecting international shipments. I hope to have international shipping back online when I'm able to manage it and guarantee a good customer experience. Thank you for your understanding!

Every order is hand-packed with care by me, Umeko, in my home in Kansas City, MO. I usually spend Mondays and Tuesdays packing orders, and ship out on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Umeshiso a one-person operation with a lot of projects, so at times I may not be able ship orders the exact day planned. If you have any questions at all about shipping times, please email me directly at umeko (at) umeshiso.com.
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📏 SPOON DIMENSIONS: Umeshiso carries two styles of cupping spoon: the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.

The Big Dipper is longer and lighter weight with a wider, flatter bowl. It has dual functionality and works great for both skimming and slurping.

The Big Dipper Specs

Weight: 44 - 46g
Handle Length: 5.5 in / 14 cm
Bowl Diameter: 2 in / 5 cm
Bowl Depth: 0.25 in / 0.6 cm

The Little Dipper is shorter, with a heavier weight and deeper bowl. It's great for long-haul cupping tables because the deeper bowl prevents spillage.

The Little Dipper Specs

Weight: 56 - 58g
Handle Length: 4.5 in / 11.5 cm
Bowl Diameter: 1.9 in / 4.8 cm
Bowl Depth: 0.5 in / 1.1 cm
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🤔 WHAT IS CUPPING?

What is cupping? It’s a way to evaluate coffee quality. Cupping is favored by coffee professionals because it’s an easy way to taste multiple coffees at once. But anyone can do it!

If you’d like to cup at home, you just need one or more coffees, a cupping spoon, and a few uniform-size cups in the 6- to 8-oz range.

Add 12 grams of ground coffee to each cup and pour hot water directly onto the grounds, filling the cup all the way to the top. An aromatic crust of coffee grounds will form on the surface. After four minutes, break the crusts with a cupping spoon. Then use the cupping spoon to dip into the coffee, which you slurp from the spoon.

It sounds totally weird but - well, yes it is totally weird. But fun! If you have never cupped before, I recommend checking out an online article or video tutorial - luckily there are tons! Just do a google search for "how to cup coffee".

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Follow me on Insta if u want:

@umeshiso_ (all things coffee)

& @wastingcoffee (all things coffee sustainability - but funny)

For coffee education, check out the blog: https://umeshiso.com/blog
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Thank you!
🌈💕🕊
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Product photography by Morgan Eckroth / @twopartscoffee