A Spoon for the Small Cup: The Best Demitasse Spoons

A regular teaspoon in an espresso cup looks like a shovel in a teacup. It’s top heavy and can tip the cup on its saucer. A demitasse spoon is simply a smaller spoon for a smaller cup, and it’s one of those inexpensive details that makes after-dinner coffee feel finished.

Size is the thing to get right. Etiquette Scholar, a guide to table settings, says a demitasse spoon is about 3¾ to 4½ inches long, in proportion to the cup and saucer. Plenty of listings run longer than that, and some don’t state a length at all. So we looked first at what each listing says about length, then at steel grade and count.

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Quick verdict: which demitasse spoons to buy

Five demitasse spoons at a glance

Five that suit different coffee habits. Lengths come from each listing, and we flag any that come from a data field.

Our picks for the best demitasse spoons

Which set suits your coffee routine

If you drink espresso daily and wash up by hand or machine, a set of six in 18/10 is plenty, and WMF or Zwilling are the first places to look. If you serve coffee to a table of guests, twelve from Fortessa or Winco makes sense. If you only need a couple for two cups, Mikasa’s four are enough.

Think about your cups before your spoons. A spoon that suits a 2-ounce cup may look short in a cappuccino cup, and a 5-inch spoon may stick out of the smallest ones.

How to choose espresso spoons

Length

The classic range is 3¾ to 4½ inches. Among these picks, Hiware at 4 inches, WMF at 10.8 cm, Zwilling at 11 cm and Winco’s listing at about 4.5 inches sit within it. Sambonet at 12 cm and Fortessa near 5 inches run longer, and they suit a slightly larger cup. Keawell’s listing gives two figures.

Steel grade

Most of these are 18/10, the higher nickel grade, which generally resists rust and keeps its shine better than 18/0. Mikasa and Winco use 18/0, and Hiware doesn’t state its grade. For a spoon that sits in coffee for a moment and then goes in the dishwasher, the gap may matter less than it would for soup or salsa. That’s our own reasoning.

Count

These come in sets of 4, 6 and 12. Six usually covers a home. Twelve only makes sense if you host, or if you’ll also use them for sugar, condiments or small desserts.

Style and matching

If your flatware is Zwilling, the Dinner set is made to go with it. Otherwise, a plain spoon goes with most cups. Decorative handles look nice on a saucer, but they’re one more thing to clean.

Seller

Several of the European makers came through Amazon Germany when we checked. That doesn’t change the spoon, but it can affect shipping time and returns, so read the offer before you buy.

How we picked these demitasse spoons

We looked for spoons sold for demitasse or espresso from makers we could identify, in the size a small cup needs, with Amazon-first brands kept to two. Every pick was in stock with a new lead offer on our final check. We left out bulk packs of 30 to 100, floral novelty spoons, and a second WMF pattern, to keep the list from leaning on one maker.

We have not used any of these, and no review search ran for these spoons, so the page rests on what the makers and listings say. We read Etiquette Scholar’s page on spoons for the classic size.

Demitasse spoon questions, answered

What size is a demitasse spoon?

Etiquette Scholar puts it at about 3¾ to 4½ inches long, in proportion with a demitasse cup and saucer. Many spoons sold under the name run a little longer.

Are espresso spoons the same as demitasse spoons?

In practice, yes. Listings use both words for the same small spoon, and Sambonet also says moka spoon.

What are demitasse spoons used for?

Etiquette Scholar says a demitasse spoon is used when sugar is added to coffee in a demitasse cup. Makers also suggest them for tea, condiments and small desserts, as Mikasa does.

Can demitasse spoons go in the dishwasher?

All of these state that they can. A small spoon can slip through a basket, so a covered section helps, which is our own tip.

Do I need 18/10 for a demitasse spoon?

You don’t have to have it. It’s generally more rust resistant, but a small spoon has an easier life than a soup spoon does. Mikasa’s and Winco’s 18/0 sets are reasonable choices if the price or the count suits you.

Our final pick for the small cup

Our pick is the WMF Virginia set, for its size and its steel. If you still need cups to go with them, our guide to the best espresso cups is the next stop, and the best espresso machine guide covers what fills them. For the rest of the drawer, see the best flatware sets. And if you’d like a meal to go with that coffee, you can call to order from Julia’s Mexican Restaurant.