Ice Cream Cup & Spoon

Stainless ice cream cup & spoon · Oxide coloring · Nakano Kagaku · Tsubame, Niigata

The geometry of a classic coffee shop, in stainless steel
The silhouette recalls the tall, narrow ice cream cups of Japan's classic kissaten — the old-style coffee shops that peaked in the mid-twentieth century and have never quite gone away. The form is familiar. The finish is not: oxide coloring technology applied by Nakano Kagaku gives the surface a color that no paint or dye could produce — structural, stable, and entirely safe in contact with food and mouth.

Ice cream cup & spoon — Black · shown with pudding

What goes in the cup
Ice cream is the obvious use — a scoop sits well in the tall cylindrical form. Beyond that: pudding, panna cotta, mousse, or any dessert that benefits from individual serving. The cup also works for small savory portions — olives, nuts, or amuse-bouche at an aperitif. The stainless construction keeps cold things cold longer than ceramic or glass.

Polished in Tsubame-Sanjo
The spoon is mirror-polished by craftspeople in Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata — Japan's foremost cutlery manufacturing region, known internationally for the precision and quality of its metalwork. The mirror finish produces a smooth surface at the point of contact with the mouth. The weight and balance are considered: enough heft to feel substantial, light enough to use without effort.

Five colors — two finishes
The color is produced by oxide coloring: by controlling the thickness of the naturally occurring transparent oxide film on the stainless surface, different wavelengths of light are reflected or cancelled. The result shifts subtly with the angle of view — the same physics as a soap bubble — and does not fade, peel, or degrade under UV exposure.

White — a silky matte finish, developed using a proprietary surface treatment by Nakano Kagaku.
Silver, Black, Gold, and Rose — mirror finish, with a luminous surface that reflects cleanly.

Left to right: Black · White · Silver · Gold · Rose