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This is John Kennedy's latest trick where you crush a coffee cup making the coffee contents disappear - or change into coffee beans, money, sweets, whatever.

It's a lovely visual trick that can't fail to amuse and impress. Some simple handling is required and you can crush the cup and dispose of it or you can crush it and leave it (casually) for inspection.

You can also perform this routine with a normal coffee cup or mug - or, at least, most kinds.

My favourite routine is to comment on how hot the coffee is (and people see your full cup steaming). I then put it in a takeaway paper bag to drink later. Then say, 'oh, to hell with it' and crush the bag and contents into a small ball which I put in my pocket.

You can also do this with tea, coke, milk - any non transparent liquid

Cost: £39 (not cheap)

You get: The necessary gimmick and a DVD explaining everything you need. It's a short DVD (15 minutes or so) - but does the job.

Ease of use: 1 maybe 1.5 as you need to plan some handling. I was surprised to read on one sales website, how you will need '1 - 2 hours to become proficient'. That's an overstatement (IMHO) - half an hour will be enough for the majority of people.

Summary: A great visual, comedy routine. It's the kind of thing you do casually without any long or dramatic introduction. Easy to do and easy to carry around. A few minutes set up is needed every time, but that's no problem.

Score: 8.5/10. A tad pricey but great value if it suits your style.

thanks for your review

btw Do I need to buy any refills or other supplies???
Can the cup be examined at the end?and giving to the audience for souvenir?

thanks

No refills necessary. It's possible that the 'gimmick' could wear out after many, many performances (hundreds). Yes, you could leave the crumpled cup for inspection, or just put down the empty (normal) cup casually. The DVD shows several finishing routines; they are all quite easy.

You could toss the crumpled cup to someone too (I just thought of that!).

Docked 1.5 pts for the price alone or are there other issues?

Do you need to excuse yourself and casually take the coffee cup to the men's room to prepare?

Or can the necessary saetup be done under the noses of your 'impromptu' spectators?

Pete

Do you have to switch before you allow the spec to examine? Surely you can't just literarlly, immediately hand them the crumpled cup? Do you have to palm the entire cup?

You need a minute to set up but you can do that whilst your fiddling at the sugar, napkin, spoon counter. You can't do it with someone watching closely. Best if you have your cup of coffee ready and you do the trick impromptu sometime during your routine.

If you want to spring it on people at a coffee bar (or at a business/committee meeting as I have done), you need a minute to get ready - but you can do that while you are getting, sugar, milk etc at a time when noone is watching you. In the (admittedly few) times I have done this, I have my coffee in my hand and I sip it naturally for a while before I do the routine. So far (in my 3 outings!), my build up has been along the lines of, "don't think much of this coffee" or "I've had enough caffeine" and then look around as if wondering what to do with my three-quarter full cup. I then bung it in a paper bag as if I'm going to take it away) and then crumple the bag into a small bundle and put it in my pocket or case - then start to do something else.

You can show the crumpled cup or just leave it lying somewhere. The dvd shows a few different endings.

I'm considering buying this but still unsure about something.

Waldorfcartoons wrote:You can show the crumpled cup or just leave it lying somewhere. The dvd shows a few different endings.

Show it or let them touch it and peer inside? If they're think it works in the way that I'm thinking, then they'd expect to see something rather obvious when they look inside!

There are a variety of handling routines (all quite straightforward - easy, in fact) depending on the outcome you want. You don't crush a real / china mug for example. Crushing and disposing is only one option. You can change the coffee/tea, whatever into coffee beans, money, sweets....

You can, if you wish, 'vanish' the coffee and put the empty cup crushed, or uncrushed back on the table. It'll be completely empty (apart from two or three drops of coffee perhaps).

I can't say much more without playing the dvd!

Just got this and it should be lots of fun. The gimmick is just what you'd expect, but made to a very high quality.

The only bit that disappointed me was the mention of a "Greg Wilson routine". I love Greg's stuff and was really looking forward to this, but it's just a few words on the screen describing what Greg does (not the clip I'd expected) and even this is just a small variation on the other methods presented on the DVD.

Outrageously expensive in terms of material/ £
Charmingly inexpensive in terms of fun+effect on spec/ £

Hitherto best specs:
bishops, high executives, politicians who generally are too busy at a meetings to be approached proposing to perform a trick. But if you say "Ourageous, how dare they serve this horrible coffee at a place like this" they will give you a second of attention. And, next time they see you they will approach you saying "Can you do that coffee thing you did to me to ....."
I was a boy scout 65 years ago so I do not have to cite Obama: yes we can. I am prepared!

Best liquid: hot coffee that gives of vapor
Cheapest coffee source: any human vendor you will not be charged
Most expensive coffee source: coffee automat you will have to pay

Preparation is never a problem with this trick.

Kaarlo von Freymann Helsinki Finland

does this trick have to be performed in a "coffee" cup or could it be performed with a solo cup, colored platic up etc? Assume it can also be used with coke as apposed to just coffee? Thanks.

My main problem with this effect is that the only place you are going to get to perform this without arousing suspicion is in a coffee chain - or similar - where drinks are served in large paper cups... nice effect though.

Would be possible to use this as the 'closer' for CSI (coffee shop illusion)?

Answered it myself - have bought Mojoe. I like it - as I enter coffee houses regularly it could get some use!