Greg and Dave are mean.

Very mean.

Seriously. I think it’s cruel and unusual punishment that these guys are releasing this next volume of Coffee Conjuring one. Stinkin’. Trick. At. A. Time. Really, is this how you treat your fans? You TORTURE them?

Every trick has been spot on so far, and to me, this is pretty much a mini-act and valuable little lesson in misdirection for new magicians.

TL;DR - GET THIS TRICK!!!

Ok for those of you who didn’t stop at the TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read), here are some more details on what’s great (and what’s not) about this trick.

Is the trick everything it seems in the demo? Yes. The demo is very accurate. A critical part is edited out, but that’s only fair. When I watched the full performance, I could immediately see how the trick was done. The cut out section is literally only a couple seconds though. IMHO, this was a very fair demo.

Will this trick work as good as it seems? To be honest, not many can perform like Greg. He has a casual, fun way of getting everyone excited and make you feel like he’s coming along for the ride. Compliments aside, yes, the trick is as good as it looks. In real life, this will kick your spectators’ butts. Warning though: I think this trick has the potential to be a little lackluster if you can’t perform. Lesson: practice, practice, practice. Study Greg’s patter and how he generates excitement. He’s a natural.

No thumb tip? Really? Yes! This is the big thing that made me HAVE TO get the trick. Even though I figured out 95% of the trick on the first time watching the demo, there was one tiny part I couldn’t figure out. How he got the sugar in the cup. I easy saw WHEN it happened. I knew it happened. But I was so confused because the method wasn’t clear to me. (Now that I know the method, Facepalm.) The more of these Coffee Conjuring tricks I see, the more I’m seeing how Greg thinks outside the mug. (See what I did there?)

Is this a magician fooler? A tad maybe. Some yes, some no. But does it really matter? If your spectators freak out, who cares what your magic friends think?

Gimmicks? Arts and crafts? Not really. I mean there is are two gimmicks (if you even call them that) you make. But it’s about 10 or 20 seconds of work with something that will be readily available at Starbucks. If you’re concerned about prep time spent at the prep bar (so that’s why they call it that! Haha!), take the items needed into the restroom to set up. Like I said, it’ll take maybe 10 or 20 seconds tops.

Sleights? No fancy moves. There is one quick move you do, but nothing complicated or unnatural.

Beginner friendly? Yes. You’ll look like David Blaine. Just practice please so your confidence won’t slow you down from hamming it up. This is a simple trick. The real trick is in turning it into a true show with your presentation.

Impromptu? No. See the previous paragraph. But it’ll seem impromptu to the spectator. 😉 it’s really not that bad.

Walk around? No. I mean you are not stuck at a table, but you will need to reset by preparing new gimmicks. Think of this as a single grand finale (or not) coffee store act. You’ll do this once.

Is this something for real life or just for the interwebs? Both! There are no sensitive angles. This will perform great!

Any special lighting? Daytime would probably be better or at least a well lit area since you are dealing with sugar obviously. But as long as the sugar is easily visible, the scene doesn’t matter much.

How’s the teaching? As usual, very sufficient. I’m glad to see Dave doing a little more on the teaching than some of the other tricks I’ve recently reviewed. Greg casts a big shadow and it’s nice to see Dave peeking a little bit out of it now. Great job teaching from both of them.

How’s the price? Great! This product is priced just right. Honestly, it’s a deal. I could see me getting this for $9.95 and still being very happy.

Should I get this? Um. YES. Did you not read my review? Haha kidding. Yes I think you’ll like this trick. The only ones who might be disappointed are people who could figure this out after seeing the whole performance. If you’re advanced, you’re likely able to reverse engineer this. I got it because it said no thumb tip. If you can already do similar this without a thumb tip, perhaps you don’t need this. But it’s priced low, so why not support our starving magicians anyway? 😊

In conclusion, I loved this trick! I’m awarding this 4.5 stars. (I reserve 5s for extremely visual “magical” magic tricks. A good trick like this though makes me question if I should hold back. So officially this is a 4.5. But if the Brews Brothers want to round this number up, I’m not gonna complain!)

Get this trick. It’s nice to come away with something fun that you’ll perform!

By the way, I always try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician. If you appreciate my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did this review help you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it would be nice to see if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions or comments or questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm just trying to be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my own product. :-) Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind) feedback.
3 of 3 magicians found this helpful.

I’m really looking forward to performing this one! I feel very confident after watching the instructional video and even have a few ideas of my own to really customize it to my style. The method is new to me and a big relief to know a thumb tip was not being used. I love the psychology of this effect and the potential for comedy. What’s especially nice is that that comedic potential doesn’t detract from the illusions ability to kill. This has been well thought through and, as I said above, I can’t wait to add this one to my repertoire.

My only nit-picky gripe about it is I wish there was at least one more demonstration performance. I feel it’s helpful to see different reactions and interactions to help with patter and really nail down the psychology discussed in the method explanation. Certainly not a deal breaker (or even a star remover). 5 stars all the way!

Big shout out to Greg and Dave's reworking of this fabulous David Williamson routine! I've performed Williamson's version in Comedy Clubs and it is truly wonderful. It gets GREAT reactions.

In the demo when Greg has the spectator stand on the chair that is a HUGE attention-getter that I learned from Brent Braun's great book, "Plots, Ploys and Other Cons." Don't leave that out!

Greg's substitute for the sugar transfer gimmick is AWESOME!

Highly Recommended! WOW!

I love Greg. Who doesn't? But this can't be one of "his most favorite effects."
David Williamson's version is fine.
Greg's theater of encouraging a spectator to stand on a chair, then get higher, higher...is fun.

But the amount of sugar that "travels" just doesn't seem worth it. I guess a routine of sugar packet magic can include this effect. And I like moving magic away from the bar to the wholesome coffee house.

I wanted something more to travel but we'dd had enough of cards, bills, coins traveling to impossible locations.
Repeating, a cup FULL of sugar would be cool. I'll have to come up with that one.

I was disappointed within two minutes of watching the instructions because they show the trailer performance again, where the boy cleans out the cup, but this time they actually show it for a few more seconds and the move was obvious to me - a move that was edited out of the trailer (when the scene cuts at 21 seconds). The magician actually does go near the cup again after it's cleaned out. I was hoping for something more mechanical, like a shake-release, or a tilt-release, built into the cup.

So happy they released this on straight forward quality magic

Pros: It takes place in spectator's hands, clean vanish with no ditching

Cons: Will require some practice to get timing right, setup needed

Overall, I really liked this effect. I think if you pick this up you are going to have fun with it.

Super easy to learn with a massive impact. BUT, what I really love about the video (besides the fact that they waste no time offering clear instruction) is the enthusiasm Greg models during the performance. I'm going to try to channel my inner Wilson going forward. Magic, if anything, should be super fun in how amazing it is and Greg reminds us all of that in his performance of this effect.

First thing you'll hear is, "No way!!" and, "Where did that come from??" That's what I heard the half dozen times I performed this for my buddies and family.

Depending upon your style of performing, if you like to get attention from surrounding tables then this is the one trick guaranteed to do exactly that. You'll be doing this over and over for every table in the restaurant or banquet or backyard BBQ or whatever venue in which you perform.

Add this to your other coffee tricks from Greg because it seamlessly fits right in. In fact, with all of Greg's coffee tricks, you could do a whole 30 minute stand-up show if you wanted. They're that good.

Don't pass this one up. Add it to your cart now and start performing it in 30 minutes.

A lot of thought has gone into this very simple routine. Some of the most clever moves I have seen in a long time.