Double-walled glasses

Start with the capacity, because that is where it usually goes wrong. An espresso is 25 to 30 millilitres and looks lost in a large glass, so reach for 6.5 or 8.5 cl instead. A cappuccino sits well at 11 to 15 cl, a regular coffee or a cup of tea at 22 to 30 cl. A latte macchiato with three visibly separated layers needs at least 34 cl, otherwise the milk and the coffee run into each other. The 38 to 40 cl sizes are meant for iced coffee, iced tea and long drinks.

The second question almost everyone asks is about handles. This range includes a 32 cl mug with a handle, but most models do without one, and that is a deliberate choice: the outer wall simply never gets hot enough to need one. If you do want something to hold on to, look at the mug or at an espresso glass that sits on a stainless steel saucer. Finally, pay attention to the wall thickness. Borosilicate glass is thin and remarkably light, and it is precisely that thin wall that makes the floating effect so striking.

Pour hot drinks in gently, keeping the stream in the center rather than against the wall. A double-walled glass can easily withstand boiling water, but a concentrated stream of hot liquid directed at one spot is never advisable with thin glass. For tea, fill it to about one or two centimeters below the rim, so you can still pick up the glass without spilling.

The coffee itself deserves attention. Brew an espresso immediately after grinding, because in a small glass you can smell the crema much more strongly than from a thick cup. Build a latte macchiato by first pouring in the frothed milk and then letting the espresso slowly sink through it; the difference in density does the rest. And because these glasses insulate cold drinks just as well, you can also enjoy an Irish coffee or an espresso tonic without the ice melting immediately.

Borosilicate glass owes its heat resistance to the boron trioxide in the mix: it barely expands when temperatures change, so a crack caused by a sudden switch from cold to hot is rare. Strong in the sense of tempered catering glass, however, it is not. The walls are thin, and a knock against the tap or a spoon dropped into the sink is enough.

They are dishwasher safe on a short glassware cycle, as long as they are not touching each other. If you see moisture between the two walls after washing, water has got in through the small vent hole in the base. Stand the glass upside down somewhere warm and let it dry for a day; it will disappear by itself. Limescale streaks polish away with a lint-free cloth.

If you are looking for single-walled glassware for the same drinks, you are just one click away. The coffee glasses category is the broad category that this page falls under, and within it, the latte macchiato glasses and cappuccino glasses are sorted separately by size. If you mainly drink tea, take a look at the tea glasses, which also includes models with handles. For cleaning narrow, tall glasses, glass brushes are more convenient than a dish brush, because with a regular brush you cannot properly reach the bottom of a 40 cl glass.