Bormioli Rocco Easy Bar

The difference between the two sizes lies in what you pour into them. The 32 cl tea glass has room for a bag left to steep and for fresh mint with hot water over it. The 22 cl cappuccino cup is lower and wider, so milk foam can form a layer of an inch or two without running over the rim. Also look at the quantity: twelve per box is the standard in hospitality; at home that is often too many and you are better served by the tea glasses. To see the whole line, go to Bormioli Rocco.

Don't pour tea to the brim but to about two centimetres below it, so you can still pick the glass up by the top. For cappuccino, pour the steamed milk in a steady stream along the inside wall and only bring the foam up at the very end. Both shapes also work well for coffee cocktails: an Irish coffee needs a glass that holds heat, and a carajillo has plenty of room in the tea glass. In a professional set-up they usually stand ready on a tray.

Easy Bar is made of tempered soda-lime glass, which means the rim has had a heat treatment and therefore takes knocks better than ordinary glass. Every piece is dishwasher safe. Stand them upright and not nested, because warm glass wedged inside warm glass can be hard to separate. Let the glass cool down before pouring iced water into it.

If you want something for cold drinks rather than hot, the tumblers are a more logical starting point, because they are built around ice and not around keeping heat in. If you want to stack in the cupboard to save space, look at the stackable glasses, where you will find the shapes that nest. And for coffee in a glass with visible layers of milk and espresso, the cappuccino glasses are ready and waiting.