Bormioli Rocco Este

The 30 cl tumbler is the everyday size: big enough for water or a soft drink with a meal, low enough to stand firmly on the table. The 37 cl is its heavier sibling and is meant for spirits over ice, where the extra volume leaves room for a large ice block without the drink coming over the rim.

With the highball glasses the distinction is clearer. The 29 cl is a slim glass for juice, beer or a short mixed drink. The 49 cl is tall and substantial and is mainly used in bars and cafes for latte macchiato, because only at that size do the layers of milk, coffee and foam really show.

For whisky on the rocks, use one large block instead of a handful of small cubes: less surface area means slower melting and therefore less dilution. For water on the table, the 30 cl tumbler is the glass you top up without thinking, which is exactly the point.

A latte macchiato is built in the 49 cl glass in a fixed order: warm milk first, then foamed milk, and the espresso last, poured gently through the foam. For an Irish coffee, pour the cream over the back of a spoon so it settles as a layer.

The series is made in tempered glass, which lets the rim take knocks better and lets the glasses handle the temperature swings of a dishwasher. That matters especially for the tall 49 cl glass, which stands more vulnerably in the rack because of its height.

Put tall glasses in a separate, deeper rack and keep them from touching. Rinse out hot drinks straight away, because coffee and milk otherwise leave a film that becomes stubborn after a few wash cycles.

The maker's other series are gathered at Bormioli Rocco glasses. If you would rather search by shape than by series, there are the highball glasses, the whisky glasses with a heavier base, and specifically the latte macchiato glasses that the tall 49 cl glass belongs to. For the warm side there are the Irish coffee and the carajillo, and for the classic in the tumbler, the Old Fashioned.