Say Hello to 8 of My Favourite Cups, Glasses and Mugs

Pouring liquid into my mouth is a task that must be performed daily, no matter what. (I don’t like it, but I’ve accepted it.) I consume a wide variety of liquids on any given day, and — while all cup do same trick — certain cups are best suited to certain liquids and I, of course, have some favourites. Let’s take a look.

I have many excellent mugs, but these are my favourites. We have, from left to right: cabbage mug, milk meme mug (which was technically a gift I had made for my boyfriend) and Sneppy (a fan favourite). The cabbage mug has the coziest shape, but the other two are funny in a vaguely off-putting way, and “vaguely off-putting” is my favourite genre of comedy.

If I want a hot espresso — cold espresso goes in different cup, which we will discuss in a moment — I reach for one of these little milk glass teacups, which are the perfect size for a doppio with a touch of half & half. Like a lot of things in my kitchen, they came from my grandmother’s house, and I love them very much. Stark white with a slightly ornate grape pattern, these little teacups are just precious enough.

Aesthetically, these cups are everything I am not — sleek, minimal, elegant — but they are extremely functional. Short and wide (ok so, a little like me), with a low centre of mass and straight sides, these stackable bodega glasses are the most universally useful cup I own. They hold a lot more liquid than one would suspect and the tempered glass can handle both cold and hot beverages.

I mostly use them to consume wine, juice, iced espresso and cocktails with big ol’ rocks, but I have also been known to fill them with hot ginger tea. If you are looking for some chic, multi-purpose, shockingly versatile and well-priced glassware, I cannot recommend them enough.

This wine glass is the most dramatic piece of glassware I own, but that’s not its fault. Originally part of a set given to me and my ex-husband on our wedding day, it is now the last one standing, and I must admit I feel very “divorcée” drinking from it. I use it when I’m cooking (it’s easy to locate amongst a mass of mixing bowls and pans) or taking a bath and wish to cultivate a slightly unhinged, woman-on-the-edge kind of vibe. I don’t think everyone needs this large, dramatic wine glass, but everyone needs a large, dramatic wine glass to swirl and gesture with. (Try it! It’s fun!)

I originally bought this vintage tea glass with a plan to give it to my sister, but I (selfishly) kept it — it is just too perfect. Almost comically large, with a very wide mouth, it has the room to hold a massive amount of ice while also holding a massive amount of tea, because who ever wants a small amount of iced tea? A glass of this size lets you enjoy iced tea with your supper without having to pause to get up for refills. The font is also very good.

Everyone needs a good highball glass (for drinking highballs out of). I like this one because I’m a Leo, and Leos are just like that. It’s a good height — high but not so high it’s unstable — with a sturdy, but not too heavy, base.

For whatever reason, I have purchasing anxiety when it comes to coupe glasses. I’ve never bought one — what if I buy the wrong one? — but a friend gave me this glass when she moved to Mexico, and it’s pretty excellent. I usually don’t like sipping a martini from something as sloped as this — I prefer a rounded, bowl-like vessel — but the sturdy, squat nature of this thing makes it easy to drink from even after you’ve had a few.

Finally, we have the cup that is not a cup: the Bonne Maman jar. Not only are Bonne Maman’s jams and spreads superb, but the jar is a gift all its own. It’s like a less twee Mason jar, very relaxed and casual (and cheap), but vaguely French in its aesthetic. It’s the perfect picnic cocktail glass, an excellent backyard wine vessel and — when you screw the lid on — a neat little to-go cup. One can even drink plain water from it, if you are into being hydrated, an emotion I have never experienced. If you break it, no big deal, that just gives you an excuse to buy more jam (and make jam cocktails). There is no losing with these things.