You must see these.
Sit back and relax, because I want to tell you about something cool. Bodum glasses.
I came across them a few years ago in the Netherlands at an eat-out; I’d ordered a tea after the meal instead of a coffee and the tea turned up in a double wall thermo-glass. It was completely cool on the outside and of course, piping hot on the inside and it looked really smart and modern. I’d never seen anything like it. The tea by the way, was great – but I remembered those glasses and had to look for some for myself. I had to own one.
Why they’re cool
I spend a lot of time behind a keyboard drinking tea and an old problem was letting it get too cold to enjoy. For you it might be accidentally letting your coffee go cold – again. When you’re busy or just plain preoccupied, it’s easy to do and fairly niggling after the umpteenth time.
All too often I’d have to go microwave my tea, after which it never tastes right. Or I’d make another, which is wasteful, which in an age of thinking green, efficient and recycle-everything does give me guilt pangs, which I know is petty but that’s life. So anyway, in a Bodum glass my tea stays hot for much longer than in a ceramic mug and I mostly avoid that old problem now. It’s one of those little quality of life boosters that adds up to putting a smile on my face. It’s neat.
Who makes them
Mine are made by Bodum. This is also the make I first saw in that eat-out; they put a little logo on the base that I took note of for later. It means “bottom” in Dutch, although the design is apparently registered in Switzerland by Pi-Design AG. So, Swiss design rather than Dutch, but either way I’d have expected quality. Both countries do good work. Actually though what’s printed on the base isn’t the real story at all! The roots of Bodum are Danish.
I’m English, so perhaps I can be forgiven for not knowing the company earlier. Bodum is a family company founded by Peter Bodum in Denmark in 1944, which his son Jørgen later moved to Switzerland in 1978. Now strategically placed in central Europe, it went global.
So, that’s where the Swiss connection comes in. Pi-Design is Bodum’s in-house design unit, founded in 1980 with a focus on innovation, functionality and quality. If these glasses are anything to go by, I’d say they’ve clearly had time to get things right.
Here’s a nice lady who takes 30 seconds to explain the basic idea to us:
Where can I buy one?
I bought mine on Amazon.co.uk and they sent them internationally straight to my door. It’s just so much less hassle than searching shops, plus you could easily spend the delivery charge on fuel so the online option just makes sense. I bought more a few years later and took some time looking through the selection before getting more of the same 35cl Pavina glasses.
The Pavina style actually comes in four sizes: 8cl (~2.5 oz), 25cl (~8 oz), 35cl (~12 oz) and 45cl (~a pint or 15 oz). I was given a pair of 45cl glasses as a gift and I fancy they’ll keep a beer cold come summer, but right now it’s winter and I like a large mug’s worth of tea. For anyone not quite as thirsty as me, the 25cl would be the regular size for a tea or coffee and the 8cl shot glasses are for espresso or a small cold drink.
Here are the pictures with links:
Espresso Glasses :
8cl (2.5 oz) Bodum Pavina Double Wall Espresso/Shot Glasses x 6
Small Glasses :
25cl (8 oz) Bodum Pavina Small Glasses x 6
Medium Glasses :
35cl (12 oz) Bodum Pavina Glasses x2
35cl (12 oz) Bodum Pavina Glasses x6
Bodum Pavina Glasses 4 Piece Set (2x 35cl + 2x 8cl)
Large Glasses :
45cl (15 oz) Bodum Pavina Pint Glasses x2
If you need an alternate source, Google is your friend as always. Search term included in the link. But don’t go anywhere, because there’s more.
Caring for your Bodum glasses
I owned my first 35cl Pavina glass for nearly 2 years before breaking it, and I missed it right away. I bought six more to replace it, after which I quickly broke one of those as well. So, five left. Both of my breakages have been during cleaning, so be careful when they’re slippy. You can wash the glasses either by hand or in a dishwasher.
Every day I clean off the scum that my tea leaves behind with warm soapy water and a brush or steel wool, which only takes a few seconds by hand. However, don’t submerge them in a bowl just in case water gets in through the silicon plug in the base. The plug is hydrophobic, which means it repels water, but it can get in under the pressure of submersion.
The manufacturer actually recommends using a dish washer in the user leaflet, so they’re officially dish washer safe. I’ve also read reviews where people would put them in the dish washer too and the hydrophobic silicone plug in the base does a perfect job of keeping the water out. So, there you go.
While dish washers sound fine, if water got in through the plug I wouldn’t know how to get rid of it. Basically, never soak them underwater. Anyway, I do them by hand because that works for me… until I drop them like a fool. Still, fragility aside I love them.
A Simple Quality of Life Enhancement
So there you have it, a great innovation for one of life’s more minor problems. Order them online today and see how good they are!
As always if you have anything to say or want to start a conversation, please leave your comments below.
Enjoy.
Hi there these Bodum glasses look amazing, your article was really in-depth I’m amazed at how long they have been producing these glasses. Do you know if you can buy these pre-engraved for someone as a present and if so when you bought yours did they come in a display case. thanks for all the info
Hi Peter, when I bought mine they were in some smart protective packaging rather than a display case. I didn’t find a pre-engraving option so you’d have to find a local specialist for that. Interesting idea!
Hey there,
I (used to) have a pair of Bodum medium glasses gifted from a friend in Germany until I broke one, just like you, during washing. They are really slippery when you compare to other type of mugs.
I like how it keeps my tea warm throughout breakfast, something that I like to enjoy slowly rather than hurriedly. It’s good to know that I can now get them online, since I have one more glass left.
Hi Cathy, nice to see you. Yes, if Bodum could make the glasses a bit more “grippy”, that would be a help. They use the same type of glass that’s used in labs, it resists thermal shock really well but it’s super smooth and slippery when soapy. When I was a chemistry student I had to be really careful washing the glassware for the same reasons… fortunately I’ve only broken the one 🙂
I’ve been using mugs again recently and I really notice the difference. The Bodum glasses keep tea hot a lot longer, and like you I really appreciate having longer to enjoy it.
I love these glasses. I drink tea all the time and always out of a mug, I think I may have to change my tea drinking habits and experience one of these.
The fact that these keep your drink hot is the added bonus, they look really good too.
Its Bodum glasses from now on!
Hi Charlotte, glad you like them. Just recently I’ve been trying mugs again to remind myself of the difference. Mugs get really hot on the outside and that doesn’t really happen with the Bodum glasses so they’re easier to handle. Anyway, hope you enjoy the glasses as much as I do! They’re really great if you look after them.
I’ve seen these before but they were plastic – I wonder if that makes a difference in keeping the temperature of the drink hot or cold. I had no idea what they were called though so this was a pretty neat article to come across. They are definitely cool and I’m always on the lookout for interesting gifts for adults since I feel like my family already has everything. I’m thinking of getting one of the sets of 6 and giving one to each of them and keeping one for myself (that won’t be for a while though since Christmas is still pretty far away). So thanks for the review – I will definitely be back to purchase some from one of your links to support your website here 🙂 Keep the interesting posts coming!
Hi Donna, glad you like them. I’ve not heard of plastic ones before, but I did pretty much what you said with the glass set of 6 – when I replaced my first glass, I gave some to family and they really like them. My father uses his every day like I do. I will certainly do my best to keep up with the interesting posts. Thanks for your support 🙂
Wow, I’ve never heard of Bodum Glasses before. These things look awesome. I think it’s so cool that they actually keep your drink warm for extended periods of time. Like you, I spend long stretches in front of my computer and my hot beverages get cool within a matter of minutes. I’m going to take your advice and purchase these glasses in hopes that it will finally solve this issue. Thank you so much for the awesome recommendation!!!
Hi Bimmerguy,
Great! I use them every day and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do – and you’re most welcome for the info.
I am also a tea drinker, especially in the winter time. And like you, my tea gets cold quickly while I work on other projects. I think these bodum glasses would be perfect. Actually though I would also want a few of the taller ones for the summer time when we are out on the boat in the hot sun. They would be perfect for a mixed drink or even just soda.
Hi Wendy,
Mhmm, I think you’ll really enjoy them then. I got some of those taller ones and I’m also saving them for cold drinks in the summer, they’re just to big for a hot drink. I guess they’d be ideal for ice cream though, and the outside wouldn’t get too cold either. Plus you can do attractive layering in them… hmm, I think I’m getting hungry and will stop typing now :3
These look like great glasses! I have the coffee going cold problem quite often. (My tea problem is that I boil the water, let it steep, and then forget about it! Bitter tea. Yuck.) Never though of using a glass like this for coffee. I just use regular old coffee mugs. Might be worth a shot.
Hi Rebecca,
Sounds like they’d be the perfect thing then! I use mugs again from time to time but then I keep forgetting how quickly it goes cold, especially in winter. The glasses are just really good. Anyway, hope you grab some and enjoy them. 🙂
HI there,
Those glasses look Uber cool. Defo going to get my hands on them. I never thought of glass like that to keep my coffee warm.
DO you know if they do mugs with handles? I do prefer a mug for my coffee.
Great review. Thank you kindly.
Keep the cool stuff coming.
Hi Derek,
They’re something else, right? I was fortunate to try one out on my first encounter with them and I had the same reaction, I had to buy. As for handles, you know I could go further because mugs have all sorts of personalisations too. I’ve seen some of these glasses with sleeves that are “grippy”. Hang on, I found some with handles… oh I’ll certainly have to look into these myself!
6.5oz: http://amzn.to/1Q13TQ5
13.5oz: http://amzn.to/1Qlh2iF
Reading the reviews for the ones with handles they might be more fragile than the ones without, but they still work great nevertheless. The double walled design is certainly getting popular though for sure. I’m certainly a convert.
Since we’re talking about mugs, I used to use them all the time as well. Oddly I don’t miss the handles any more but I guess it’s been 2 years since I made the change! Anyway I hope you find a good one.
Enjoy,
Cirian.
Oo these are a great idea. I like see through mugs for drinking tea. It feels fancy and I like being able to see the liquid through the glass.
You mentioned that these glasses keep liquids hot longer. My tea/coffee gets cold too quickly in my ceramic mugs, so that’s a really good quality.
Hi Gina,
That’s everything I love about them too, they work great and the looks don’t hurt them either. I’ve never seen them in a shop so I got them online. Delivered straight to my door, easy! Being international wasn’t a problem either, Amazon ships just about anywhere.
Hello,
I am familiar with Bodum and was aware that it is a Euro company. The background about Bodum is interesting and I own a French press and love it. I have not seen the glasses you review here and at first I wondered if they were plastic, but I finally realized they are glass. Glass gives them an extra look and feel of class, I think adding this design feature to the French Press would be helpful when brewing the coffee.
Thank you for introducing this product to me. SherryV
Hi Sherry,
Glad to hear you’re intrigued by them as much as I was when I first saw them. Yes they’re curious because they’re made by hand. How much skill does it take to fold them in on themselves so perfectly like that? A set of the smaller glasses would be delightful with your French press for sure. Very classy indeed, the design always causes a reaction – just like yours 😉
You’re most welcome for the introduction to the glasses, hope you enjoy them. I get a lot of satisfaction out of mine for sure.
Hi Cirian
These just look way smart! I have a problem of always drinking cold coffee because I have 2 young kids and they just demand so much of me. If I make a cup of coffee I usually have to leave it and attend to them without even getting my first sip.
It would be lovely to have a way to keep my coffee warmer for longer.
You mention that they are dishwasher safe but are they also microwave safe? Just checking in case I do have to warm up coffee left for a long time!
Hi Lynne,
Glad to see you. I’ve put them in the microwave plenty of times for the exact reason you mention, they’re totally fine in there. 🙂
This is great – I have the same problem as you (as I’m sure many do) being so busy and then finding that your tea or coffee has gone cold. I am certainly going to invest in these bodum glasses for sure!
Are they easy to wash – can you clean them the same as any other type of glass do you know?
Hi Holly,
Great to hear that you like them 🙂 I’ve been washing them the same as other glasses, by hand with warm soapy water. The maker says they’re dishwasher safe if you have one of those.
I’ve never seen these before! How cool is this. Thanks for such a thorough write-up and more importantly, thank you for the direct links to buy them! Usually when I find something online I find tons of info about it, but then have to search myself to find out where I can actually buy it. So thanks!
Hi Debra,
I know right! I had the same reaction first time I saw them too. Very handy. You’re most welcome for the write-up and links, glad to help.
Hi Cirian,
I like how these glasses make the contents of the glass look like a work of art.
I like how the outside stays cool while the contents remain hot. That is a great feature and helps keep your beverage hot for longer.
I’ll definitely look into purchasing a few for myself.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Ian, you’re most welcome! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.