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Material’s New Glassware Review 2022: Instantly Elevate Your Everyday Sipping

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My best days are bookended by my two favorite beverages: coffee and wine. (Notice how I said my best days and not every day? Wink.) So, why are these two my non-negotiable beverages? Well, although very different in taste and function, both drinks share two essential qualities: They’re totally delicious and they both require somewhat of a ritual in preparation. Just as heating water, grinding coffee, and prepping my french press is an enjoyable and meditative opening to my day, chilling wine and uncorking the bottle by hand feels like a grounding closure.

My favorite part about both my morning and nighttime rituals is that mellow moment where my beautiful beverage is sitting in its cup, ice cubes clinking together, perfectly prepared and poured, just waiting for me to take a sip. This is where my choice of glass enters the picture. The vessel from which I drink can truly make or break the experience. I prefer a glass that feels special: something lightweight, elegant, durable, and safe from my tendency to knock things over. However, it wasn’t until I tried out Material’s new glassware that I realized it’s possible to own a glass that’s worthy of any and all liquids — water, wine, juice, coffee, you name it.

You may have read me or my Kitchn colleagues sing Material’s praises in the past. The DTC brand has perfected the art of form-meets-function when it comes to kitchen essentials by blending tradition, high-quality materials, and thoughtful design. And, just like their widely-acclaimed reBoard and table knives, it seems Material has hit the nail on the head once again with their all-new glassware. The glasses are available in two sizes, as a Full Glass Set and a Half Glass Set. While I find myself reaching for both sizes frequently, there’s no doubt that in practice the Full size is the most versatile (and prettiest) piece of glassware I’ve ever owned.

As you can see, the glasses are designed with superior elegance in mind, with two half domes meeting to form the base and stem of the glass. I find myself feeling fancy sipping anything, even when I’m just trying to hit my daily H2O quota. The unique shape allows for ample volume (important for those larger glasses of wine after a long day) and the gorgeous pieces are easy to stack — a bonus for those of us with minimal cabinet storage.

Form aside, let’s chat function. There’s one key element that sets these glasses apart from the rest of my drinkware arsenal: They’re crafted from borosilicate glass. While I do exclusively drink iced coffee, if I ever want to drink hot tea, cocoa, or pour my hot coffee in the glass before adding ice, I never have to worry about cracking, bursting, or breaking the cup. I love that despite the delicate, thin walls, these things are practically as strong as the Pyrex dish I use to bake brownies in. Because I use them so frequently and they’re so dang durable, I can toss them in the dishwasher care-free. (There’s nothing more bothersome than hand-wash-only glassware, if you ask me!)

The glasses just launched on Material’s site yesterday and they’re eligible for the brand’s early Black Friday discount (just pop in the discount code SETTHETABLE to save $13 a set when you order). If you enjoy drinking in style, I seriously couldn’t recommend these stunners more. Because they’re versatile enough to hold any of your favorite beverages and seamlessly blend into a bunch of different decor styles, I also think they’d make a stellar gift for a design-minded friend, a wine enthusiast, or a first-time-apartment-owning loved one. Just make sure you get yourself a set, too, while you’re at it!

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