Nachtmann Noblesse Barista

The 23.5 cl takes a double espresso with foamed milk and still leaves a centimetre free at the rim. The 9 cl is meant for a single or double espresso. With cut glassware, watch above all where the cutting stops: if it runs all the way to the rim, you feel the ridges on your lip with every sip. Here it stops well below halfway up the wall, which drinks noticeably more comfortably. Compare with the smooth versions among the coffee glasses and the cappuccino glasses.

Preheat the glass with hot water and pour it away before you pull the espresso. Crystal glass is thin and absorbs heat quickly, so a cold glass costs you several degrees straight away. Pour the milk in along the wall and add the foam on top only at the end. For the evening, that same espresso is the base of an espresso martini, and in Italy an amaretto sour often stands beside the cup.

Lead-free crystal glass is softer than ordinary glass and therefore scratches more easily. Preferably wash these glasses by hand in lukewarm water with a neutral detergent, or use a short dishwasher programme at a low temperature. Aggressive detergents and high temperatures dull the surface over time, and that dullness never comes back. Dry them with a linen cloth afterwards, so the cutting keeps its sharp shine.

If you want the same cutting in glasses for water, wine or whisky, you will find it in the Noblesse series. The full range from Nachtmann is in the brand overview. And if what you really want is a coffee glass that holds the heat for a long time and stays cool on the outside, the double-walled glasses are the better choice, because they insulate with a layer of air.