Pasabahce

With Pasabahce, pick a series first and a size second, because the lines are designed to set a whole table. Timeless is the relief line with vertical ribs: wine glasses of 32 and 33 cl, a flute of 17.5 cl, a coupe of 16 cl, a long drink glass of 30 cl and a water jug of 1.4 litres, partly also with a gold rim. Elysia is rounder and softer in line and runs up to a gin and tonic glass of 50 cl. Casablanca and Tribeca are the tea lines, with glasses from 25 to 40 cl, sometimes with a matching saucer.

On size, the usual arithmetic applies. A tea glass of 25 cl is the classic measure and drinks quickly; 31 to 40 cl is more comfortable if you also pour a milky coffee or latte macchiato into it. For water, take 30 to 35 cl; for long drinks, 36 cl or more. For hospitality, watch the pack size: many series come in twelves, which is faster to restock than fours or sixes.

For Turkish tea, the handling matters more than the glass. You first pour a base of strong tea from the upper pot and top it up with hot water from the lower one, to roughly the waist of the glass. Above the waist you leave room, because that is where you hold it. Sugar does not go in but beside it, on the saucer.

The larger models do different work. In the 50 cl gin and tonic glass, the tonic goes over a glass full of ice and not over two cubes, because only then does it stay cold to the last sip: for the ratio, see gin and tonic. The taller long drink glasses are the place for a limoncello spritz, where the relief of the Timeless line picks up the yellow colour. And the jugs of around a litre go on the table for water, or for wine you want to let open up for a moment.

Most Pasabahce glassware is machine-pressed or blown soda-lime glass: thicker than crystal glass, less fragile and made for the dishwasher. A short glass programme at around 60 degrees is enough, and it is high temperatures in particular that wear the shine away faster. Rinse with clean water if you live in a hard-water area, because limescale settles fastest in the grooves of relief glass.

Two things call for hand work. Glasses with a vapour-deposited gold rim should be washed by hand in lukewarm suds, without a scouring pad. And do not fill handleless tea glasses with boiling water straight out of the dishwasher: let them come to room temperature first, and the risk of thermal shock stays small.

If you know which shape you want but not which brand, a shape page will get you there faster. The full tea line sits under tea glasses, the relief models come back under vintage glasses, and everything that pours and stays on the table is under carafes. For tall models for soft drinks and mixed drinks, look at the long drink glasses. If what you want is a table in one line, Timeless is the series that runs from liqueur glass to water jug.