The other day Mrs. Teaist and I were accompanying Teaist Jr. on a short lunchtime excursion to the nearby town of Lund.

While we were there we simply had to pay a visit to one of my favourite tea shops, Tehuset Java. Any establishment that sells gaiwans is on the side of both the gods and the righteous, as far as I’m concerned.

Just when I began to think I wouldn’t come across anything that might tempt me, I spotted these Bodum “Pavina” cups. They were on offer, reduced in price from 199 to 149 shiny Swedish Crowns. For your cash you received 2 of the double walled, 80 ml capacity “thermo-glasses“. Sold!

We’re now nearing the end of summer. The days are getting noticeably shorter and cooler, and it’s from this point on in the year that these cups start to come into their own. Put simply, when we have our weather permitting post evening meal tea session outside on our balcony, they keep the tea warmer for longer.

You might remember having seen similar glasses featured in photos I’ve used on this blog before. They have unfortunately gone to the great teaware cupboard in the sky, and I haven’t been able to find replacements for them – the supplier no longer lists them on their website. Even Ikea drew a blank, so when I happened across these I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.

The Pavina model sports the Bodum “air” system, which utilises a silicone hydrophobic vent in the bottom of the cup, which, according to the manufacturers, assists in “product stability“, which from what I’ve read refers to possible breakages due to pressure differences between the outside of the glass and the space between the two layers of the cup. As I understand it this system also assists in regulating temperature as well as avoiding condensation.

They really do work too. A quick and dirty experiment I did showed that 5 minutes after filling one of these cups and a traditional Chinese teacup of roughly the same volume with boiling water, the liquid in the thermo-glass was a full 10 degrees warmer. That’ll come in handy during our evening events.

Bodum stuff in my experience has always looked as good as it’s performed, too, and these glasses are no exception. I have to say I prefer this taller design over the more squat, bowl shaped ones I owned earlier. Maybe it’s because they have a more tea-cuppy appearance.

I also find that these glasses just seem to fit my hand better – they are much more comfortable to hold than the older ones.

In conclusion then, I think they’re both pretty and practical. Good stuff. Recommended.