The conspiracy against big glasses

[Fat Guy]

In the land of the 44-ounce soft drink, it's surprisingly difficult to fine large drinking glasses. If you go to most housewares stores, they sell, for example, sets of 36 glasses: 12 each in 9-, 12- and 16-ounce sizes. Occasionally you see 20-ounce glasses. Rarely anything much larger than that, unless it's something plastic designed for use at the beach.

Me, I like a glass that's at least 28 ounces. I don't fill it all the way. Maybe I put 20 ounces of liquid in. But when I want a glass of water, I want enough in there such that I don't need to keep refilling it. And I'm not alone: the existence of these huge soft-drink sizes in every gas station and fast-food restaurant in America surely indicates that people like to drink a lot.

Why this disconnect between how much we drink and how big our glasses are? Conspiracy theories welcome.

[nibor]

The conspiracy is beverage-wide. What use is a little coffee cup?

[Dave the Cook]

The existence of hugely-sized soft-drinks in every gas station and fast-food restaurant doesn't prove to me that Americans like to consume large amounts of liquid so much as it proves that Americans can be persuaded to purchase something that seems to be a bargain. Studies have shown over and over again that consumption is related to availability: that's where the two-liter cola bottle came from. I think the 44-ounce cup is a related phenomenon. There's probably an economics discussion in waiting about marginal ounces.

A 28-ounce glass seems huge to me, unless a handle is attached. Three-quarters of a liter brings up visions of ale, tankards, wenches and dogs fighting for scraps under the table.

And not to derail the argument, but my problem is finding classy glasses for cocktails -- five ounces or less. They seem to be as scarce as the medieval containers you're looking for.

[Dianabanana]

Three-quarters of a liter brings up visions of ale, tankards, wenches and dogs fighting for scraps under the table.

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I have to agree--I actually find those big drinks hard to lift and easy to drop. Plus if I ever drank 44 ounces of anything I'd spend the whole night in the ladies' room.

[Raoul Duke]

I agree on the loss of large glasses, 20+ oz. I use them in my kitchen when doing my prep and on into the cooking. Hydrating myself for the inevitable cocktails and dinner wine. Daily I'm at the local 7/11 with an insulated 56 oz cup they sold when I lived on Maui. There's more than one caffeine delivery system.

[Fat Guy]

The beauty of πr²h is that a 32-ounce glass is not anywhere near twice the dimensions of a 16-ounce glass if you make them both out of the same materials. The reason those 32-ounce and 1-liter beer steins are so imposing is because they're thick-walled and have large handles. I have several 32-ounce tumblers made out of SAN plastic resin. I think they're used by poolside bars and by restaurants like Pizza Hut. They're hardly elegant but they're what we use around the house for water. They don't look all that big -- most people would I think be pretty surprised to hear they hold a whole quart. I just wish the glassware makers would get with the program and offer a range of tastefully designed large glasses.

[Octaveman]

My go-to choice for beverage container are those plastic cups with various printing on them that used to be sold by McDonald's. I have at least 50 of those cups that I collected over the years and continue to use them for water, soda, etc. I don't even use "glass" anymore. Like Steven, I get tired of constantly refilling those 16 ounce glasses. It's even worse if I have ice in them. I can't hang with just 8 ounces of Diet Coke.

Edited December 22, 2007 by Octaveman (log)

[alanamoana]

i drink out of plastic quart sized deli containers. ever since i worked in restaurants that used them for food storage, that's been my beverage container of choice. i bought a case of them to use for some reason or another so i have a large supply!

i like a lot of ice in my water and this way, i don't have to refill constantly.

they aren't very attractive though. i too would prefer to find a nice LARGE drinking glass!

[annecros]

Heh. Quart Mason Jars - wide mouthed - for iced tea in the heat of the summer.

"You might be a redneck..."

I can't stand to drink anything out of plastic. It bothers me.

[Fat Guy]

Deli containers: these seem to be the standard for professional cooks. They can't shatter, their pliable construction and the little ridge around the top means you can get grip them even with greasy hands, they're cost-free, and their wide flat bottoms make them hard to tip over. For home use, though, they sort of fall below the lowest acceptable aesthetic cutoff line.

Mason jars: they're attractive bits of Americana, and these days you can even buy them with handles. They also come in the 28-ounce size, which is the size I really prefer (food-service plastic tumblers seem mostly jump from 24 to 32). But, I find them really unpleasant to drink from. There's a Texas-style barbecue restaurant in New York City called Hill Country that opened this year, and they use these "drinking jars" for lemonade and such. I love to look at them and hate to drink from them.

[Dianabanana]

Okay, I've been thinking about this and realize that I purposely go out of my way to buy extra-small cups, mugs, and glasses. For instance, right now I'm drinking tea out of a mug that only holds 5 ounces. I think there are three reasons for my preference:

1) I actively enjoy the ritual of pouring a beverage or making a cup of tea at least as much as I enjoy drinking it. Kind of the same way that a cigar smoker enjoys the whole cigar-lighting ritual. This way I get to experience it more often.

2) With a small cup your beverage stays at the correct temperature the whole time you're drinking it.

3) Small cups are cute.

[Kent Wang]

2) With a small cup your beverage stays at the correct temperature the whole time you're drinking it.

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It starts at the correct temperature, but that temperature will drop much faster than with a larger cup.

[Chris Amirault]

I think that the conspiracy against large glasses is coordinated by the evil geniuses toiling away in their hidden Rochester, NY laboratories to make better, stronger, and more brightly colored Nalgene 32 oz bottles.

[Dianabanana]

2) With a small cup your beverage stays at the correct temperature the whole time you're drinking it.

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It starts at the correct temperature, but that temperature will drop much faster than with a larger cup.

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Don't go trying to confuse me with physics, Kent, dangit! All I know is my big honkin' mug of tea is lukewarm when it's half empty, whereas my dainty little mug is still hot when I finish it.

[plk]

We have a bunch of pint glasses and larger 22 oz "mixing glasses" from the restaurant supply store. In a glass that's made out of glass (as opposed to something lighter, like plastic), 22 oz is about as big as I want to go. We have a couple of steins that are even bigger, but those are a pain to handle. So when I want a big glass of water, I grab the 22 oz. If I just want a "regular" glass of water, I'll grab the pint.

[Chris Hennes]

I really can't connect with this... I very, very rarely want anything larger than 16 oz. I guess I just don't drink that much. Plus, when I need to pace at the office, a trip to the drinking fountain to refill my water bottle is just about right.

[Fat Guy]

Yeah but you're talking about 16 ounces of cold water in a 16-ounce water bottle. If you want 16 ounces of liquid in a glass, perhaps with ice, and you don't want to fill the glass so high that only the surface tension of the meniscus is keeping it from running onto the floor, then you actually need a much larger container. Indeed, I think my proposed 28-ounce glass size is just about ideal for 16 ounces of liquid plus a few ice cubes, leaving like 6 ounces worth of empty space at the top of the glass.

[nibor]

I can see it now: FatWare!

An exciting new designer series of drinking glasses for the very thirsty.

[Chris Hennes]

Yeah but you're talking about 16 ounces of cold water in a 16-ounce water bottle. If you want 16 ounces of liquid in a glass, perhaps with ice, and you don't want to fill the glass so high that only the surface tension of the meniscus is keeping it from running onto the floor, then you actually need a much larger container. Indeed, I think my proposed 28-ounce glass size is just about ideal for 16 ounces of liquid plus a few ice cubes, leaving like 6 ounces worth of empty space at the top of the glass.

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Ah, I understand. You are right... if I took the 16oz of water in the bottle sitting next to me and added enough ice to get it cold (if it came from a regular tap), and then wanted it in a relatively spill-resistant, but standard-shaped drinking class, as opposed to a tapered-neck bottle, I may need something like that... But why the attachment to the "standard-shaped" glass? While I wouldn't want to serve company in recycled iced tea bottles, for my own private use it is ideal. Keep two or three in the fridge and you don't need ice.

[Pam R]

How about this 24 oz. glass? Sure, it's not 28 oz., but it's large enough for 16 oz. of fluid plus a couple of ice cubes. And it's insulated, so it should keep the liquid colder, longer -- meaning you would need less ice.

eta: that's a 24 oz. Tervis tumbler

Edited December 22, 2007 by Pam R (log)

[Fat Guy]

That's what I was referring to when I said the big cups you find at normal stores are generally plastic tumblers intended for poolside use.

The main problem with the insulated ones is that the double-wall design greatly expands their size on account of the thick walls. Polycarbonate is also pretty thick on its own -- about as thick as glass for the equivalent product.

So for plastic I prefer the SAN type, since those have nice thin walls and are very durable in the dishwasher. The polycarbonate ones claim to be dishwasher safe but in my experience they don't actually survive repeated dishwashing and drying all that well.

[Fat Guy]

Also wanted to contribute this illustration of the of πr²h formula, or some variant of it, as applied to drinking glasses. I was able to find a product spec sheet and add some numbers so we could see the progression in 4oz increments. As you can see, when you double volume your height and radius don't increase nearly as much.

[viva]

Heh. Quart Mason Jars - wide mouthed - for iced tea in the heat of the summer.

"You might be a redneck..."

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I'm glad I'm not the only one! The wide-mouthed in particular is best. Iced tea, lemonade, sparkling water, all with plenty of ice and a bendy straw!

[Megan Blocker]

I like my small glasses and not-too-huge coffee cups. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the visual, and the proportions are just so much nicer...

[MSRadell]

The bigger the better! I have a 32oz glass on my desk for water and all ice and a 16 oz coffee mug which gets filled several times a day!

I personally hate having to get up and down to refill my glass or mug! To me there's nothing sexy or fun about a small container for a drink.