Whisky glasses great with Oolong...trust me

[tortoise]

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If I'm drinking tea alone, I sometimes empty a 100ml gaiwan or similar sized teapot into a whisky glass. Not a rocks glass, but one where the rim circumference is smaller than the bowl at the bottom of the glass. I bought some very cheap ones a while back for scotch and they are excellent for aromatic teas like oolong. They are designed to hold aroma in the glass. When you bring the glass to your lips, your nose is sort-of cupped inside it.

I've been doing this a lot with Taiwanese oolongs, but I bet it would be great with any aromatic tea. Here is a higher end example of the type of glass I'm talking about.

Anyway, I highly recommend trying this out.

[David R.]

I've also heard of wine tasting glasses for oolong. I have some but am too much of a Hagi fan. I'll give it a try though. It may be nice with a very fragrant dan cong.

[tortoise]

No reason why wine glasses wouldn't work. I generally don't use stem ware because it will get knocked over and broken in my house by and by with our 2 year old resident here.

[edkrueger]

Are you sure the temperature won't break the Glencarin?

[tortoise]

Are you sure the temperature won't break the Glencarin?

I'm not using glencarin glasses. We have a libbey glass factory outlet here and the glasses I'm using are very thick and cost 3 dollars each. I have a back up set that came in one of those promotional boxes with scotch for free, so I think it'll be fine. The ones I'm using look more like the first photo.

The glass does get hot of course, but I don't think it will break. I would like to eventually get glencarin for scotch, but there is a lot of teaware on the list ahead of that purchase.

[MarshalN]

I have a set of whisky tasting glasses (like the second one you posted) from Spiegelau, but I'm pretty sure they'll break with temperature.

[David R.]

Funny thing is, even in the world of glasses, there are some which are supposed to change the taste of the wine.

I have these Kwarx glasses, that are developed by Chef&Sommelier which kind of a serious business. Here is an extract of what could be read on the box :

"The convex and concave shape of the glass design range allows to obtain optimal flavour development. After a few minutes in the glass, the wine's acid content is smoothed out and the tannins are softened, making it possible to enjoy particularly "young" wines (1 to 3 years for whites and 1 to 5 years for reds)."

It comes in 8 different shapes depending on the type of wine.

They are virtually unbreakable, you can bang them, it is really impressive.

I thought this might amuse some of you to know that wine amateurs have their own tools, with different shapes, to change the taste a bit.

The results are really impressive. It does make the wine taste a bit older, wiser, without loosing its flavours. Side by side comparison with a plain wine glass is really amazing.

[MarshalN]

I totally agree about the importance of glasses with wine -- but I'm not sure they're built to withstand 90C temperature.

[Chip]

Some time ago I purchased various small, shaped wine and liquor glasses from a local glass outlet store, cheap ... specifically based upon shape for various purposes related to tea viewing, tasting and aroma. Pretty fun actually.

These are just plain glass, nothing fancy about them except the differing shapes ... and did I mention, cheap.

I would not pour 90* C tea into them ... so I pour into a fair cup first whenever in doubt. Actually the fair cup I use 90% of the time is actually a glass creamer also purchased at this same outlet which I have literally used 1000's of times. It has a constriction near the top which forces all the aroma to pass through a narrowed opening ... concentrating the aroma quite nicely.

[tingjunkie]

Yep, I can vouch for the wine glasses. See here.

I wouldn't say glass is superior to nice porcelain or ceramic, but as long as the top is more narrow than the base/globe, it does offer a different experience and concentrates the aromas. I highly recommend trying it too.

[tortoise]

Some good things to consider. Re: heat, etc.

I would rather use a very nice yunomi or other traditional vessel, but these glasses are a pleasing experience in a pinch.