Glass Coffee mugs
Introduction
How we start our day determines our productivity level; and our morning ritual which consists of the first drink of the day, either coffee or tea contributes to this productivity. Starting your day right is not complete without a taste of your favorite morning drink. To enjoy these beverages, especially the coffee; most people use their traditional ceramic mugs to savor the heat or coldness of the beverage or travel thermos as they sip their drinks while in transit to a productive day at work, while others use glass coffee mugs. It doesn't matter how cold or hot you prefer your beverage, your chosen container should maintain that temperature level for a certain period.
However, due to certain conditions, your coffee begins to lose temperature: it either loses its heat to become cold or the iced coffee returns to room temperature. A lukewarm coffee can dampen your day and be a mild or strong irritation as you prepare for that difficult test or the promotion that can get you that raise. The best glass coffee mugs maintain your preferred coffee or beverage temperature.
Cups and mugs are essential kitchenware in the home. They come in a variety of forms and serve different functions. Examples of these cups and mugs are ceramic cups, teacups, coffee mugs, printed mugs, coffee mugs with lids, cups with saucers, glass coffee mugs, and many more. These celebrated vessels serve various functions. They can be used to serve drinks, bake cakes for those suitable for the microwave, make cup noodles, and for soups. These utensils come in various sizes and colors suitable for your very needs.
Glasses have similar features with supercooled liquids and crystalline materials but do not act or function like them. They are made from silica sand, potash, or lithium carbonate which acts as a fluxing medium and aids in reducing the melting point of silica sand; alumina or zinc oxide influences the production of a uniform structure.
Types of glassware
We use glassware all the time, but we are not aware that there are different kinds of glassware and each has a distinguishing factor. In this section, we will be discussing the different glassware types and properties.
1) Glass Ceramics: This is one of the most common glassware found in many homes. The ceramic glass was originally glass that was subjected to another transforming process where it assumes a crystalline form or becomes a glass matrix with ceramics in the matrix. The ceramic glass has a minimum crystalline percentage of 50%.
2) Soda-lime glass: This is another common glassware, it is the most affordable form of glassware. Its chemical composition consists of a minimum of 69% silicon dioxide popularly called silica, 12-15% sodium oxide known as soda, and 9% calcium oxide. Due to its chemical stability, durability, and insulating properties, it is used for both general and specific purposes such as window panes, glass bottles, plates, vases, glass tables, and other items. 80% of glass items in the world are made from Soda-lime glass. This type of glass is vulnerable to shock and does not tolerate high-temperature changes; it is suitable for use at room temperature.
3) Aluminosilicate glass: This glass type has a high composition of aluminum oxide in its composition. This type of glass is similar to borosilicate glass but has stronger chemical durability and higher temperature resistance than borosilicate glass. This type of glass is used as glass bulbs in halogen lamps, used to make thermometers, and mobile phone screens.
4) Borosilicate glass: Borosilicate glass is composed of at least 5-15% boric oxide, its distinguishing properties are a great resistance to temperature change, thermal expansion, and chemical corrosion. Boric oxide is responsible for its low coefficient thermal expansion. This makes it tolerate abrupt temperature changes and a handy glass type in the kitchen. Most laboratory types of equipment, headlights, and some kitchenware like lasagna glass dishes, wine bottles are made of borosilicate glass. Due to its resistance to chemical corrosion, borosilicate glass is also used to store chemical waste. Its boron content also accounts for its insolubility, so glass leaching cannot occur when it is in use. Hence, it is the ideal material to make the best glass coffee mugs. Borosilicate glass is very expensive and not easily found due to its unique properties.
Differences between Soda-lime glass and borosilicate glass
Stated below are some of the differences between these two glass types. These differences will be discussed in categories.
1) Expansion coefficient: The expansion coefficient of soda-lime glass doubles that of borosilicate glass. When both glass types are exposed to heat, the soda-lime glass will expand faster and more than borosilicate glass. This makes it crack easily.
2) Silicon dioxide composition: Silicon dioxide or silica is responsible for the thermal stability and shock resistance of glasswares. Soda-lime glass has a 69% composition of silicon dioxide while borosilicate glass has an 81% proportion of silicon glass. The higher proportion of borosilicate glass makes it more stable and shock-resistant than soda lime.
3) Temperature range: Soda-lime has a 200°C temperature limit and a far lesser thermal resistance while borosilicate glass has a 500°C strain point and a thermal resistance of about 170°C. The thermal resistance allows you to move the glass from an extremely hot environment to a cold one.
4) Boron trioxide concentration: The presence of boron trioxide in glass increases its insolubility level and reduces leaching. Soda-lime glass has 1% boron trioxide in its composition while borosilicate has up to 13% in its composition. Hence, borosilicate glasses will not tolerate the leaching of chemicals.
5) Hardness and malleability: Diamond, the hardest substance in the world has a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, borosilicate glass has a 7.5% hardness while soda-lime or soft glass has a hardness of 6%. Borosilicate glass is more malleable than soda-lime glass; it can be molded to produce more complex glass designs. Soda-lime glass cannot be used to make complex designs because it is not easily malleable.
6) Acid corrosion: Borosilicate glass is not easily susceptible to acid corrosion. This means that it can not react with acids which makes it a great option in the laboratory. Soda-lime glass reacts with acid easily and can influence the results of chemical reactions.
7) Food and drink taste: Has your drink tasted metallic to you before? This is due to the reaction of the glass container with the food or drink. Most plastics and glass containers are susceptible to this including Soda-lime glass. Borosilicate glass maintains the original delicious taste of your favorite meals and drinks.
History of Borosilicate glass
Borosilicate glass was initially produced in the late 19th century. It was produced to provide a more durable glass than soda-lime glass. In the production of this glass, boron oxide was substituted for soda and lime. Soda reduces the melting point of silica but inadvertently makes the glass water-soluble. Borosilicate glass is composed of 80% silica, 13% boric oxide, 4% sodium oxide, and 3% aluminum oxide. Boron oxide aids in the binding of these components and does not make the glass soluble; it is also lead and BPA-free. Borosilicate glass is commonly associated with a popular American brand called Pyrex, this is because the Pyrex cookware brand initially produced only borosilicate glassware. Pyrex was owned by Corning consumer products in the 19th century. The brand was known to only produce strong cooking utensils. However, in the '80s, it began to use soda-lime glass to produce its cookware. This was likely because of the high cost of production of borosilicate glass. Production of borosilicate glass requires higher temperature and energy than other glass types.
Another likely reason the PYREX brand seemed to stop making borosilicate glassware was because of a split in the founding company. The portion of the company that retained its Pyrex rights continued making borosilicate glassware while the other portion made glassware with soda-lime glass under the brand name pyrex.
Ways to recognize Borosilicate glass
1) Look at the edge of the glass: The edge of borosilicate glass has no color while the edge of a soda-lime glass has a blue-green hue.
2) Density: Measure the length, height, and breadth of your glassware. Multiple your three results together to obtain the volume in cubic centimeters. Place your glassware on a weighing scale to get its mass. Divide the obtained mass by the volume to get its density. 2.23 is the density of borosilicate glass, so if your answer is close to this, you have hit the jackpot. The density of soda-lime glass is 2.52.
How to care for your Borosilicate glass
Borosilicate glassware is expensive and so should be properly handled and managed to ensure its optimal use.
Examine before use: Glasses are fragile objects and can be easily damaged and fractured either during transit or in storage. Hold your glassware against the light and observe if there are any fractures or cracks on it.
Cleaning: when cleaning your borosilicate glassware, be careful not to bump it against any nearby objects. Continuous hitting against objects could damage the glass and consequently lead to health and safety hazards. Use small bristle brushes to clean the glasswares because they reduce cracks and abrasions. Utilize mild detergents when washing and avoid the use of hydrofluoric acids and strong alkali soaps to clean borosilicate glassware. These substances are corrosive and damage them.
Temperature: Try to maintain a steady atmospheric pressure when using borosilicate glassware. Erratic temperature changes can cause the glass to crack after frequent occurrences due to progressive damage. Also, avoid placing borosilicate glassware in temperatures beyond 230°C for prolonged time intervals.
Disposal: Properly dispose of your damaged borosilicate glass by recycling it. This will reduce environmental hazards.
Double-walled glass and regular glass
Drinking your favorite beverage from a single glass coffee mug can be a bit inconvenient. Especially if you like your drinks hot. A single regular glass is very thin and can easily be broken, it allows you to feel the heat or coldness of your beverage. While a double-walled glass has a vacuum seal that supports insulation which protects your hands from the heat of the beverage, allowing you to carry your glass cup easily. Some double-walled cups have their exterior layers laced with stainless steel or ceramics to aid insulation and inhibit the flow of heat into and out of the cup.
It is believed that double-walled glass originated from North Bohemia in the mid 17th century. Two different glass cups fit into each other and the smaller one had a gold or silver leaf design to distinguish it. The thermos was created by a scientist in 1892 at Oxford University who was known as Sir James Dewar. It has a strong similarity with the double-walled glass mugs. Most double-walled glasswares are crafted from borosilicate glass and are very durable. Double-walled coffee mugs have different size ranges from the 12oz cups to the 40oz tumblers. Each cup size serves a different function.
Some Double walled coffee mug brands
There are a lot of coffee mug brands in the market which makes it difficult to choose the ideal one for you. Below will be listed a few of these brands that have satisfied their customers.
1) Eparé: Eparé has been providing kitchenware especially mugs and dishes to the public for over 8 years now. Eparé mixes elegance and functionality when producing their glassware. They are known for their hand-blown borosilicate double-walled glass cups. According to the Eparé homepage, its coffee mugs are microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe. You can order your glass coffee mugs online on this site.
2) Contigo: This is a popular double-walled glass coffee mug brand. It offers one of the best glass coffee mug options with its simple style and design. This brand offers different forms of double-walled cups. So, you can choose the one that suits your needs.
3) Takeya: This brand is a household brand known for its double-walled extract bottles for smoothies. It also offers a varying range of double-walled cup sizes to its customers.
4) Zojirushi: This brand offers a wide range of double-walled cups with varying designs and sizes. It offers double insulated travel mugs that are double-walled to customers who do not appreciate the double-walled tumblers with a lid. When compared to the tumblers, the travel mugs are slim and are easily carried around.
Conclusion
Most coffee mugs can be ordered online, just pick the brand that you desire and order your glass coffee mugs online. Remember to properly take care of your glassware and choose quality glassware over quantity. Double-walled glass cups especially Eparé borosilicate glasswares are eco-friendly and do not cause health challenges to their users.