Bormioli Rocco Capri

Decide first how much colour you want on the table. Six glasses in the same colour give a calm, coherent look that works best with a plain tablecloth. Mix red and purple and you get a livelier table that calls for simple tableware around it, because two strong colours next to a busy plate quickly turns messy.

Then look at the size. At 37 cl the Capri sits between a water glass and a long drink glass: roomy enough for a soft drink with ice, still compact enough to use as an everyday drinking glass. The straight, slightly tapered shape stacks in the cupboard and sits steadily in the hand.

The Capri is an everyday glass. Water, soft drinks, iced tea and juice go straight in, and there is still room left with ice. For a longer cocktail, fill the glass halfway with ice, which leaves room for about twenty centilitres of drink.

Coloured glass does change how your drink looks. A clear gin and tonic disappears into the purple, while a mocktail with fruit lights up beautifully in the red. If you want to show off the colour of a drink, choose clear glass; if you want to dress a table, do the opposite. A limoncello spritz looks good in both colours because the yellow plays against them.

Bormioli Rocco makes the Capri from soda-lime glass coloured throughout the body. The glasses can go in the dishwasher and keep their colour, even at high temperatures. What does happen with hard water is a dull film on the wall; on coloured glass that shows up more clearly than on clear glass. A rinse aid with a descaler, or an occasional bath in diluted vinegar, takes that film off again.

If you want more colour on the table than these two, look at the coloured glasses, where Duralex and other brands are listed too. If you want the same shape but clear, the tumbler glasses and the water glasses give the wider overview. The rest of the Italian range is with Bormioli Rocco, and for longer drinks with plenty of ice the long drink glasses are the logical next step.