Sugar bowls & shakers

The mesh size determines what a shaker is meant for. A chocolate shaker has a fine mesh, because cocoa powder clumps and would drop through coarse holes in lumps. A sugar shaker has wider holes, because granulated sugar would otherwise get stuck in them. So do not use them interchangeably: cocoa in a sugar shaker comes out by the load.

You choose a sugar bowl on capacity and on lid. The 14 cm version is meant to stay on the table, and the lid is the most important part of it: sugar that takes up moisture goes hard, and in an open dish that happens within a day. Stainless steel has a practical advantage over glass or earthenware here, because it does not break when it falls off the bar. That happens more often than you think with a bowl that is passed around all day.

Hold the shaker about twenty centimetres above the glass and move it back and forth in short strokes. Up close you get a blot, from too far the powder blows away. If you want to work with a stencil, lay the shape on the foam, dust over it and lift it straight off.

The same applies to coffee cocktails. An irish coffee gets a fine layer of cocoa or nutmeg over the cream, and you only dust once the cream has settled. On an espresso martini you dust nothing, because the layer of foam with the three coffee beans is the picture, but you do use the sugar bowl when making the syrup. Matching glassware is with the coffee glasses and the tea glasses.

Moisture is the enemy. Only wash a shaker when it is really dirty, dry it completely afterwards, and only fill it once it is bone dry inside. A single drop behind the mesh closes the holes within a day. If nothing comes out any more, soak the mesh loose in warm water and brush it out.

The stainless steel parts are dishwasher safe, but take the mesh lid off the canister first so no water stays in the reservoir. Keep sugar and cocoa in the bowl with the lid closed and do not top up more than you use in a week.

If you serve tea as well, the pots are with the teapots. Looking for the tools to work sugar and syrup into a cocktail, have a look at the bar spoons, where you will also find muddlers and stirrers. And if you want to dress the table or the service point further, the napkin holders are right next to them, in copper and in black plastic, with a single compartment or with three.