All posts tagged: tea

Viora Cup Lid

You probably don’t spend too much time thinking about the design of your disposable coffee cup lid, but Viora would like that to change. Viora’s one-time-use lids, available wholesale to better coffee shops such as Astoria Cafe and Brooklyn Roasters in NYC and Go Get Em Tiger in Los Angeles, claims to offer a better drinking experience akin to sipping out of your favorite mug at home. We’ve become so accustomed to drinking differently from lidded cups that we don’t even realize how different we position our mouths in the process. The small opening of conventional lids means you need to be extra careful not to burn your mouth at first taste, and you can’t blow on the beverage without taking the lid completely off (a process that I usually regret once I’ve spilt hot tea on myself). With Viora the experience is a bit different — you drink your coffee or tea from a drink well in the lid that is designed specifically to prevent spills. The well also gives you a better chance …

KINTO Tableware

One of the best things about going to the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) each season is discovering manufacturers that I never heard of and becoming a fan before I’ve left the booth. At this winter’s show, that company was KINTO Co. Founded in 1972 as a wholesaler of porcelain and ceramic tableware in Japan’s Shiga prefecture, the company began to develop their own designs in glass, wood, ceramic, and other materials, for the Japanese lifestyle in the 1990s, and started a full-scale export business in 2009. Based on the simple premise of creating products “to make our lives comfortable”, their line includes a range of coffee and tea related pieces as well as other designs. New this year is the Couleur teapot set, which combines a modern design form with the classic Japanese teapot. The microwave- and dishwasher-safe set includes a pot, cup, and saucer. Inside the pot, the spout is covered by a delicate porcelain strainer that is an example of the company’s craftsmanship. KINTO also launched an elegantly glazed new tableware …