There’s a popular style of glass in Japan called ‘Usuhari’ which directly translates to ‘thin glass.’ In the early 1900s a light bulb company (Shotoku) began using the same thin bulb material to make glasses. Effectively the thinnest manufacturable glasses in the world - so thin that each glass can only be made by hand. Not machine. The thinness of the glass helps transfer temperature to the hand and thin lip bevel brings out flavors. Ultimately the perfect, delicate glass for tasting.
I discovered them through good-liver.com back in 2019 and loved them. After moving to NYC in 2022 I figured there’s enough restaurants in the city to be interested. So I found a group in Tokyo that was willing to make them for me, bought hundreds and they’re now used in six michelin restaurants here in the city:
Sold around $7k worth of glasses so far. Been an awesome project getting a peak behind the curtains of michelin restaurants and meeting the chefs. But ultimately putting a pause on it since it’s not a money maker and requires too much time.
