I’ve been wanting to hydrate more frequently, but face a personal hangup: I hate the taste of water that has been sitting in a plastic container. And I also have issues with water from metal bottles; apparently I am one of a small percentage of people who can taste stainless steel. So, I’ve been looking for a stylish glass water bottle that transports well and is relatively tough.
There are a few options for toughened glass. I was looking at the heat-tempered products from Hercuglass and LifeFactory, but I happened to stumble upon the Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottles and liked the overall feel of the design. However, I wasn’t sure if I would like the screw-on cap; it was difficult to get a sense of what the cap was like from the photos I’ve been able to see online, so I tabled my search for a while.
Starbucks Ice Green Glass Water Bottle
One day at Starbucks, I caught glimpse of a rebrand of Takeya’s Modern Water Bottle with a different cap. It’s called the Ice Green Glass Water Bottle from Starbucks Coffee, and is available from their online store and retail locations. Cost: Around US$16.
The bottle and protective silicone covering is the same as the one on the Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottle (if you look on the bottom of the bottle, you can even see the Takeya imprint on the glass). Instead of a twist-off cap, the Starbucks version has a pop-up cap which allows you to take a gulp of water more quickly: just press the release button, and the top-half of the cap pops up. The construction of this cap is pretty solid, though I can see it breaking if dropped or stressed too much. However, for my home use, it’s perfectly fine and a great deal more convenient than a twist-off cap. It has rubber or silicone seals on the inside, and the width of the mouth is about two inches. If you are a practiced drinker of ice tea from Snapple-style bottles, you probably won’t have any problem with it. It would be more difficult to manage in a car while driving, though.
Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottle
I also ordered the Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottle through Amazon. My justification was that with TWO bottles, I would have 32 oz of water to go through a day, twice, for the target 64oz a day that one is supposed to drink. But really, I just wanted the other color :-)
The cap on the Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottle is a screw-top, and it’s a rugged piece of plastic. It’s BPA-free, of course. It takes longer to unscrew than to pop the top on the Starbucks bottle, but if you’re not in a hurry it’s just fine.
Both bottles are serving their purpose in helping me drink more water. I love that the glass imparts no plastic or metallic taste to the water. While it’s not as durable as plastic or stainless steel, the glass is at least protected by the silicone sleeve, which absorbs shocks. It’s approximately 1.5mm thick and is considerably thicker on the bottom to absorb shock.
These glass bottles are for use only with cold beverages. For hot beverages, you’d need something made out of borosilicate glass or something with similar thermal properties.
6 Comments
I’m so mad. I had a nice looking glass thermos from a tea shop similar to Teaopia. It even included a tea strainer for loose-leaf tea. But one morning on the train I dozed off, dropped it, and the coffee I had stored inside spilled everywhere after it shattered all over the floor.
Moral of my story: If you’re clumsy like me, and haven’t picked one up yet, then you might want to reconsider. But if you’re keen on finding a glass bottle for beverages, cold or warm, check out a tea shop.
You are not alone! I hate drinking water from plastic bottles, and apparently, I too can perceive the taste of stainless steel.
This one looks like a fine option, though I haven’t seen them anywhere here in Mexico.
My option so far has been to use a Perrier bottle that I rinse and refill with water. The green glass even helps keeping the water free from growing “life” due to sunlight.
they sell them here at any starbucks you go to. They go for around MX$260
Very interesting. Where can we buy this bottle ? On which Website ? I live in France. Thank you
Hello Marion,
I tried googling French and UK websites, but didn’t have much luck. Amazon.fr and Amazon.co.uk doesn’t seem to carry them either. Starbucks France does not list them either! My guess is that it’s not a brand that is widely used in Europe, so you will have to find a specialty store that imports them. I live in the United States, so I can’t help you with that. Good luck! Maybe you will become the first person in all of France to own this water bottle! :-)
I have the original screwcap design and I like the natural sound of the cap spinning on the glass when I twist it. However I am getting this old bottle smell even when I just cleaned and refilled the bottle. I have a plastic Kor bottle and it doesn’t do that even when I haven’t cleaned the bottle for a week.
I like the cap of the new design more however, I think the old design is much more stylish. The new style kinda resembles my kor bottles more.