There’s nothing pretty about plastic drinkware, but it’s always a better option when you’ve had enough glassware shattered by rowdy kids, clumsy relatives, and drunk guests when hosting parties at your house. The Shupua offers a middle-ground, giving you the classy appearance of glassware without the hazards of having broken glass scattered across your floor.
No, it’s not made from some high-tech kind of shatterproof glass material. Instead, the cups are constructed from bendy silicone that, somehow, manages to replicate the crystal clear quality of glass. That way, you can enjoy beverages from a glass-like drinking vessel that’s going to stay intact even after someone with clammy hands drops it on the floor, a clumsy drunk knocks it off the table, or an angry girlfriend smashes it into a wall, trying to hit a cheating boyfriend who deftly dodges the throw.
Unlike previous silicone glasses we’ve seen that were translucent or smoky, these Shupua glasses look legitimately like the brittle stuff, ensuring anyone who uses it for the first time will do a double take once they realize they can squish the darn thing. Despite the construction, it also won’t affect taste, so it can replicate actual glass down to performance. Do note, silicone will still develop coloration over time, but for a compromise between glass and plastic, this thing is extremely handy.
Since silicone is a poor conductor of heat, the glasses should also help insulate cold beverages, reducing the amount of sweat that develops outside the glass (no need for a koozie). Each one measures 8.7 x 10.5 cm (d x h), with a capacity of 260 ml.
The Shupua glass is available strictly in Japan for now, but something this good is bound to make an appearance everywhere probably sooner than later.