You may think this is a picture of a pretty straw, but the truth is I’m just showing off MY NEW VITA MIX!!!

I’ve written my share of reviews in my day, and most of them have been raves. I guess I’ve gotten lucky! But long-time readers are probably wondering – when’s the inevitable flop? Where’s the dud, the critique and the criticism? (Well, there was Mr. Pollan.) And for you my friends, I must say . . . maybe next time? Sorry.

I love these straws! They are practical as hell, which tickles my pragmatic bone, but they’re also ridiculously adorable, which hits my whimsy sweet spot. I love them so much, they made #8 on my 30 Things I Love At 30 list! I love them so much, that even though I got a few for free, I’ll still be buying a matching set so I can serve fancy-pants drinks to my friends! Really, I love these straws. Here’s some more reasons why:

Each Glass Dharma straw is made by hand and made in America. WORD. They use borosilicate glass, which is non-porous (ie sanitary), hypo-allergenic, and is particularly resistant to thermal expansion (so, strong). Glass is safer than plastic! Plastic straws leech toxins into your food, especially when heated. Glass straws are both dishwasher and microwave safe. And finally, they have a lifetime guarantee! If your straw ever breaks, just send it back and they will replace it. I love a company that stands so firmly behind its product.

The shorty dot looks slick in a lowball of home-brew kombucha.

I was gifted a variety of sizes and I’ve enjoyed using each of them in different applications.

The “Decorative Dots” shorty in 7mm/6.25″ (that’s diameter/length). This one is so cute! I’ve used it to sass up my daily kombucha, but really I think it would do its best duty decorating a stiffer drink. I imagine I’ll get a full set of these to serve at future cocktail parties. The different colors are a great way to track your glass, too!

The “Simple Elegance” in 14mm/9″ (that’s diameter/length). This is a straight up straw, no messing around (shown in top pic). Long, unembellished, and boasting a monster diameter of 14mm. I use this one for my thicker smoothies, but it’s advertised as a boba straw. Yum, now I need to get me some bubble tea . . .

The “Decorative Dots” in 12mm/9″ (that’s diameter/length). This is my favorite! Just pure perfection, it’s nice and long and it’s wide enough to handle a hearty smoothie. But it’s also got this sweet little dazzler, the colored glass dots to fancy it up on top. It’s like jewelry for your juice – so fun!

The “Beautiful Bends” in 12mm/9″ (that’s diameter/length). Another great option for shakes and smoothies, the bendy takes on that familiar straw shape. I actually prefer this in more ‘watery’, standard-type drinks. I think the bend lends itself well to juice, iced tea, and other traditional drink-’em-fast bevvies.

The long (“standard”) dot in a hot pink berry protein shake – I like to color coordinate my drink/straw because I am a huge geek.

In all, these straws sort of epitomize my approach to life. They’re the quintessential “Socially Conscious, Totally Fabulous”, and thus have earned a permanent home in my kitchen!

Want to try them out in your kitchen, too? The awesome folks at Glass Dharma are offering one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to their online store. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favorite beverage is. I want to know what your new straw will be swimming in!

Want another chance to win? Tweet a link to this contest and then link to your tweet in a new comment here.

Want a third chance to win? Link to this contest on Facebook and then leave a link to it in a new comment here.

Contest closes at midnight pst on Friday, 28 January.

The ever-so-slight angling of the big bendy beauty.

So to be clear, you need to leave a new, different comment for each entry. Yes? Okay, go!

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