Talk about the Ember mug warmer got me thinking about how mug choice is often a very personal choice.
For some, they have a favorite and use it daily. For others, it’s about the shape or size. Sometimes, it’s if the mug/vessel is portable. And some could care less - if it holds liquid, it’s good enough!
I have a little bit of a mug obsession. Picking a mug for the day if I’m home is a fun decision (could have gone in the joyful thread!). I try not to have more than 2 of the same mug. I don’t want matchy, matchy in my collection. Mug choice = mood for the day.
I’m to the point that to limit mug storage, if I get a new one, something has to go.
My daughter’s boyfriend strongly prefers a mug that has a perfect round top. Not oval, not curved in anyway - just a standard round top. (he’s a math guy, maybe likes that it is symmetrical??)
One of the things my son wanted most from my mom’s house when she passed was her YMCA mug that she used everyday (she worked there until she was 84!)
I prefer mugs without words on them, but colorful. I have two mugs/cups that remind me of the big coffee vessels my cousin had at her home in France that we filled daily with coffee and warmed cream.
I need a new travel mug - do you like YETI or otherwise??
Tell/Show us your taste or requirements in mugs. Do you have a few…or dozens? Special stores about a certain mug?
When we moved to our current home, I got rid of all extra dishware and only have a mug that my mother gave me long ago and two that were given to DH during recent election cycles that he keeps because he likes the size/heft of each. Daily, we use our favorites, his an old Michigan mug, and mine a West Point mug (with a chip along the back topside) that our son gave me:
I have quite a few mugs, many of them Labrador Retriever themed. The one I use daily states “My Best Friend Has Four Paws”. I have 2 dogs and I’m sure they both think it applies to them. Our Westlaw rep in my previous life gave me a mug with the Bill of Rights printed on it. Add hot liquid to the mug and the rights vanish. Sadly it doesn’t work any longer and I haven’t been able to find a replacement. I also love my “UVA Mom” mug for obvious reasons.
I like a heavy mug for my coffee. Unfortunately all of mine have broken through the years and I am down to my last one. Cleared out a lot of mugs when we moved but currently have - 2 from a nearby small business coffee place, one my sister sent me with an inside joke, one with a picture of D and SIL.
How many mugs do you think you all have on a reachable shelf? (so mugs in rotation and not packed away or way out of reach). I’d have to count but I’d say I have maybe 18? Sounds like a lot but some of them have different purposes!
Our collection of about 15 bigger mugs has mostly logos of biotech companies (existing and long defunct), colleges, and research organizations. These are used for morning coffee and tea throughout the day. For teatime with guests, we have a variety of fancier teacups.
I’m not sure how many mugs we have, but we have ones that came with our dishes & ones that we’ve collected. I worked at an art school, so I have a collection of mugs from the annual cup sale. H jokes that artists don’t like to follow rules … some are intentionally misshapen, some have odd handles, others don’t have handles (H insists those are NOT cups!). I love all of them, because they remind me of the best part of working in higher education (students).
H & I received mugs this year that say we’re amazing grandparents. Those are our current favorites!
I have a diner mug from a band I like that is my fave. The band logo wore off, but I like the shape and the thickness. Keeps drinks warm a little longer. We got some new Calamity Ware mugs for Christmas that are fun, too. Have some other band mugs, national park mugs, museum mugs, mugs made by local potters, mugs from favorite coffee shops, funny mugs. We have a lot! Most of them get used eventually.
H & I have mugs from our fraternity/sorority, but those are in the basement now. Neither of us could possibly drink that much coffee before it got cold … and we definitely don’t drink that much beer anymore!
I have a lot of my stuff in storage (in the garage) and I’m helping a family get ready to move into a new house so I’m going through all the stuff and it really is easier to purge stuff as I know it is going to a family that really needs it all - dishes, towels, sheets, appliances… I found the dishpack of mugs and went through them. I decided to give the family my mother’s mugs which were mostly (all) Christmas mugs that we used all year long, and mostly with angels on them. I wanted my mugs.
What matters to me is the shape and feel of the rim. I don’t want it too thick or with a decoration on it. I like a wider brim, not a tall and thin mug.
I got a mug in a Christmas exchange this year with a handle with a big fake gem on it. Not microwave or dishwasher safe. Out.
I really like my hot stuff hot and my cold stuff cold so I use vacuum-insulated cups for everything. A large tumbler for water throughout the day, and a small 12 or 16 oz cup for coffee.
For travelling via plane when I know I’ll be having coffee I bring a small zojirushi tumbler. For roadtrips I just bring the tumbler I use for water.
I don’t think I’ve used an actual ceramic mug for at least 10-20 years, now that I think about it. We donated a couple boxfuls of them a few years ago and still have a shelf full of them though.
Zojirushi has been mentioned a couple of times for travel vessels - anyone care to share a link to theirs? (I had a Zojirushi coffee maker some years back and I know the brand can be beloved).
I think mine is the same. The biggest selling point for me is being able to completely disassemble the top mechanism for cleaning. I’ve had other travel tumblers that don’t fully disassemble and they got dirty over time.
Also since I use it when traveling for work and it’s knocking around in my backpack with my work laptop on the way to customer meetings, I really needed 100% security that it was leakproof. They’re definitely pricey but for my personal requirements I wasn’t willing to compromise or take a risk.
Yes…I value the leakproof quality and the ability to take it apart to clean as two huge selling points.
I like that the interior is stainless steel. I periodically use a Polident tablet to keep it from looking “icky”…if you know what I mean.
I have a Hydroflask travel mug that keeps things sooooo hot I have to put ice cubes in it to keep from burning myself. It will keep ice frozen overnight, too.
I dislike most mugs - I’m not a fan of the lip on many of them. Most of the time I use an insulated drink holder b/c I like my drinks to stay on the hot side while drinking them. My future SIL gave me one from Nespresso that I use most days. I also have a couple of Yeti tumblers that I use if I am going out and want to take my hot drink with me. Dh got a Yeti mug at a golf tournament recently but I keep forgetting to use it when I make tea.
We do have an assortment of ceramic mugs but during a early pandemic inspired purge, I got rid of most, keeping three that have sentimental value (one from PanAm from when FIL was a PanAm pilot), 2-3 that have a nice thin lip, and two that my kids painted at a local pottery place. What I got rid of in mugs has been replaced by Yetis! All of my family members have their own, in assorted sizes and colors. When everyone is home, I can’t fit them all in my cabinet!
Years ago, my oldest was given this really pretty mug from Anthropologie that had her initial on it. She loved it! I loved it too and used it when she went off to college (we have the same first initial ). I can’t remember what happened but it broke, like maybe one of our dogs knocked it over or something. She was so bummed! I tried to find a replacement but they didn’t sell them anymore. That was the only ceramic mug I ever liked/used.
I have a bunch of mugs, probably a dozen that I can easily reach, but I tend to use my favorite - a gift from my D a number of years ago. It’s the perfect size for my tea.
For travel mugs, I love my Yeti.
Seconding the recommendation for a hydro flask mug. I love the Pacific Blue color. It keeps my tea piping hot. And is quiet when you place it on a table- no loud clinking.
). I can’t remember what happened but it broke, like maybe one of our dogs knocked it over or something. She was so bummed! I tried to find a replacement but they didn’t sell them anymore. That was the only ceramic mug I ever liked/used.