HACKER Q&A
📣 tmaly

Favorite Coffee Mug?


My coffee mug broke. I am in the market for a new mug to keep the caffeine flowing while I code.

What is your favorite mug and why?


  👤 bigiain Accepted Answer ✓
I drink espresso based coffee pretty much exclusively, and tend towards smaller cup sizes for the espresso/milk ratio I prefer when making milk based drinks.

At home I use and love these for flat whites: https://acfcups.com.au/collections/the-industry-standard-for...

And these for espresso: https://acfcups.com.au/collections/the-industry-standard-for...

I do have a set of their 12oz cups too, which most people consider a "normal" size for double shot flat-white/latte/cappuccino drinks, which I think of as "for when I want a big milky coffee".

I've also got the typical collection of specialised coffee cups you end up with given enough time rapidly diving down the home espresso rabbit hole. Coffee Expo merch and freebies, I've occasionally been given branded cups from cafes, I'ver got several different types of "to go" cups - including some nice but delicate double walled glass insulated ones, and stuff like the: https://www.kruveinc.com/products/propel-double-walled-espre... where I supported their Kickstarter (or maybe they were on Indiegogo?)


👤 stevekemp
My favourite coffee mug is the one on the far left in this photo:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYo7FhjKkQ/

Why? Because I made it. On a whim I started going to pottery-classes at a local school a couple of years ago. We build things with our hands - rather than with wheels and those cups/mugs are things I use almost every day.

I live in Finland, and my Finnish wife collects "moomin mugs", which is a pretty common hobby here, so if I'm not using one of my own mugs then I tend to drink out of those. The pictures/artwork I like, but I admit the moomin-cups are just that little bit too small!

You can get a flavour by looking at this online store:

https://shop.moomin.com/collections/arabia


👤 jeffkeen
I’m crazy about coffee mugs, and I love that you asked this question on HN! I’ve got answers for you.

Lately CB2 (and crate and barrel) have been killing it on their classy mug collection, so take a look at these three beauties that I’ve been enjoying my coffee in lately

https://www.cb2.com/axel-caramel-mug/s475787

https://www.cb2.com/cast-reactive-glaze-black-mug/s212966

https://www.crateandbarrel.com/18th-street-mug/s357738

I think they’re my top 3 favorite mugs in the cabinet right now, which is really something given they’re all so easily attainable and don’t have some novel origin story.


👤 runjake
The Mug of VI from No Starch Press[1].

Why my favorite? It's not really -- I don't put that much effort into thinking about a coffee cup.

BUT, I haven't lost this mug in 20+ years and I take it to meetings with outside contractors and orgs and it kind of operates like a shibboleet [2] prop and fast tracks certain processes. It was also handy back when I was learning vi and i still, very occasionally, refer to it.

1. https://nostarch.com/

2. https://xkcd.com/806/


👤 tossaway9000
I have a pair of big, deep, wooden lacquered coffee mugs (I think they're actually meant for tea or soup) that I got on a trip to Japan. I'd always wanted a wooden mug but the ones I found online were super bulky and expensive, on that trip I just happened to stumble into a store with all kinds of wooden dishware and bought them.

Some of the lacquer is flaking off from use and age (this was probably 6-7 years ago when I got them and I use the EVERY DAY) and I don't want to replace them but find a way to get them re-lacquered, maybe on a future trip back post-COVID shenanigans.


👤 hilti
I love my golden mugs Made in Germany by Dibbern. https://www.dibbern.de/de/solid-color-becher-gold-0-32l

There are 100% porcelai and sometimes I think that the coffee tastes better from these mugs.


👤 markus_zhang
I always want that 6502 mug:

https://stirringdragon.games/product/the-6502-reference-mug/

Actually I prefer a CHIP-8 version but the market doesn't produce more of these mugs :(


👤 jjice
One late night at a Denny's with a long time friend during winter break in college, I asked the waitress if I could buy a mug. She thought for a second and said "No, what?". We laughed, but next time we were at that Denny's, we asked again. This time, the waitress responded with "Just take it, I don't care".

I love this mug a lot - it's funny when people see it in your cabinet and it has a good memory associated with its acquisition. It's a bit small (fits 8oz comfortably), but it's thick (I assume to prevent damage from repeated use by customers and commercial dish washing), and it says "It's always sunny side up in a diner" on the back.

I'm drinking out of it right now :)


👤 chadcmulligan
I like these, they seem just the right size for a tea or coffee

https://sirjohnsgifts.com.au/products/maxwell-williams-willi...


👤 shaunpud
One for home and one for office

https://www.catch.com.au/product/tea-rex-giant-coffee-mug-90...

Probably should get a spare for the worst


👤 softwaredoug
I like finding weird mugs at thrift shops.

I have two mugs from “ShatFest”. A William shatter convention? One has fan art of Kirk saying “double dumbass to you” to the taxi driver in star trek 4. The other is a fan portrait of TJ Hooker.


👤 lamchob
The wife and I started collecting cups and mugs whenever we travel. No touristy I<3 NYC, but if we run into a nice mug, we take it back home. Whenever you grab a coffee or tea, a little memory is there with it.

👤 chovybizzass
ceramic travel mug. works great for warming up coffee and keeps it warm for awhile.