These days I rarely stop at coffee shops. Mostly I’m just too cheap when I can make my own coffee or tea at home for a fraction of the cost. But every couple of months, YA and I will make a stop at a Caribou if we are out and about.
In early days, when there was a Caribou two blocks from house, I will admit I was more of a regular. But in keeping with my “like it cheaper” gene, I purchased myself a mug that I could use whenever I stopped by. Saved a bit of money and saved yet another coffee cup in the trash. Even though this mug is close to 25 years old, it’s in pristine shape – it doesn’t get used that often and I wash it by hand instead of throwing it in the dishwasher. When we lost our little Caribou (first the big Lyndale closing and then the Minnehaha Creek bridge re-build), my use of my mug plummeted.
When I dragged it out to the car with me yesterday, it was probably the first time in a year that it had gotten any use. The young man behind the counter was astonished to see it. He picked it up, turned it around, looked at the bottom then called over co-workers to look at it. The big draw turned out to be the logo, which apparently was “updated” back in 2010. If you had asked me, I would not have been able to tell you what the new logo looks like:
Guess I’m just oblivious. But it turned out OK… they were all so enamored of my antique mug that they gave me my decaf for free!
Do you have a favorite cup/mug for your coffee or tea?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Sip a Cup, Baboons,
Yes. I did and I broke it about a week ago. Waaaa.🤨
I bought it years ago in Fountain Hills at an art show. I am still pouting. My second favorite is from a cafe in Seattle called “Biscuit Bitch.” It has the logo on the cup. So now I am using that one.
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So why…why, why, why will WP publish the words on my cup, while this weekend it swallowed a completely innocuous post?
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I couldn’t resist. I looked up Biscuit Bitch online. They have a very funny note about the cost of eggs right now.
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As a restaurant, it was irresistable. The entires experience was fun.
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We have some Polish pottery cups I like for my morning coffee. I only have coffee at breakfast.
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Yes, A Federated Insurance 110th Anniversary cup. Glazed black & gray pottery, with a gold Federated logo. It holds 16 oz., is thick and squat, so the coffee stays warm for longer than 10 minutes, and it’s not easy to knock over.
When traveling, I bought a Yeti 20 oz. travel mug a year ago and it works well for keeping coffee hot for up to 6 hours or so, depending on the weather. (If the AC is on in the car, it cools off a bit faster than if I’m driving in winter and the heat’s on in the car.
Chris in Owatonna
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I have a favorite cup, for use at home. The characters on it declare that I am a Taiwan Person. I got it back in 2011, 7 years before I became a citizen, but 25 years after I had taken up permanent residence there. Now, retired in the USA since 2018, the cup reminds me of something essential in my character.
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Dual citizenship, David? If so, why did you decide on the Taiwanese citizenship right before you relocated back to the US?
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Taiwan citizenship had not been available to us at all until 2017. The government there specifically invited us to join in the spring of 2018. Now, when we go back to vote for president, we travel on our TAIWAN passports.
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Just realized that one of my favorite coffee mugs that I use in the house, almost exclusively when I’m in my studio, is also a Caribou mug. And it also has the old logo on it.
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Oddly enough, I have a plain white mug for everyday tea. But I toss my teabag into a small precious teapot that, when filled to top, makes it just the right strength. I keep it on a little electric warmer, come back and refill as needed.
(A friend uses a pint mason jar for the same reason, but just uses the jar as her “cup”.)
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years ago i had a breakfast meeting at a coffee ship downtown that served their stuff in malt glasses with a brown cardboard sleeve
ikea sells the mugs for a dollar. i buy them 24 at a time and my wife gets upset because i leave them lose them hide them in my car and when we are down to 10 glasses she thinks the cupboards are bare. i often use 3 at a time
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That sounds like tim!
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I have a 16-ounce, salt-glazed Red Wing stoneware mug. I bought it on sale when they closed. It’s fairly heavy, and it feels really good in my hand. I use it for my coffee every morning. I miss it when I’m not at home, and I have to use an inferior mug.
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I have a Starbucks cup that is over 30 years old. Looks like this one:
https://www.bing.com/shop/productpage?q=starbucks+vintage+stamp+cup+thermal&filters=scenario%3a%2217%22+gType%3a%2212%22+gId%3a%22267497850389%22+gIdHash%3a%220%22+gGlobalOfferIds%3a%22267497850389%22+AucContextGuid%3a%220%22+GroupEntityId%3a%22267497850389%22+NonSponsoredOffer%3a%22True%22&productpage=true&FORM=SHPPDP&browse=true
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Mine doesn’t look as new as the one in the photo. Especially when you look in the inside, which was once white, but is now sort of coffee colored.
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I like the design of your old Caribou cup, VS, a lot better than the new logo – glad the workers got to see your mug.
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