Coffee Matters

[Davydd]

Most of the week I drink coffee out of a paper cup with one of those corrugated slip on holders but on the weekend I prefer a substantial classic diner coffee mug. I have two. One came from the Split Rock Lighthouse Minnesota State Park and says "History matters, Minnesota Historical Society". The other is from the University of Wyoming. Note the cowboy on the bucking bronco. What's yours?

Edited September 2, 2006 by Davydd (log)

[Bombdog]

Every morning (when I'm at home), every cup, for over 15 years.

I have no idea what I'll do if I break it. They have changed the patch since I retired and I doubt this design is available any longer.

[srhcb]

I'm sorry to "show off" my lack of digital photography skills, but ....

I have several dozen mugs, but only use three regularly. At work I use a mug from a friend's bar, named Tom & Jerry's, which has cartoon pictures of, you guessed it.

At home I use either a mug with the handle broken off which features a mouse hanging from a barbell and the inscription "you give me strength"; a gift from GF, or a black mug with my name in gold script and a Corvette emblem.

SB (notorious for never washing his coffee mugs)

[Live It Up]

This is my husband's favorite mug. The bear's head is lid that keeps coffee hot. I bought it for him in Buenos Aires, and then I decided I liked it so much that I had to carry it in my store.

These are my three favorite, which I alternate according to mood. The one with the jungle animals is my current favorite, though.

Also, I never drink coffee out of paper.

[Davydd]

Hey, the mugs are looking good. Who would have thought about a lid to keep the coffee warm. That's cool Live It Up.

15 years with the same mug has to be some kind a record Bombdog. The patch seems to be intact.

SB, if you can take a digital picture and get it on your computer the posting is simple. I sample my high res pictures down to a manageable 600 x 450 and upload to Photobucket.com. They store your picture and give you files to use. In this case you simply copy the IMG referenced file and paste it in your posting. It doesn't take a lot of brainpower once you get the routine down.

When did coffee cease being served with a cup and saucer? I looked high and low for the classic diner coffee mug from the days at sitting at a counter and drinking coffee. That's my preference. I am also thinking ahead about what I want to keep in my RV and the diner coffee mug looks like a stable spill proof cup.

[misstenacity]

Easy. The day I was at the thrift store scanning the glassware shelf looking for interesting vessels, I spotted the ONLY mug that was personalized with a name - and it was my name.

I had to buy it, of course.

Photos from my egullet blog:

Andrea

in Albuquerque

http://foodpart.com

[srhcb]

SB, if you can take a digital picture and get it on your computer the posting is simple. I sample my high res pictures down to a manageable 600 x 450 and upload to Photobucket.com. They store your picture and give you files to use. In this case you simply copy the IMG referenced file and paste it in your posting. It doesn't take a lot of brainpower once you get the routine down.

I can't remember the last time I took a picture, but it was long before digital!

When did coffee cease being served with a cup and saucer? I looked high and low for the classic diner coffee mug from the days at sitting at a counter and drinking coffee. That's my preference. I am also thinking ahead about what I want to keep in my RV and the diner coffee mug looks like a stable spill proof cup.

←

Here's my idea of coffee cups but I haven't seen any in use since .... the last time I took a picture?

SB (ascribes to the theory held by many aboriginal people that when a camera takes your picture it steals a little bit of your soul)

[daniellewiley]

Here's my mug:

the day just doesn't feel right if this mug isn't clean and available.

[johnsmith45678]

I can't find a picture of it online, but I have a huge Denver Broncos (I don't really care about football -- it was a gift) mug that holds about four times as much coffee as a standard coffee cup (I hate having to go fill up!).

Back when I was working the opening shift running the kitchen at one restaurant, I would fill a gallon milk jug up with coffee and milk. Most of the time I'd finish it by the end of the shift.

[srhcb]

the day just doesn't feel right if this mug isn't clean and available.

←

I've a penchant for letting my personal coffee mugs get really stained. I don't know why. Maybe its like seasoning them or something?

I do keep the mugs I offer to my guests clean though.

SB

[srhcb]

I can't find a picture of it online, but I have a huge Denver Broncos (I don't really care about football -- it was a gift) mug that holds about four times as much coffee as a standard coffee cup (I hate having to go fill up!).

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The problem I have with a huge mug is that the coffee cools off before I can finish it. In fact, what brought me back to this forum yesterday was a search for the theoretical perfect drinking temperature of coffee for maximum flavor.

Does anyone know?

[Bombdog]

The problem I have with a huge mug is that the coffee cools off before I can finish it.  In fact, what brought me back to this forum yesterday was a search for the theoretical perfect drinking temperature of coffee for maximum flavor.

Does anyone know?

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I did a couple of quick searches and found two references to the perfect serving temperature. One recommends 145-160F and another specifies 150F.

[phaelon56]

Those temps sound about right for seving temperature. But if you get a freshly brewed cup of coffee in a good cafe - perhaps one brewed directly into an airport or better yet - brewed on a machine like the Clover you should expect that the coffee was brewed in the optimal brewing range of about 200 to 205 degrees F.

How much and how quickly the temp drops after that is function of what type of drinking vessel one uses, whether it is preheated or not and how quickly the brew is consumed.

I taste coffee at all sorts of temps and find the best coffees to taste great even when the temp drops below 150 F but I think that 150 - 160 F range is a sweet spot for drinking. That's why my home brewing is done directly into a preheated thermal carafe and I serve in relatively small (6 oz to 8 oz) servings.

[cakewalk]

My very favorite coffee mug broke many years ago. I was, of course, devastated. I couldn't find them anywhere anymore, so I had to kiss that one goodbye. Then friends of mine bought me a Yankee mug, and that's the one I've been using ever since. I love it. They bought it for me after the Yanks won the chamionship in 1996. Great mug. I want to get one of those Greek coffee cup mugs, they make me laugh. I absolutely hate to drink coffee out of a paper cup (although at times it is unavoidable.) I only use cups and saucers when I have guests. I love the shape of those v-shaped mugs, but I don't like to use them because the coffee cools down too quickly since they're wider at the top than at the bottom. And I don't like to drink out of a dark colored coffee mug, which is why I hardly ever use my Kinky Friedman mug, it's dark blue. Picky picky picky!

[johnsmith45678]

The problem I have with a huge mug is that the coffee cools off before I can finish it.

←

I can drink coffee at any temperature, from hot to cold. But hot or cold is best. I used to drink a lot of iced coffee.

[jesskidden]

Most of the week I drink coffee out of a paper cup with one of those corrugated slip on holders but on the weekend I prefer a substantial classic diner coffee mug.

←

Those mugs are based on the original design of the Victor Company, which made heavy insulators found on telephone poles and, IIRC, was commissioned during WWII to design and make a heavy mug for use by the US Navy. The classic Victor mug is stamped on the bottom "VICTOR". There was a very good article on the Victor Company in, I think, a back issue of the diner afficiando magazine, Roadside, but I can't find much on the internet (save for a LOT of links to antique dealers and eBay sellers)- not the original story and not even whether or not the original company is still in business in Victor, NY (Wikipedia's source says "yes", others "no") -they did stop making the mugs years ago due to cheap imports flooding the market. The article mentioned above discusses how the two women who hand-made the handles were able to tell who's design the Chinese knock-offs were taken from.

I've slowly gotten a small collection going of a dozen or so Victors, and US and imported knock-offs. (Most of the actual Victors are smaller than the imitations- 6 oz. vs. 8 and 10 oz'ers). Some of the nicer US made mugs sold with diner logos, etc., are from Westford China. (Many of the imports, I've noticed, don't hold up in the dishwasher and the logo eventually fade off.) http://www.westfordchina.com/product-preview.htm but, of course, they don't sell retail.

Lots of diners sell them, as do a number of colleges, coffee shops and roasters and such diverse outfits as The Thoreau Society, the Stax Records Museum, Fender Guitars, NPR's Car Guys, etc. A fun little hobby, but, with the weight of a mug, the postage will often cost as much as the mug (which tend to be in the $5-10 range). They also are quite unbreakable- so far....

Edited October 22, 2006 by jesskidden (log)

[tafkap4d]

I'll have to post the pic later...my absolute fave mug is one that I "borrowed" from the FAWC in P-town about five years ago...simple white not too thick, not too thin mug...I go absolutely apes when I can't find them...I "borrowed" two of them.

No worries...I left a replacement.