PEAR TREE LOG

pear tree log: I started this blog to keep my younger son, Jonny, in touch with life in Lincolnshire, while he spent a year working in China. That year turned into five! Now he is home and training to become a physics teacher. This is simply a patchwork quilt of some of the things I enjoy - life in rural Lincolnshire, our animals, friends, architecture, books, the gardens, and things of passing interest.



Monday, 29 April 2013

Cup or Mug?

I am pernickety when it comes to choosing a drinking vessel.    
I have spring cleaned the pantry and found some of the cups and mugs which have been tried and rejected over the years.
This is but a small selection...

Shape, size and colour are all important.
I  favour fine bone china for when I drink tea.
I don't like fancy, frilly edges, square shapes or, horror of horrors, cups with dark coloured interiors.
I like pretty cups or mugs,  not too big, with the correct amount of curve to the bowl.


Coffee demands something different.
I prefer a cup, not too large, as I would rather have two small coffees
than one large one...
I like my coffee hot!


This is my all-time favourite coffee cup.
I bought it years ago, in a sale.
It is thick china, very plain and quite small.
It has the most satisfying shape to it,
and, somehow, it just enhances my coffee drinking experience.


Do you have a favourite mug or cup?

- Lynne, this is for you...


...my favourite tea vessels.   They are very fine bone china, the transfer design
is wearing off them, but the shape is satisfying
and the size is perfect (for me).
They used to be beautiful but about one third of the design is missing.
They have held countless gallons of tea.
Posted by at

31 comments:

  1. Anonymous29 April 2013 at 09:03

    I have a tin mug which I occasionally rattle up and down the bars.

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 09:56

      What are you inside for this time? Should I bake a cake? ;)

      Delete
  2. valerietilsten59.blogspot.com29 April 2013 at 10:07

    I like this post elaine,
    i have pretty much the same coffee cup. its a light green white inside .. i love to have my coffee in it.
    Definitely chine for my tea. I will use a medium mug now and again..
    love your collection.
    I dont get to use my tea sets much these days. I seem to be always going to the childrens houses.
    wishing you a happy monday.. and a good cup of tea later.
    val x

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 16:43

      Hello Val, Oh yes, the tea sets! I also have lots of teapots, but only a couple of favourite ones. No wonder the china shelves are groaning under the weight. I shall be making a pot of tea in about twenty minutes, I shall raise a cup to you!

      Delete
  3. Jane and Chris29 April 2013 at 13:05

    I'm a coffee drinker, and like you,it has to be HOT.I have problems holding a cup so mugs are the way to go. My favourite is hand made, I can hold the handle or wrap my hands around the mug for extra cosiness.
    Jane x

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 19:46

      Hi Jane, George often forgets his coffee, or tea, then drinks it cold... that really does send shudders down my back.

      Delete
  4. Lynne29 April 2013 at 13:11

    I am a mug gal . . . and my favorite is pottery, beautuful glaze. Fits my grip perfectly, hot coffee being my preference.

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 19:48

      Hi Lynne, I think finding one which fits your hands so well adds to the pleasure of a hot drink - if it is beautiful too, then you are on to a winner!

      Delete
  5. KittyKittyWeaselFish29 April 2013 at 13:31

    It depends on the drink...like you, I like my bone china :o) For tea from a teapot it has to be my Spode teacups that I found in a charity shop, for tea made in the cup with a teabag: my pretty & dainty NT bone china mug and for coffee I have a squatter, wider blue & white mug. There are other mugs on the dresser that I never use unless I have guests. Mmmmm time for a cup of tea I think......

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 19:50

      Hi KittyKittyWeaselFish, I daren't even mention the mugs and cups on the dresser! Lucky you to find your Spode teacups like that - something beautiful to enhance your tea ceremony.

      Delete
  6. Meggie29 April 2013 at 13:33

    I do have a favorite cup...a heavy white "mug". My habit is to only fill it half way. I prefer coming back to the coffee pot for another half-cup.

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 19:57

      Hello Meggie, Another one who likes hot coffee! I loved your post today on your local farmer's market. I wish our local market was even half as good.

      Delete
  7. Joanne Noragon29 April 2013 at 14:07

    I have two favorites, one for coffee, one for water. Both hand thrown. There have been several favorites over the many years; I seem to replace one or the other occasionally due to tragic accidents.

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 20:01

      Hello Joanne, Oh the tragedy of a broken favourite! I'm happy to say that I have six of those favourite coffee cups - although they are identical, the colour varies slightly, so I have a very favourite. I think I need therapy.

      Delete
  8. Doc29 April 2013 at 18:41

    My favorite is my Royal Albert bone china mug and if my coffee burns my mouth then it is still not hot enough.

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    1. Elaine29 April 2013 at 20:02

      Hello Doc, That sounds painful, but I kind of know what you mean. I love Royal Albert china, too.

      Delete
  9. Jan29 April 2013 at 21:21

    A very large Whittards mug with very strong black coffee works for me first thing in the morning... After that it's warm water in a Cath Kidston red dotty mug. Jx

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    1. Elaine1 May 2013 at 07:30

      Hello Jan, Sounds good...well, I'm not sure about the warm water, but I like the sound of the red dotty mug!

      Delete
  10. Ms Sparrow29 April 2013 at 22:17

    I agree that it makes a big difference which cup or mug you choose. The coffee cup you favor looks like one that is common in a lot of cafes. Personally, I prefer a great big mug for coffee, but then I don't like it terribly hot. I have never really gotten a liking for tea as much as I have tried. Coffee is the only hot beverage I like.

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    1. Elaine1 May 2013 at 07:35

      Hello Ms Sparrow, You are right, that cup always makes me think of an old railway station buffet or an old, cheap cafe; it feels right in my hands, though. I didn't even get started on hot chocolate, that requires something very different.. I don't like soup in a mug - which is probably just as well!

      Delete
  11. Susan Kane29 April 2013 at 23:57

    Definitely a mug. My new one says, "My Grandma is the Best!"

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    1. Elaine1 May 2013 at 07:37

      Hello Susan, Now that really would enhance the coffee-drinking experience. Lovely.

      Delete
  12. Unknown30 April 2013 at 04:44

    My coffee is usually in a the-drive-through-Starbucks cup on my work desk. At home, it's tea, but it's strong tea in a big mug. A bit uncouth but that's the way I like it.

    janet (revisinglife.wordpress.com)

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    1. Elaine1 May 2013 at 07:40

      Hello Janet, There is nothing uncouth about it at all, the important thing is that it is the way you like it. As a child I was lucky enough to experience synethesia for many years, I often wonder whether this is a factor in why I find shape and colour so important...sort of crossed wires in my brain!

      Delete
  13. Cro Magnon30 April 2013 at 05:32

    I always make myself a cup of instant coffee when I get up at 5.30 am. It has to be large, so I use a very ugly blue MUG. I really must look for a replacement. I avidly hate that blue MUG; thank you for the push.

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    1. Elaine1 May 2013 at 07:45

      Hello Cro, You are an early bird. I bet the dogs love that. It always used to be my favourite time of the day, magical, mystical, full of promise. I hope you get that new mug soon.

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  14. Lynne1 May 2013 at 01:05

    You have shown us your collection of beautiful tea cup rejects - would love to see the one you are using :-)

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    1. Lynne1 May 2013 at 01:07

      Oh - forgot to say I am a bone china girl for tea. It matters not whether it is a cup or a mug. It is the thin-ness that matters as I like my tea hot and fresh :-)

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    2. Elaine1 May 2013 at 07:58

      Hello Lynne, Welcome! As soon as I have a moment I shall rectify that and stick a photograph on the post. I have two almost identical fine bone china mugs. I have used them for so many years that the design is washing off, they used to be very pretty and their shape feels good.

      Delete
  15. Susan1 May 2013 at 14:48

    That's a hard one! I don't drink coffee, but I will drink tea in a mug or cup. My rule of thumb is that is I'm having dessert, it's a cup and if I'm just curling up on the sofa, it's a mug:-D

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  16. Unknown13 May 2013 at 12:36

    Amazing design of coffee mug. I am a coffee drinker and use to drink in the coffee mug.


    Glan Deas
    Kopi Luwak

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