Have you ever thought about the shape and size of your tea cup or coffee mug? There was this one time in band camp…no, no, no. I’m really talking about just used as is, exactly what it was meant for, sipping a hot cup of tea, drinking your morning Joe, or warming your hands around a hot chocolate.
Perhaps you are not as anal as I am, but hubby has lovingly given me the pet name, asbestos. I like my hot food/beverages hot! I grab hot pans without the towel. I don’t stir and blow on my soup. When pizza is delivered, I stick it back in the oven. I’m not advocating my masochistic behavior (it punishes with some burn scars), but regardless of your preference, there may be a more optimal cup for you to use.
There are two simple factors the cup influences:
1. The wider the opening, the more surface area your beverage has for steam to escape. So the bigger the top rim is, the faster your beverage cools, and the narrower it is, the slower it cools.
2. The capacity of the cup also matters. Have you noticed that it doesn’t take long to cool off one spoonful of chowder? But, it takes a long time for a huge stock pot of chili to cool. Think of a teeny weeny tea cup vs. a super size similarly, the first will cool faster, the latter will cool slower.
So for me, dainty little lady-like tea cups drive me nuts. I feel like it cools within 30 seconds after being poured. It’s even worse if they are shallow.
My favorite are the cups and mugs that are tall and narrow. A lid can help too. If you prefer something closer to luke warm, choose the opposite, a shorter cup that has a wide rim.
Anyways, just thought I’d share the kind of stuff that I think about daily…
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I have a favorite mug, it is from the Adirondacks and probably from Walmart, but it is soooo cool…I mean warm. It is bigish. Wide at the bottom and tapers to a narrower rim. It’s thick and rustic looking and keeps Coffee Hot! I like my coffee, showers and food HOT! I like Salads and cold drinks, but if it’s supposed to be hot then I want it HOT! 😀
Jess, you crack me up. You also like cups that have ringed designs around it – at least tall, narrow cups with ringed designs on them. I like sturdy mugs, which I can wrap both hands around. Thanks for making me think of cups now…
Kelley, I don’t see many that are wide at the bottom and then taper in, but it sounds ideal! If you ever see another one, please let me know where I can buy it.
Amy, apparently I do, and good point, wrapping hands around in the winter is a big plus!
it usually takes me about 2 minutes to drink my mug of coffee–i can’t stand for it to become lukewarm! no, no nursing of the morning joe here. i enjoyed your post and will be using only very tall, very narrow mugs from here on out.
Haha, that’s hilarious! I have one that my grandma gave me and it has a little lid to keep my tea warm! Too cute. I also have 3 mugs that I painted as a kid, and no one- and I mean no one! is allowed to use them except me, I don’t have a reason why though! haha