Mugs, Tankards

A mug or coffee mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles. The mug often holds a larger amount of fluid and is usually used in less formal settings than the smaller, more refined cup. more...

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In polite society, a tea cup is the preferred method of serving tea and sometimes coffee (then called a coffee cup). Mugs are usually made of porcelain (china) but some are made of Pyrex and some (usually intended for campers) are made of plastic, steel, or enameled metal or ceramic. Mugs can be printed with a silkscreen print or for more complicated logos, the logo is applied onto a decal and then fired onto the mug. Mugs can also have microwavable gold and platinum logos. There are some gold and silver logos that are not microwave safe, so caution is advized.

A travel mug is a variation on the traditional mug that is better for transporting hot liquids. It may or may not be a vacuum flask, but is usually well insulated and completely enclosed, with an easily closed opening on the top for drinking and a handle on the side.

A puzzle mug is a novelty mug that is counter-intuitive to drink from. It will usually have several holes in it, making it impossible to drink from in the normal way. The solution to drinking from a puzzle mug is often to cover up all the holes or to discover a hidden method of drinking, such as drinking through a hollow handle.

Functions

Though at first glance a very simple object, the coffee mug serves a number of functions which make it especially suited to holding hot, brewed liquids.

The simplest function is provided by the handle, which provides a cool area of the mug, insulated from the hot liquid by distance and ideal for grasping.

The second function is necessitated by the fact that coffee is brewed at temperatures of 80-95 degrees Celsius, which is too hot to be drunk. The thick walls of a typical coffee mug will absorb much of this heat when the liquid is first poured into the mug, bringing the temperature of the coffee down closer to potable levels.

The third function of the mug is to trap the heat of the coffee. Much of the heat initially absorbed by the mug will eventually return to the coffee as the coffee cools. The mug also traps heat through insulation. This is achieved through two design features. First, the thick walls of the mug separate the coffee from the cool external air. Secondly, an indented base separates the coffee from the surface upon which the mug is set. The form of the base is what produces the characteristic ‘O’ shaped coffee stain, so often seen upon desks and documents.

Read more at Wikipedia.org