Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Quest for the Cup

I love coffee. Each day I fill the bottom inch or so of my coffee cup with half and half. I then carry the cup to work and fill up on the coffee from the break room. We happen to have fantastic coffee that I love with all my heart. I miss it on the weekends and savor each drink Monday-Friday.

I had a beautiful brushed metal cup that I received from an old employer. The cup was embossed with the logo of the said employer; which scratched off nicely the day after I quit while standing in line at the airport. I liked this cup because is kept the coffee hot and the lid pulled on and off so that you can position the mouth hole in the perfect spot, right handed or left. Due to the half and half obsession the plastic lid got a little stinky over time. The time has come for this cup to retire.

In my search for the perfect vessel, I did see some cups that use the exact same lid as my favorite cup. I briefly thought about just stealing the lid, but I decided a shoplifting charge wouldn’t be worth it in the end.

I did find a pretty pink, red and white fancy pants Migo cup at Target. It was clear and funky looking on the outside and the lid was only ok. It was a screw top, so no choosing the position of the mouth hole. I really liked the looks of the cup, probably because it was pink. The first problem was the size; it did not fit in the cup holder in the truck. Each morning I’d shove the cup in between my butt and the seatbelt hoping to not spill cream down my pants. The second problem was again with the size, the cup held too much coffee, and having no self control I’d fill it to the top and drink it down; ending up with a belly full of coffee and no room for say, lunch. The third problem was the inner thermal cup did not keep the coffee hot. I don’t like to drink cold coffee, unless I’m drinking iced coffee.

Cup number 3, success? I purchased a smaller metal cup at IKEA on Monday. Yesterday I filled up the inch at the bottom and was excited to drink toasty warm coffee as soon as I arrived at work. Unfortunately I left the cup on the table and had to settle for purchasing coffee from the coffee shop. Today I remembered to actually bring the cup down with me to the truck in the morning. The cup seemed great, it kept the coffee hot, it was not too big and the lid pops on and off, therefore allowing me to drink any which way I please.

As I said above I love the toasty goodness of coffee. But not when my mouth tastes like I’ve been sucking on a freaking nuts and bolts. The metal after taste is vile. Why would my beautiful new metal cup contaminate my coffee? I washed it. Why have I spend nearly $20 on coffee cups and they all hate me? I’ve eaten a dozen or so spearmint lifesavers to mask the metal taste in my mouth, yuck.

The quest continues….

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

buy the one cup just for the lid! It's worth it!

Deborah Boschert said...

For some reason I forgot to set aside my Lava Java cup which Jeff brought me from the little shop that I went to in Iceland. It's the best... I miss it already. Good luck.

Joanna Stein said...

Rose, Target upgraded their brand and no longer carry that cup. I wish I had purchased it.