What Your Travel Mug Says About You

If you’re anything like us, you’re always in the market for your next travel mug. Whether you’re backpacking across the Alps or brewing a quick cup on the way to your nine-to-five, there’s a travel mug for every type of coffee/tea drinker. Besides finding new and creative ways to store our ever-growing collection, the biggest struggle for us travel mug enthusiasts is carefully selecting our next purchase. Our mugs (perhaps only in our own heads) make a statement to the world about who we are. But have you ever wondered how that statement is received? We’ve compiled a list to let you know what your travel mug says about you:

1) Sporty Mugs

If you have a travel mug supporting your favorite sports team or a previously attended school, it says ‘we like sports and we don’t care who knows’. It tells people you’re a big fan of [insert sports team here] and you likely attend games frequently either in person or via television viewing. It also alerts fellow office-goers that you’re someone who’s eager to get in a debate or (more likely) shouting match over best teams and players in various hypothetical scenarios. If you’re not constantly prepared for a verbal dressing down from office mates when your favorite teams take a beating, proceed with caution.

If your mug is supporting a previously attended school or school a friend attended, you’re telling the world that you got that mug for free at a pep rally and… I mean come on, it’s a free mug.

2) Plain but Practical Mugs

Plain yet Practical mugs say you’re not the type of person that needs to read your mug to get your daily motivation. It says, in a pretty obvious way, drinking coffee or tea is its own reward. You care much more about quality than… well… personality and you carry a mug that reflects that. Why would you need a mug that says, “Coffee is my life,” when your coffee stays piping hot from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM?

3) Punny/Joke Mugs

Punny mugs or Joke mugs tell others that you’re someone who has a great sense of humor. If you’re a teacher and you place a mug on your desk labeled, “Student Tears,” or a manager with, “World’s Okayest Boss” stamped across in bold letters, people will know you’re approachable and easy to talk to. You’re telling the world that you don’t take yourself too seriously (understatement of the century) and that you like to have a good time. CAUTION: If you’re not actually funny, proceed with caution. Frequent jokes will be expected.

4) Nerdy Mugs

If you love travel mugs that display inside jokes or artwork from your favorite television, movie, or book franchises, you’re telling the world you’re a proud dork. You have your passions and you’ll shout them from the mountain tops. In fact, you live for the days when someone recognizes the obscure quote or artwork on your mug–you’ve found a like-minded soul with whom you can obsess over Daredevil or Doctor Who. You’ll probably break up your discussions and get back to work at some point… eventually. CAUTION: People who aren’t fans will frequently pick up your mug without asking and squint at the text in an attempt to glean meaning from the nonsensical phrases and inside jokes.

5) Logo Mugs

If you have a logo mug from a random hotel in Fiji or a business for which you’ve never been employed, you’re telling the world, “I got this for free. Also, I don’t believe my travel mug defines me as a person.” How wrong you are, my friend.

6) Sassy or Motivational Mugs

Sassy or Motivational mugs tell people that you’re someone that needs a little pep in their step in the mornings. Some people get their pep through inspirational words like ‘Take it one day at a time,’ telling others they like words of affirmation and most likely have a Pinterest board dedicated to these tiny nuggets of wisdom. Your coworkers will likely friend you online and tag you frequently in motivational quotes or get you similar travel mugs as gifts.

On the other hand, some travel mug enthusiasts solely obtain motivation from drinking their morning coffee or tea. For these people, coffee is essentially a blood transfusion they need to inject into their bodies every morning in order to speak or interact with any living creature. These people are kind enough to alert you of this using their mug to indicate at what point in their coffee drinking that you’re allowed to speak to them. We thank them for this kindness.

7) Personalized Mugs

If you’re someone who made a customized mug with your name printed on it, you’re telling the world that you’re someone who takes pity on those of us who are bad at name recognition and are using your travel mug as a subtle nametag. Your coworkers will thank you greatly for this, we promise. If you made a mug with pictures of you and your friends on it, you’re telling the world, “I’ve had this mug since high school and… well… it still works, doesn’t it?” If you created a mug customized to include various photos of your pet, you’re telling the world, “Yes, I did spend money to put my dog’s face on my mug.” And, honestly, we can’t even complain about that last one. Who wouldn’t want to look at cute animal pictures all day? No one you want to be friends with, that’s for sure.