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We’ve re-added the mugs from Gray Lane Ceramics now that the company is shipping to the US again. Water Cups
Mugs live in our cupboards year-round. But as the weather turns crisp and chilly, and hot chocolate and cozy drinks beckon, they become essential staples.
From classic diner styles to beautiful glass vessels to handmade stoneware cups, these are the mugs that elevate our morning cuppa into an experience.
If you prefer matching mugs and plates, you can peruse the mugs in our guide to the best dinnerware sets. We also have more practical guides to the best heated mugs, travel mugs, and tumblers.
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In seventh grade I decided my entire personality would be based on drinking tea out of oversize, clear glass mugs. (I must’ve seen this in a movie or something.) For weeks I begged my mom to drive me around hunting for one, and then we finally found some at Pier 1 Imports. Thirty years later I still love a big glass mug, but now it’s one of these delicate beauties from the Japanese brand Kinto. They’re thin, stunning, simple, and affordable enough to replace if they break (trust me, glass mugs break often). They’re also available in a 12-ounce and 17-ounce size, and Kinto’s shipping was lightning-quick. One version even comes with a matching glass strainer, for a true tea-lover nirvana.
Everything about IKEA’s Dinera mug works for us—the Scandinavian take on a diner mug (more on those below), the bargain price, and the muted color choices. We even have them in our Wirecutter kitchen. Michael Hession, Wirecutter’s head of photography and video, also loves them. “I am very picky about my mugs,” he said. After lengthy searches for the perfect mug, he found the Dinera while browsing at IKEA. “It has beautiful proportions, looks modern without making a fuss about it, [and] it’s the perfect size for me, at 10 ounces.” And since they’re so inexpensive, if you break one, it’s not a big deal.
The Heath Ceramics Stack Mug is part of Heath Ceramics’ classic Rim Line, which we recommend in our dinnerware guide. The 8-ounce Stack Mug isn’t huge, but we think it holds just the right amount of liquid, keeping your coffee warm until the last sip. Made by a small team in Sausalito, California, this handcrafted stoneware has an unglazed rim and base, which adds to its earthy yet refined look. One tester in our dinnerware testing panel said, “Each piece feels like an object of art.” Nearly all of our testers gushed over the colors and both the matte and shiny glazes of the Rim Line. Of the various Heath pieces that we’ve in the Wirecutter test kitchen since 2019, none of them have chipped or broken. Heath also offers a one-year warranty on its dinnerware if you find any defects.
First made by the company Victor to survive rough seas on U.S. Navy ships during World War II, the original classic diner mugs are pretty indestructible. Diner mugs have evolved over time, from new companies and with new designs. Yet the basics we love are the same—a weighty mug that holds 8 to 12 ounces of liquid and is made with thick ceramic (originally porcelain) to help insulate drinks. If you like the feel of a heavy, sturdy diner mug, we love the stoneware Highwave Classic Cafe Mug. It weighs a little over 19 ounces when empty and holds 10 ounces of liquid, and it’s a slightly updated version of the diner classic. My Highwave has survived several drops onto my kitchen floor, with just a loud, ringing thud. It’s the last mug in my cabinet I’m worried about breaking. I tend to nurse my hot drinks all day, long after they’ve gone cold, and this one keeps liquids hot for a surprisingly long time.
What’s more fun than a diner mug from a pie shop? Bubby’s in New York City offers three designs from doodles sketched by owner Ron Silver, but the Pie for Breakfast mug is our favorite. We also can’t get enough of the bowl-shaped coffee mug from Junior’s in New York (even though it doesn’t have the classic diner-mug shape). This one is making us crave the diner’s famous cheesecake and a cup of joe.
“I’m a fan of the super-heavy vintage diner mugs you can find on eBay,” said senior staff writer Tim Heffernan. (Members of our home team here at Wirecutter are also fans.) Victor, Shenango, Ventura, and Rego are the most common makers. And if you prefer vintage mugs, it’s not too hard to find sets, mostly in brown or off-white. “My Venturas weigh 19.5 ounces empty and 26.5 when as full as you’d ever dare,” Tim said. Why does he love them? “Because on cold mornings, if you fill them with boiling water for a few minutes before dumping it and adding your beverage, they absorb the heat and keep the beverage—and your hands—warm for a good hour,” he said. “Also you can drop them onto hard tile and they won’t break.”
In the midst of the pandemic, when supervising editor Daniela Gorny and I both discovered The Great Pottery Throw Down on HBO Max, we fell in love with Emma Bridgewater’s pottery. Many of the mugs (and bowls, plates, jugs, and other assorted lovely things) are limited-edition models, so you have to get them when you can. The half-pint mug is great for morning coffee, but the company also has larger cocoa mugs. My daughter also has a small personalized mug, perfectly sized for kids, and it has become her favorite for hot chocolate. The pottery is easy to mix and match for a casual, English-cottage-style collection in your cupboards.
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Vietri was founded in the 1980s by an American family inspired by a trip to Italy. The company is woman-owned, the pieces are still made by Italian artisans, and they’re absolutely delightful. “I treated myself to the Maccarello Mug,” said editor Gabriella Gershenson. “It’s big and beautiful. The painted mackerel pattern is soothing to look at, and the glaze has a nice, slick finish.” (Supervising editor Daniela Gorny also owns this one.) The generous, 14-ounce mug is big and cozy enough to cradle between both hands. “My only complaint is that the fish are painted on just one side, so I have to angle the mug in a certain direction to enjoy them,” Gabriella added.
Le Creuset may be known for its enamel-coated cast-iron Dutch ovens (and I love mine deeply). Yet the surprise star of my Le Creuset life is this stoneware mug. Even after years of use, the ones I own still don’t have a scratch on them. (I also have a set of the company’s ramekins, made from the same stoneware, which someone gave me in 2007; they have been an indestructible presence ever since, retaining heat perfectly when melting butter or warming up pancake syrup.) These mugs come in more than a dozen colors, and at a hefty 14 ounces, they are large yet really nice to hold. I can see myself collecting the full rainbow over time or giving one as a bright, happy gift to friends, my daughter’s teachers, or even in a gift swap here at work.
“When I was a little kid, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house, and I never understood why my grandma would laugh when I requested to drink from these mugs,” said home/decor staff writer Dorie Chevlen. “Years later I took a closer look and finally got it.” She said her grandmother bought the mugs when she started a job as a sex educator. “No small feat for a mother of three kids in the 1960s!” Dorie said. She and her sister bought a set identical to their grandmother’s when they moved into an apartment together in New York. The mugs are still made by the same company. “Just like her, we delight in offering cups of coffee to guests in these slyly sexual vessels, awaiting their delighted—or horrified—responses.”
At first glance, these matte-finish mugs by Jazmin de la Guardia and Sierra Yip-Bannicq appear to have a simple abstract design. But keep looking, and suddenly it’s clear—tatas everywhere. The cups are handcrafted and hand painted at design studio and ceramics store Franca in Brooklyn, New York. The white porcelain mugs have a matte exterior finish and glossy interior. Franca also makes a similar penis mug if you want to mix-and-match the cheeky designs.
This Cup of Ambition vessel—inspired by icon and national treasure Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5”—is the cup I reach for when I’m tackling a giant to-do list, when I’m on a tough deadline, or when I just need a reminder that I’ve got this. District of Clothing—founded by Dionna Dorsey, the creator of the Trust Black Women T-shirt—also makes several other mugs with empowering messages to choose from.
The Column Carved Mug from Mt. Washington Pottery is a favorite with supervising editor Daniela Gorny. “I got a pair of these as a housewarming gift, and they’ve become some of my favorite mugs,” she said. The size and shape of the handle works with how she drinks coffee. “I usually just grab the mug like a cup instead of from the handle, and the small loop is perfect for a couple of fingers to wedge through.” Even though these mugs are dishwasher-safe, Daniela hand-washes them. And that’s probably a good rule of thumb for most handmade mugs, if you want them to last for years and years. You can usually check the site to see if there are any mugs for sale; the shop also sells its mugs through various stockists and at local craft fairs, if you’re in the Los Angeles area.
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Canadian potter Erin Seeley’s tree mugs are the favorite handmade mugs in my house right now. I bought a pair of them in fall 2021, during one of her very popular shop updates. Her online shop usually appears “closed,” which just means you have to wait until the next update to buy anything; she suggests following on Instagram or signing up for email updates. The mugs are understated and earthy, they hold a generous, 16-ounce cup of coffee, and they fit in perfectly in our woodsy farmhouse. Shipping is not cheap, but if you’re starting a collection and want something modern and special that works for everyday use, set your alarm for her next update.
I recently bought a stein-sized mug from Sublime Pottery (mine holds 27 ounces, but each mug is slightly different), and I cannot stop looking at it. The color and details in the glossy, rainbow-hued surface are so pretty that I can’t decide whether to drink tea from it or display it on a shelf. The company releases new items every few weeks, and they sell out fast—so fast, in fact, that the website has an entire page of instructions for how to navigate restocks. These mugs are a splurge, especially for the larger sizes, but the glazes are too gorgeous to pass up.
This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Christine Ryan.
Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since 2015. Previously she was a school librarian, and she’s been a quilter for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. She moderates Wirecutter’s staff book club and makes her bed every morning.
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