Mugs

Call me crazy...but I think what holds the coffee is important. Not as important as the coffee inside...oh no no. But when I'm at home, I gravitate towards certain mugs. Whether because it's a style, or a color, or a message. I like my Billy Joel 2008 mug, for instance, because I love the hell outta that guy and got to see him in concert this year. I also have a half-size mug I picked up when my grandmother moved, and it's just so small and unusual looking I can't help but use it.

Most coffee shops give you a disposable cup by default. My one complaint about Dunkin Donuts is they use styrofoam cups...I mean, c'mon now. That stuff will be puzzling the archaelogists for eaons. I think the paper cups that White Castle use really are part of the flavor...you can't help but pick up some of it as the coffee flows through the mouthpiece. Paper is also nice because you can recycle it, and make the cups themselves out of recycled material (watch for that when I open my shop).

Something that just tickles me pink when I go to a coffee shop is when they offer a mug to their dine-in customers. Caribou does this (I believe...though now that I've typed it I'm 2nd guessing myself). Lookout Joe's does for sure. I've even seen Starbucks do it. It makes the shop that much more like home, makes my Wednesday night date or meeting that much more like Saturday morning at home.

So...I think...when I open my shop, there will be an emphasis on providing mugs. Not some standard set from Sysco. Maybe thrift store mugs. A mismatched set. Odd looking ones. Different sizes. Something to provide character, because character brings in repeat business:

Cafe Hound Joe: "Man, I really want some coffee, but...no idea where I want it from."
Cafe Hound John: "What about that place with all the crazy mugs?"
Cafe Hound Joe: *Floors accelerator*

Or something like that. Joe and I were much better at remembering the names of places, for one thing.

More about the selection process, later. But for now, think about it. Do you like a place for coffee because of their cups? Do you hate a place because of their cups? Are you more or less indifferent?