The Challenge

At work this week, the decision needed to be made as to what kind of coffee cups would be used for future promotional material. Not being one to miss the chance to test coffee cups, I took it upon myself to review the cups in order to determine what makes for the best coffee experience.

NOTE: the opinion expressed here is mine; and in no way represents the opinion of my employer or the coffee shop next to my work.

The Cups

There were a total of four cups to choose from:

• A. a 20 ounce behemoth
• B. a "diner" style
• C. a "chubby" cup
• D. the "rocket"

In a real comparative test, one might have a sliding scale of various parameters that, when added up, would determine which entrant was the best overall. Fortunately, this isn't that kind of review/test, so I get to do what I want.

The Coffee

For this test, which took place over two days, I used 64 ounces of Blues Breaker from Petaluma Coffee and Tea. As I've said many times before, I am not affiliated with Petaluma Coffee and Tea, I just really like their coffee and I like to support local business. Anyway, on with the review.

Oh who cares, let's just skip to the results (in reverse crapological order)

Cup C

There is no picture for this cup.
There was no coffee ever poured into this cup.
In fact, I never tested this cup. Why?, because I couldn't even get my fingers in the little handle. There is really no point is testing a cup I can't pick up.

Cup A

Although there is a picture of this cup, I didn't test it at work. I have two of these 20 oz beasts at home and I don't use them. Part of my coffee experience is the pouring of the coffee. A large cup reduces the number of refills and thus decreases the overall coffee experience.

Cup D

Look at that cup! It just looks so fast. For some reason, I can't help but think I'm a part of NASA mission control during the launch of Voyager 1 when I'm sipping off of this sweet cup.

I approve of this cup and would gladly add it to my collection.

Cup B

This cup is a time machine. With each sip, I am transported to my youth and all of the cups I sipped with friends at the local 24 hour diner. In a sense, this cup feels dainty due to the thumb and one finger grip that I use when lifting.

Hey co-workers, if this cup mysteriously vanishes, do not look in my cupboard.

Summary

For the most part, Cup D the "Rocket" and Cup B the "Diner" were in a fierce tie, which could easily have been decided definitively if I was allowed to complete my review of the cups. However, when I asked "hey, can I break these cups?", I was explicitly told "no".

Bummer...

In the real world, coffee cups get knocked off of desks all of the time, and I was hoping to emulate a typical fall in order to see if the cups would survive or not. Maybe next time.

Based upon it's weight and density, I think that Cup B is the most likely to survive a tumble from my desk, but I guess I'll never know. It is this perceived likelihood of surviving gravity's adverse effects, that allows me to declare The Diner the top cup of this review.

Now quit reading, and go sip coffee and break something.

Actually, you should quite reading and send me something to review, and by review I mean "test to see how far it can be dropped before it breaks".