Red Coffee Mug

To start off...its not really red. I was told it would be red but its actually more of a burnt burgundy. More a deep and dark red like the shaded folds of a rosebud. This works fine as it is a company mug and our company colors usually have burgundy. 

The outside has a faux marble treatment that is stunning. While the mug is obviously not marble, the representation of marble is so breathtakingly real that the viewer will unknowingly suspend disbelief for those first few moments. 

Our company logo is emblazoned on the side in white. While white is not the standard, it works well for contrasting with the deep burgundy of the mug. 

This mug is a standard 8oz mug with a centered handle. Now I know I will start a debate over centerd and offset handles but I prefer the centered. A standard "C" handle that is centered vertically on the mug offers not only better balance and cup control but a visually appealing and symmetrical profile. 

This is a ceramic mug though I dare say this was no ordinary clay used in its making. While I have known many ceramic mugs in my day...there are few I have loved. I love this mug. It has a weight to it that hints at the staunch durability underneath. It carries a heft that lets you know it was lovingly crafted and expertly balanced. No where is the quality more evident than when it is filled with a beverage. 

While most prefer hot beverages my tastes run ice cold like my vengeance. Iced coffee is a norm as well as Iced tea but please don't make the mistake of thinking that is all that this mug can carry. 8oz of Ice Water look just as comfortable and quenching as any other beverage. On a few rare occasions it has even branched out into Scotch, Rum, Vodka, Drambuie and even Anisette. In my opinion cold beverages really bring out the character in this mug. The weight of it is visibly evident in the way it holds the chill of the beverage. On a hot day when my office begins to feel stifling I look to my mug for comfort. 

Sitting there on my desk...it wears a halo of dew. Tiny water droplets form and hang with utter disdain for gravity on every surface. Eventually a tiny drop grows restless and impatient with me and begins its march towards my desk. As the drop turns to a tiny rivulet I ignore the gathering storm of resentment for my failure to use the mug and the beverage so lovingly cooled. The rivulet becomes a cascade as the drops flow down around the base of the mug, sensuously winding around the curves of the mug. The entice me to drink.

Finally noticing the spectacle my mug has created...I feel the thirst begin to grow. Staring at the sultry pool of coolness on my desktop my throat tightens, barely perceptable, as I try to clear my throat. I fight a battle with the mug. A battle to see who is stronger. As I stare at the still pool of liquid in the mug I can see my reflection in its depths. This mug has seduced me and I am but a man. I grasp the mug and I nearly weep and the solid coolness in my hand. It is as if the mug itself is quenching me through my fingers.

As I raise it to my lips and taste the first sip of the cool liquid inside, a single drop of cold sweat falls from the bottom of the mug and lands like an explosion on my shirt. All civility is gone now, I ignore my shirt and tip the mug. The cool refreshing water flows down my throat. I drink, enjoying the feel of the cold mug as much as the drink it brings. I feel as though my thirst will never be quenched. I drink it to the last and place it back on my desk.

My hand lingers on it like a lover whom I know must now leave me. I try to return to work but the mug now sits empty. A vessel without a purpose. Seeing such a culmination of form and function is heartbreaking. The open mouth of the mug might as well be a mouth open in horror. A mouth of a person who also is empty inside. But soon. Soon it will be full again. Soon the mug and I will share a moment when we both feel fulfilled. 

I highly recommend getting yourself a red mug. You won't regret it.