Coffee Mug Pride

Been taking alot of heat here at the office lately for my coffee mug. Is it really THAT disgusting. My justification is: A) Black Coffee Only B) Never leave anything in it after I leave (usually) C) In case I'm ever in a position where there is no coffee, I can add hot water and probably brew a pretty strong cup to keep me going.

Its been used mon-fri since I started working here, about 3 years. It has never been cleaned, only rinsed once in a while. I figure scalding coffee each morning must kill anything lingering around...Right?

Anybody have anything similar?

Yes, I often have a cup just like that, when I didn't wash it and was out of the office. Of course, I then wash it before I put anything else in it. A little staining is one thing, maybe you don't wash it daily, but three years?

tell em it's an antique and loses most of its value if you remove the patina.

Tell them that you wash it once a year, whether it needs it or not.

I am SOOOOOOOOOO jealous . . . thats BEAUTIFUL :rockin:

I used to have a mug like that but when I got home from my time in the navy my Mom tried to wash it out then threw it out because it "was ruined". I let her know the only thing that ruined it was her scrubbing it

Now a days trying to get one like that between the wife and the firehouse is impossible, SOMEONE is always doing me "a favor"

The cup is gross, but it's ickyness gives it a lot of character that should be appreciated.

There's an art to making a cup that dirty that you still drink out of. Your immune system has to be in tip top shape to endure the caffeine flakes that raft bacteria and dust down your gullet on a daily basis. The office could pelt you in sneeze and you'd end up virus free from the immune boost the cup is providing.

I have a teacup at work that I use every day and rarely wash. It's clear glass, so everyone can see it's majesty after a while with no washing.

People used to give me crap about it, and I told them I wasn't going to wash it until they could go a full work week without anyone commenting on it.

Took a month for people to quiet down. It finally got a bath, but by that time the bottom has a permanent brown stain that's stuck there forever.

I love my teacup.

You out of cleaner? I hope your brewing equipment is cleaner than that cup.

That is a work of art! I have a travel mug that I use every morning and never wash. It is black plastic- it looks gray!

My wife washed it once. ONCE- that was it. Sadly after two years of use it is starting to not seal and will getting replaced soon.

I bet the inside of thermos is looking good... It gets rinsed out but never washed.

Been a while since I saw such a fine example of a "lifer cup."
As long as your fermenter doesn't look like that, you can drink coffee with pride & satisfaction, knowing that nobody else will use your cup.
Regards, GF.

Navy Chiefs consider the blackness in their coffee mugs a badge of honor... so as the only Marine in USS DUBUQUE's Chief's Mess I made it my mission to make sure the "mess cranks" and "selectee's" washed the mugs constantly. Nothing like having the whole Mess pissed off at you at once

wash that mug dude. I'm all for sloshing some tap water around and reusing it the next day, but that's gross. You're probably slowly poisoning yourself.

OR you could just put a shot of whiskey in your next mug and call it a day.

While I won't ever let a mug go that long without a good washing (I drink my coffee with cream and sugar). I have always chosen the mugs at work with the defects in the bottom. They are usually very small pits that took a bit of stain, so it looks dirty.

But lately I'm using a Ferris State University Bulldog Hockey Insulated Travel Mug at work. Keeps the coffee hotter longer, and shows my Bulldog Pride!

Go Bulldogs!

Where do you get your ideas at? Tell me you didn't see this in a movie somewhere and try to incorporate it into your real life... Hoping and praying that one day someone won't call you on your guilty conscience of the movie name.

Affably,
Logan

Logadacious said:

guilty conscience of the movie name.

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no, no ... there really is a place called Ferris State University - having nothing to do with Ferris Bueller.

Jacob_Marley said:

no, no ... there really is a place called Ferris State University - having nothing to do with Ferris Bueller ... but ferris as in iron.

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Sure you don't mean ferrous?

It was actually founded by a Mr. Ferris, Wikipedia tells me.

The Jack Skellington mug in this photo has been in daily use since I got it from Disneyland two years ago. It's never been cleaned like yours but it somehow hasn't taken on nearly as many stains as yours.

Thanks for the mostly positive responses. I feel alot better this morning. My Immune system is remarkable and I credit it to my lifestyle choices. Cheers:

SenorPepe said:

It was actually founded by a Mr. Ferris, Wikipedia tells me.

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Wow ... I always just assumed it referred to iron. As recently as the mid 2000's Michigan was the nations second leading iron ore producing state ... and jobs in transporting, taconite etc.
I stand (or sit) corrected

And on "ferrous", SenorPepe ... right again! Ferric ... Ferris ... Ferrous ... DOH! I don't be so literit sometimes.

lol no worries, it actually ended up piquing my curiosity so we all learned something today. Not sure how useful this information will ever be, but...information nonetheless

that's a little extreme......you can use table salt and a sponge to clean that up, maybe.

I always think of that as added flavor.

Good on you!!!

I have two cups just like it. There's a lot of work involved in keeping a good "salty" cup like that. Guard it with your life!!

well, you're still alive, right? i think it's awesome.

My first job, I almost got fired for cleaning the office percolator. The inside looked like your cup (OP), and I thought I've give it a good cleaning. My boss was spitting out his first cup, asking who the hell did this ????

Just wanted to post an update on my mug and encourage anyone else to post their coffee mug pride and beauties on here. Personally to me, this is like my second child. On the weekends I get a little sad thinking she is all alone in the office sitting empty on my desk while I'm enjoying a cup a' joe from her cleaner sibling at home. The coffee never tastes the same either from a freshly washed cup. True "lifers" know what I'm talking about. Lately I've been getting alot of "threats" at the office about it disappearing. Recently I left it in the microwave one day and nobody would touch it to take it out so they could reheat their lunch. Its gaining authority like it should.

Hawaiianbrewer said:

Just wanted to post an update on my mug and encourage anyone else to post their coffee mug pride and beauties on here. Personally to me, this is like my second child. On the weekends I get a little sad thinking she is all alone in the office sitting empty on my desk while I'm enjoying a cup a' joe from her cleaner sibling at home. The coffee never tastes the same either from a freshly washed cup. True "lifers" know what I'm talking about. Lately I've been getting alot of "threats" at the office about it disappearing. Recently I left it in the microwave one day and nobody would touch it to take it out so they could reheat their lunch. Its gaining authority like it should.

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I understand and do know the feeling of a true lifer mug fear. I have had threats too of theft, cleaning and possible creamery. I had decided to lock this in with my cabinet when I leave work and take the key home. I have forgotten a few times and the anxiety is over whelming that someone may have done something to it. I have decided to start taking it on travel with me. Yours is a real peace of vintage art. Please keep me posted. I have uploaded a picture of my prized possession. While its not close to yours. It is still something of pride for me to gaze upon each day. Please take note the marbelization at the bottom as well as the brim scum developing from pin point sipping accuracy. Cheers fellow lifer mug traveller.

Coffee stains are one thing but where you put your lips needs to be cleaned in my opinion. That to me is where gross might come in especially if you put it in a microwave where I heat my food. But you do say you rinse it so I can't say for sure. Looks like no lip scum in the picture so.....

I had a motherly coworker decide she "had to clean it" while I was on vacation. It was sitting on top of the breakroom fridge, where only I could see into it (I'm the tallest in the office), minding it's own business and it got cleaned. Nowhere near as good as yours, as I only had about 18 months or so in it, and it wasn't used every day of the week, but I've started the clock over. Too bad it isn't even really pic worthy right now.

djfriesen said:

I had a motherly coworker decide she "had to clean it" while I was on vacation. It was sitting on top of the breakroom fridge, where only I could see into it (I'm the tallest in the office), minding it's own business and it got cleaned. Nowhere near as good as yours, as I only had about 18 months or so in it, and it wasn't used every day of the week, but I've started the clock over. Too bad it isn't even really pic worthy right now.

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It's ok man. It happens. That's why I take it on vacation. I work with too many of those types. As well as with people who I feel may be out to get my mug. Is that paranoia justified?

That mug is nasty.

I think it righteous. I use thermal travel mugs, but I had one of that magnificence worked on it for about 4 years, until i left it on the roof of my truck and ran it over... I cried a little. I have since obtained a new one and it is getting a nice layer of deliciousness. Can't beat a cup from a well seasoned mug. Rock it like a space shuttle and tell the office sqeamers to suck it up and leave you be. :rockin: Of course you could always go with the promise that anyone who touches your mug will subsequently have THEIR mug smashed. On their face.

Logadacious said:

It's ok man. It happens. That's why I take it on vacation. I work with too many of those types. As well as with people who I feel may be out to get my mug. Is that paranoia justified?

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I would never take it on vacation, or leave the office with it for that matter. Your asking for trouble with it in the outside world. I'd recommend getting yourself a travel mug like Ed said and make a dedicated mug for when you are away. In fact I do have a Stanley thermos thats been used to take the coffee to work each day as well as when I travel, its never been cleaned either. God knows what the inside of that thing looks like.

I know the threats are empty around here as she's earned enough respect not be messed with. Technically she's a seasoned employee here herself. Been around longer than a third of the employees. And JGLN has a good point about the brim scum, thats not stains but straight bacteria. I usually will clean the brim once a week by scratching off all the buildup as its important to keep a professional appearance from the outside.

That is like using a garbage pail that has never been washed for a dinner plate. If you wash it, that will be the same as washing the rotten garbage out of it so of course it doesn't taste the same as a clean mug. Maybe there is a lesson to be had from people "cupping" or tasting and grading coffee make sure that every thing is clean so as to not ruin the coffee. Nothing makes for the best coffee as clean brewing equipment and clean cups. Oh yea, I got yelled at and screamed at for washing the mugs on fishing boats but I won the argument when I made the do a blind tasting. Enough said.

clamflats said:

That is like using a garbage pail that has never been washed for a dinner plate. If you wash it, that will be the same as washing the rotten garbage out of it so of course it doesn't taste the same as a clean mug. Maybe there is a lesson to be had from people "cupping" or tasting and grading coffee make sure that every thing is clean so as to not ruin the coffee. Nothing makes for the best coffee as clean brewing equipment and clean cups. Oh yea, I got yelled at and screamed at for washing the mugs on fishing boats but I won the argument when I made the do a blind tasting. Enough said.

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I am not sure you have any idea of what you are talking about. You have no credibility. You've never had a mug so you wouldn't know what it's all about. You are just a no lifer cup Johnny pencil pushing life hater.

Hawaiianbrewer said:

Recently I left it in the microwave one day and nobody would touch it to take it out so they could reheat their lunch. Its gaining authority like it should.

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What the heck? What was your mug doing in the microwave? I can excuse the not cleaning the mug, but were you microwaving coffee?

I microwave coffee all the time ? If I pour a cup and it gets cold before I finish it, i'll just reheat it in the microwave or top it off with some fresh stuff. If your ice water gets warm do you pour it out or just add more ice?

The flavor of water isn't altered by adding more water/ice.
Coffee definitely changes flavor when microwaved. When my cup of coffee gets cold, I pour it out and get a fresh one.

bruin_ale said:

The flavor of water isn't altered by adding more water/ice.
Coffee definitely changes flavor when microwaved. When my cup of coffee gets cold, I pour it out and get a fresh one.

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That is something a UCLA Bruin fan would do...

oh snap... ?