Coffee. If you’re like me, you look forward to every cup, every ounce, every aroma, every morning. I get up very early on the regs and I anticipate this beautifully dark and tasty drink quite eagerly!

I find that the pleasures of coffee begin way before that first sip. I find much satisfaction in measuring my beans, grinding them by hand, and getting my french press or pour over ready for brewing. It has become a bit of a ritual and helps get me ready for getting ready for the oncoming day. I need that. If you love coffee this much, and I’m guessing you do if you’re even lightly intrigued so far, then why aren’t you using a handmade mug to drink from?

Here are five great reasons a handmade mug will wonderfully improve your daily coffee ritual:

1. Handmade mugs have life in them. Okay, I know this sounds hokey, but if you compare a handmade mug with a store-bought one, the difference is quite obvious. My mugs undulate, they dance. You can almost see them move. They thrown quality is forever captured in the once-pliable clay. There are so many details that give a story of the birth of each mug that you learn something new about them every time you use ’em. And that’s just plain fun okay? 
2. Your mug should match your love for coffee. If all of your mugs look something like this, then you are missing out. A bland mug with an uncomfortable handle is no way to enjoy coffee. Why spend all that money on quality beans, a decent grinder, and a brewing system, if you are just going to dump that liquid gold into a lifeless and boring mug? Coffee is certainly not boring–earthy, chocolatey flavors and dark caramel colors, bitter notes and the exciting variations with how you choose to brew (ie french press vs. pour over etc.) all combine to make your morning coffee something to anticipate. Don’t ruin it with a terrible mug!
3. Each of my mugs are different and imperfect. Why is this a good thing? I understand wanting to have a set of matching mugs, but why do they have to be perfect? Why not instead consider purchasing mugs that are relatives rather than clones? The perfection that a set of exactly similar mugs bring is one like a cold and stale hospital wall or chemists table–nothing there that is not needed, bland, boring, and dreary. Not gonna lie, it also reminds me of a gross cheap hotel lobby. Sure a bland mug gets the job done, but you are literally nourishing your body with the first fruits of the morning. Using one of these to fill up your cup (and yourself) does this really well. 
4. You’re supporting an artist by purchasing their work. And when you support me, you’ll remember it every time you use one of my mugs, and it will make your experience just that much better 😉 . Besides, a handmade mug is very affordable for a real piece of art and it will quickly become the favorite in the cupboard. Usually someone who lives with you will begin using it and then you’ll only ever find your mug in the dishwasher. Hand wash that sucker and live it up! And get another one for that special person, duh. 
5. A handmade mug is actually usable art. When’s the last time you rolled up that nice painting on the wall and drank from it, or did anything else with it besides let it sit on the wall like a fat cat? Sure, it might be pretty, or fiesty (the cat or painting?), but a handmade mug like this does both. I mean it’s already gorgeous, and it has so much more to offer than that expensive and boring hotel kitsch you’ve got attracting nothing but dust in the corner. Here’s a novel idea: sell your painting and buy more handmade mugs!
6. Bonus! It pays for itself within a year if you bring it in to a local shop. If you drink coffee daily, then bring a handmade mug (or even your travel mug) and many places will give you $.10 off your drink. If this is done every day for a year, you will have easily made the money back that you spent. I mean could it be any better than that?!