Awesome Cups

Disposable plastic cups aren’t exactly the best thing for the environment. Still, it’s interesting to see how they’re made. This factory machine takes rolls of plastic and uses a vacuum and heat to thermoform thousands of cups an hour. After it spits out cups, spinning brushes sort them into rows for stacking and packaging.

These portable hot/cold cups collapse down to just over 1″ high but can hold 8 to 20 oz. of your favorite drink. Each cup comes with a leak-proof lid, a heat band for protecting hands from hot drinks, and a silicone straw that can be stored inside when not in use. They’re made from BPA-free plastic and are dishwasher safe.

These Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle collectible cups from Numskull Designs and Merchoid are lean, green, and mean. Each 14 oz. ceramic cup features a wraparound design of your favorite turtle. Choose from Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, or Raphael designs, each sold separately.

Hikers and campers need to maximize space in their backpacks. UCO’s collapsible cup takes up half the space of a regular cup when folded and holds 12 oz. of cold or hot drinks. Its handle has a hole for a carabiner, and it’s made from dishwasher-safe, BPA- and phthalate-free, and food-safe polypropylene.

Stop sipping your espresso from an ordinary cup. Instead, get your caffeine fix from the skull of your enemy. Ceramicist Texas Mud Monger makes this 4oz. slip-cast espresso cup that looks like a human skull – minus its lower jaw and skull cap. Each one is made from quality porcelain and finished with food-safe ceramic glazes.

We’ve heard of stoneware mugs, but those are actually a kind of ceramics. Ben from Natural Stones worked a solid piece of igneous rock into a vessel for sipping coffee. The process involved cutting the stone repeatedly to form a cylinder, drilling out its center, sanding, and polishing it. He also made the handle from stone.

Artist Yuuki Nishihara creates beautifully handcrafted metalwork from his shop in Itoshima, Japan. In this video, you’ll see how he works strips of tin into the shape of a cup, then hammers it to produce a faceted texture. You can find his work for sale at Itoshima Gokoro. We enjoyed listening to each tap of the hammer.

58Products‘ playful porcelain pieces bring a smile to faces with their silly and expressive characters straight out of a Disney cartoon. They come in various shapes and sizes, including bowls, cups, mugs, sugar bowls, and storage jars.

Kinto’s beautiful glassware has a mid-century modern look, with its gently curved shapes and deep amber hue. The collection includes tumblers, mugs, cups and saucers, and jugs, along with available walnut wood trays. Each piece is made from heat-resistant glass that is both microwave- and dishwasher-safe.

Überleben’s Kuksa is a traditional Nordic wooden mug for camping. Each one is hand-carved from a hunk of sustainable hardwood and holds up to 7 ounces of food or drink. Dual finger holes make it easy to hold, and it comes with a leather lanyard and carabiner clip.

Luycho’s unique cups and saucers produce an animated image when turned. The trick is the series of lines on their saucers which reflect onto gold mirrored strips, creating the illusion of movement on porcelain mugs. They come in horse, bird, and cat designs with either a porcelain or wood saucer.

Enjoy this hypnotic look at a machine designed for the high-speed production of paper cups. It starts with flat sheets of paper, rolls them onto a form, glues the seam, adds the bottom, and eventually rolls the top edge, cranking out as many as 130 cups per minute.

We love the unique faceted design on GearPride’s stainless steel tumblers. They hold up to 200ml (or nearly 17 oz.) of your favorite beverage, and their double-wall insulation keeps drinks hot or cold for up to 5 hours. They come in various colors, including natural, black, white, red, and multicolor gradient.

This 450ml cup will last for a very long time thanks to its 100% titanium construction. It features a smooth beveled lip and folding mug handles, as well as a removable lid. Titanium’s very high melting point means it’s safe for heating liquids over a campfire – just remember to handle with tongs or an oven mitt if you do that.

These tall green glasses from DOIY Design are modeled after the color and texture of a saguaro cactus (minus the prickly bits). They come in a set of four, and when stacked they form one tall plant, complete with those upwards-pointing arms. They also make a shorter version, though it’s currently sold out.

Swing for the fences every time you take a sip from these unique baseball bat mugs from Young Bat Co. Each one is handmade from the barrel of a real bat and can be custom laser-engraved or painted with text or images. They come in tall (12oz) and junior (6oz) versions. They make a great groomsmen’s gift.

This distinctive and elegant sake vessel gets its inspiration from the drips that occur during the Japanese spirit’s distillation process. Each one is crafted from stainless steel and features a removable cup and saucer that looks like rippling liquid. The bottom of the saucer can also be inscribed.

Combine two shot flavors in one, or enjoy a shot and a chaser back to back with these split shot glasses. Each one has a 1 oz and half-ounce chamber and is made of reusable plastic. Sold in sets of 20, so you’ll always have plenty on hand.

Ceramic artist Stepanka Summer creates unique porcelain tumblers and mugs embossed with lettering that allows light to show through. The creamy white tumblers come with numbers, Xs and Os, or Love lettering, while the mugs simply send a message of love.

Just because you’re out in the wilderness doesn’t mean you can skip your morning caffeine fix. This titanium coffee cup features a double-walled, insulating design, and won’t affect the flavor of your brew. The 5oz. cup includes a matching spoon and saucer.

Ceramics artist Trevor Foster created this collection of cups which are designed as a reminder to live life to the fullest. The skull-shaped stoneware cups will come in espresso, tea cup, coffee cup, and mug styles, and can be finished in a variety of glazes, from a deep red iron oxide to pleasant pastels.

Drinkware company MiiR presents a special edition of their insulated 12oz Camp Cup, with wonderful wraparound art by Kyler Martz that recognizes the feelings of isolation, but solidarity that many of us are going through these days. $5 of each purchase will go to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund.

Not only do Kruve’s unique double-to-single-walled espresso cups look great, they keep coffee hot, and intensify and funnel that delicious aroma to your nose. Its design also encourages you to swirl your drink, smoothly mixing the components that separate with brewing.