Coffee is seemingly becoming more and more popular in America, and it’s unsurprisingly the gourmet coffee shops attracting younger customers that is leading the charge. The vast majority of coffee shops will serve your coffee to you in a disposable cup, but what are you to do when you’re at home? Anyone who drinks a cup of coffee for the first time–or even seasoned caffeine addicts–sometimes ponder the best way to get coffee from the pot to their mouths.

A coffee mug is the general consensus for serving coffee in one’s home. A mug is a fairly large cup, usually able to contain about 12 ounces, and made of a porcelain, ceramic, or glass composition. A mug differs from a standard drinking cup in that it is designed to hold very hot liquid. The vast majority of coffee mugs also have handles to prevent people from suffering burns, and some will come with matching saucers, primarily for use when no table is present. Auto and travel-friendly insulated coffee mugs are the primary alternative. Able to fit into a standard auto cupholder, these mugs rarely feature handles and almost always have tight-fit lids to prevent sloshing.

But you probably knew all of that. Specifically, how do you know which type of coffee mug is for you?

The easiest way to answer this question is to consider how you plan to consume the coffee. If you’re on the go, you’ll definitely want to invest in a good travel-safe mug. Inspect your primary vehicle’s cupholder to ensure your mug of choice will fit safely. If you’re simply drinking coffee from the comfort of your home, a traditional ceramic mug with handle is more than adequate. At this point, it is merely a personal preference. Mugs will undoubtedly vary based on volume, color, shape, material, and thickness. Many people will purchase a set of matching coffee mugs, while others have a collection of very different mugs for their home.

On occasion, one will spot a humorous coffee mug that is vastly oversized–a clear message to others that you need a lot of caffeine to drag your lazy butt out of bed each morning. It may be in your best interest to use a mug that can be refilled rather than one that can hold lots of coffee all at once.

Coffee mugs are very popular in workplaces, as well. If your office doesn’t already provide styrofoam cups, you may choose to bring in a personal mug to showcase your personality. Mugs with sports team logos, travel destinations, or pop culture references can be great ways to get caffeinated and start a conversation. “Oh hey there Diane, I see you like Tweety Bird! So do I! We should go make out.” Definitely worth considering.

Some amazing coffee mugs even are temperature-sensitive, revealing wording or pictures as the temperature increases.

Regardless of how you choose to drink coffee, just make sure that you don’t burn your very sensitive hands. And above all, coffee mugs are a chance for you to not just get coffee into your body, it’s also a chance for you to have some fun and showcase your super fun personality.

My Hot Take:
Personally, I have a few different coffee mugs I use regularly. In the home, we have several Starbucks mugs that feature the city the mug was purchased. In our case, those are Toronto, Minneapolis, and Austin. If I’m driving to work, I’ll grab my car-friendly mug with the screw-on lid. My dad’s business gave out a bunch of promotional coffee mugs as well, which I like to mix in. Whatever mug I use, I make sure it’s out of the reach of my 3-year-old son!

tl;dr
Put your coffee in an open cup-style mug at home, and in a car-friendly Thermos-style cup on the road. You really just don’t want to get burned.