Help! I’m Obsessed With East Fork’s Coffee Mugs

Drinking coffee is a very personal experience. Between where the beans are sourced and which roaster you support, what brewing method you enjoy, and what kind of caffeine delivery form you utilize (i.e. drip coffee, pour-over, espresso martinis, half-caf soy milk cappuccinos with two pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup), it’s a hugely customizable endeavor. 

Something a lot of people tend to overlook—at least IMHO—is the fact that the coffee mug you drink out of is low key the most important part of it all. Like, a mid breakfast with bland coffee served on some stunning Dansk tableware? Awesome. A fantastic, clean, robust pour-over served in a chipped, neglected, stained POS that someone clearly bought at T.J. Maxx (no disrespect, we love the Maxx) in the 90s? Sad. The true art of coffee lies in finding balance between every aspect of preparation and consumption, and that means having an absolutely killer mug.

It would follow, then, that I am a coffee mug guy. I’ve got so many. Like, I just did a spring cleaning purge and got rid of a number of beloved mugs, and I still have too many. Truly, I am a walking cliché who has all the stereotypes you’d expect from a 30-something dude: a mug repping my fave local brewery, a diner-style mug from a local artisan pie shop, a mug that my sister-in-law made with photos of me and my nephew on it, a Carly Rae Jepsen mug, and mug sets from two roasters I love. I’ve really got it all. Last year, though, despite my unwieldy collection of mugs I barely use but can’t bring myself to part with, I decided to curb the chaos and introduce a minimalist dimension to my coffee process by finding one perfect mug that I’d use every day. I like to think the move was inspired equally by David Lynch’s repetitive daily routine and Yellowstone rancher John Dutton’s Nkuku mug, but in any case, last year I picked up a limited edition (now sadly unavailable) Heath Ceramics mug that I fell madly in love with. Indeed, I used it daily, hand-washing it after each use so it would be dry and ready for the following morning. I really loved that fucking mug. TL;DR: My cat did not, and the mug perished. Naturally, I began the long search for a replacement. 

I didn’t have any specific requirements in mind, just that I wanted something clay or ceramic that felt handmade, was pretty durable (in case my cat happened to hate this one, too), was very attractive and aesthetically rustic, and, most importantly, felt good in my hand. After months of searching—I am extremely neurotic and picky about my dishes and mugs—I zeroed in on East Fork, an Asheville-based pottery company making absolutely gorgeous kitchen and dining items that seemed right up my alley. I’d admired its stuff online for a while, but had never jumped in. 

I decided to try The Mug in the Panna Cotta color (exciting, since that’s both a colorway I enjoyed and one of the best desserts known to man), and I’ll be damned if it’s not just an incredibly good coffee mug. 

I appreciate the different textures—the “panna cotta” is really smooth and pleasant to touch, while the lower, darker part is a little rougher; the rim is slightly textured, giving a natural, earthy balance to the whole object. It’s a great exercise in contrast. The handle is also a little thicker than most, offering a full, hearty grip, which I like, since I’m not always super coordinated before I’ve had coffee. (Funny how that works!) It's a 12-ounce mug, meaning it’ll hold a whole lot of coffee, and it’s thick enough to keep it warm for a while, which is cool.

I also tried the espresso mugs in Panna Cotta and “Char,” the latter being a collaboration with Momofuku. These fun little mugs—three ounces, perfect for a quick shot—are handleless, which makes sipping from them more of a mindful, engaging experience, which I find very dope. I host a lot of dinner parties and have guests often, and when I give people an after-dinner shot or a little pre-concert boost with this bad boy, they are really floored by how cool they are. If you’re trying to stunt on your friends with some bangin’ espresso in a most fly mug, you really can’t do much better than the “Char” (though I’ll always have a powerful soft spot for Le Creuset’s espresso mug in “Flame,” aka one of the coolest things in my kitchen and an all-timer coffee receptacle IMO).

Sure, you can get a bunch of cool coffee mugs anywhere; the world has no shortage of well-made cups that look and feel great. A ~*perfect*~ mug, though? One you’ll cherish, that you’ll use daily, that you’ll defend from your cat? Those are a bit harder to find. Thankfully, East Fork has some worthy options.

Buy East Fork’s mugs and cups here.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.