Coffee mug preferences are very personal. Style, sentimental value, and routine all play a part in selecting a favorite. At the same time, coffee is a complex sensory experience: There are more than 800 identified flavor and aroma compounds in brewed coffee, and the vessel we drink from can have an impact on how these are conveyed. The thinness of the lip, material, size, and shape can all affect our sensory perception of coffee, but we also want a mug that is comfortable to hold and looks stylish—one that makes every cup of coffee stand out.  

“Fresh-roasted, well-brewed coffee requires so many steps to go right, and the final piece is the vessel you’re enjoying it in. If you haven’t thoughtfully chosen your mug, it can turn something that is thoughtfully prepared into a sub-par experience,” says Xavier Alexander, owner of the Chicago café and roastery Metric Coffee.

This means it might be time to ditch your old, oversized mug. Giant mugs keep coffee too hot due to their large thermal mass when full, but as soon as the volume drops below the halfway mark, the coffee cools off too quickly and becomes sour (coffee tastes best around 130ºF when your palate can detect more subtlety and sweetness). We spoke to roasters, baristas, and other coffee experts to build a list of the best, reasonably-sized (6- to 14-ounce) cool coffee mugs that will improve the flavor of your coffee while remaining stylish, comfortable, and easy to drink from.