The Best Coffee Mugs: Porcelain and Stoneware Worth Owning

Artesano Original is Villeroy & Boch's rustic line: undecorated creamy white premium porcelain with the slightly irregular shape of a hand-thrown pot. The mug holds 10 ounces, and the listing says it is made in Germany, with shock- and impact-resistant edges meant for catering use as well as the home.

It is sold individually, which is the reason to start here. Buy two, see whether you like the weight and the handle, and add more later. The maker also notes it fits under coffee machines with up to 4.1 inches of clearance, which matters if you brew straight into the cup.

Skip it if you drink large coffees. Ten ounces to the brim is a modest cup, and people who fill a mug to the top will want something bigger.

The catch. Small for anyone who takes a big mug of coffee, and the creamy white is warmer than a bright white set.

Italian Countryside is one of Mikasa's best-known patterns: white with fluted bands and scroll detailing meant to recall classical columns. Mikasa lists the current mug as porcelain, 11.5 ounces, about 3.75 inches tall, and dishwasher and microwave safe.

The case for it is breadth. The pattern has plates, bowls, bakers and serving pieces, so a household that already eats off Italian Countryside can fill the mug shelf to match, and replace a broken one without hunting. At about $12 a mug, it is the cheapest way here to own four that look alike.

Skip it if you want a plain mug. The fluting is the whole design, and it will look out of place next to modern, undecorated dishes. Some owners also report the newer mugs feel heavier than the older ones.

The catch. The fluted pattern is decorative and traditional; it does not suit a plain modern table.

Made In's mugs are high alumina vitrified china, fired in Stoke-on-Trent, the center of English pottery for three centuries. It is the same family of material used for hotel and restaurant china: fully glazed, hard to scratch and resistant to thermal shock.

Made In rates them for the dishwasher, the microwave and the oven to 580°F, and backs them with a ten-year no-chip guarantee. They hold 12 ounces, are 3.6 inches tall and stack, which helps in a crowded cupboard. The wide opening is meant to let the aroma of the coffee come through.

Skip it if you want a big mug. Twelve ounces to the brim is a medium cup, and owners who drink large coffees have asked Made In for a bigger size. The plain white shape is quietly restaurant-like, which some will find too plain.

The catch. A medium mug, not a large one, and the look is plain hotel china rather than handmade.

NewWave is Villeroy & Boch's deliberately unround collection: the rim dips in a wave and the handle curves away from the body. The Caffè mug holds 8 ounces, is made in Germany of premium porcelain, and the maker cites shock- and impact-resistant edges and a hardness and scratch resistance meant for restaurant use.

It is a mug for espresso drinks, flat whites and a cup of tea rather than a big morning coffee. The shape makes it a small event on the table, and it pairs with the rest of the NewWave range if you want matching cups, saucers and plates.

Skip it if you like a mug that disappears into the kitchen, or if you drink by the pint. It is the most expensive mug per ounce here, and the design is the reason to pay for it.

The catch. Small, and the asymmetric shape is a design statement that not everyone will want at breakfast every day.