This year, glittery tumblers are making people crazy who like iced coffee. No, really. It’s not just that these cups sparkle; they catch light in crazy, surprising ways. Like, one minute you’re sitting at your desk with a disposable coffee cups with logo of cold brew and the next your cup is making rainbows on your computer. You hold a small disco in your hand. TikTok users can’t get enough.
About things that make a statement: Cups that are matte black and have bright drip details are all over social media right now. They have an air of being “too cool for coffee shop.” Picture a black-out cup where paint runs down the sides in electric blue, slime green, or Barbie pink. Your cup makes it look like you planned the whole outfit, even if you’re late to that meeting.
Sticker bombed cups are back in a big way. Do you remember the kid in class whose notebook was covered in stickers? Now people do that to their everyday reusable cups. It has a very DIY vibe. There are many kinds of stickers, from anime faces to sassy sayings to old band names. The two cups don’t look at all alike.
There are a lot of hand-drawn art cups on Instagram. Artists draw weird faces, cute animals, or those wavy lines that look like they’re not connected to anything but are still “on brand.” Every scribble can mean anything. It’s not always a dog wearing sunglasses; sometimes it’s just a bunch of question marks. Someone needs to get their hands on the marker.
Really, photorealistic pet mugs are just what they sound like. Front and center: your dog’s silly grin or your cat’s grumpy face while it sleeps. Some artists use high-resolution pictures, while others add comic touches. People talk about these mugs and say “Oh my gosh, is that—?” more often than tea gets spilled.
No one saw this coming, but color-changing gradient cups are a big hit this summer. If you put something hot or cold in the cup, the color changes from one end to the other. Picture blue to purple and peach to pink. It works like magic for people who get antsy or have trouble staying focused. Another strange pleasure is seeing the shift.
For crafty people, eco-friendly bamboo fiber cups with pressed flowers cap the deal. They’re not just brown. Real flowers are sealed inside the layers of the cup. Even when you’re drinking cold tea in January, you always feel like it’s spring. People who shop at farmers’ markets and small shops are all for it.
All of these patterns give a simple drinkware item soul. Some make you happy, some make you want to pay attention, and some just make you laugh at how random everything is. This year, what does your cup say about you?