SB: Beyond Coffee

There is only one reason why I visit Starbucks even if I do not drink coffee or tea.

One word, four letters.

Mugs, Mugs, Mugs!

I started buying mugs a few years ago in Korea, but only when I went to Europe did this mug buying became a must-do thing. You see, I feel that these are the perfect (affordable) souvenirs from my travels. While some do mug exchanges and others buy from sellers (sellers like me! when I remember to buy extra mugs on my trips), my mugs were all purchased during my trips, so all the mugs I have now are keepsakes from my travels.


My recent purchases from my Holland and Hungary trips

I also prefer to collect the smaller demitasse cups because they are dainty and they sometimes come in a boxed set. The set contains 1 demitasse city mug + 1 demitasse country mug, which makes it cheaper for me. There are times when the demitasse cups are unavailable, like when I was in Hungary. In cases like these, I buy the full sized mugs only if I like the designs.

I did not buy an SB Mug in Austria though. First, the Starbucks in Vienna had no Vienna city mugs. Second, the Austria country mug was so plain! Seriously, for a rich country like Austria, can't they make a better SB mug? I didn't think their SB mug's design was worth the 12.50€ price.

I have trips coming soon and guess what's on my to-do list? A visit to an SB branch to get my mugs!

Labor Day Weekend - Palma de Mallorca
May - Lisbon, Portugal
June - Lyon, France

My SB mugs, totalling only about 10 cities including those from Asia and UAE, are still few but they are the closest I have to a collection. I am so looking forward to buying more mugs here in Europe.

***By the way, just so you do not misinterpret, I do not live a life of leisure in Europe. I have my hands full at my day job and during my free time, I run the TLCshop sprees. I work hard so I can play and travel hard :-) To be honest, I earned more at my former job in Korea but I chose to come to Europe precisely because of the chance to satisfy my wanderlust.:-) I want to travel now while I'm still (relatively) young! As always, in life, it's about what will make you happy. At the moment, I'll take travel over more money.