Why you have a favourite mug – and why it's worth so much to you

Keep calm and read this article about mugs

You probably have a favourite mug. Yes? If not, you'll likely know someone who does.

Jan has that slightly cracked Batman mug she always uses. She's sipped her milky tea out of it since 1998 after winning it in a church raffle. She also won a Freddo. It was a big day for Jan.

And what about Brian? He won't let anyone use his Countdown mug. It's older than his kitchen and hangs proudly above the kettle. His affection surpasses by some distance any objective worth the mug actually has.

Nearly 60 per cent of people said in a survey by Heinz that they have an emotional attachment to a mug. More than 40 per cent said their special kitchenware was "irreplaceable", while about one third told researchers that they'd be "devastated" were their mug to break.

Mugs remind us of happy times

Why, though? They're just mugs. How irrational are we? Why do we love and adore these chipped old things, stained with tea and emblazoned with mindless quotes and badly printed images of the Queen?

If you don't mind a quick personal aside: I have a particular mug. It's fine bone china, all thin and pretty. I was given it as a gift by a hotel. I truly believe my tea tastes better out of it. The mug makes sitting down to Silent Witness and nibbling on a KitKat much more pleasing an occasion.

Psychotherapist Toni Coleman told Psychology Today that she’s particularly attached to a sturdy, brown mug she has owned for years.

Some people have a favourite mug at work as well as home

“I acquired it one incredible summer I spent living at the beach when I was 22," she said.

"When I look at or drink from my mug, it evokes feelings associated with that summer. There’s just something about it that feels good and feels safe, even if it’s on an unconscious level...It provides continuity with the past and reminds me of who I used to be.”

There are a handful of reasons as to why we cherish what would, regardless of human emotion, be insignificant things. Some may seem obvious, but it's interesting to learn more.

Our possessions

We form close bonds with our special mugs

Yes, these mugs may just be mugs, but they're our mugs. The sentiment is called the "endowment effect" – it helps forge meaning to inanimate objects. With mugs, the feeling is often amplified, because we use them so often.

According to the Heinz survey, one in six people would "sulk" were someone else to use their favourite mug after popping round for a chin-wag and a cuppa.

Mugs reminds us of a person

Why do we appreciate mugs so much when we care so little for the sugar bowl? Our obsession is often propelled by the souvenir or keepsake value.

Mugs are common gifts, and we sometimes associate them with a person or event. They're practical objects that evoke emotions far beyond themselves. Their values are complex and potent.

Mugs understand us, and showcase beliefs

Mugs are often political

Mugs are sometimes embellished with amusing phrases, memorable images, and quotes from inspirational characters. You're bound to have seen a "World's Best Dad" mug in pound shops? What about your old teacher's Nietzsche one that you didn't understand?

Oh, and let's not forget political mugs. They remind us of things that are important to us, be it a sports team or the university or college we attended. Or staying in the EU (even if it's your own fault Britain's leaving it). Anyway, mugs make up the fabric of our being. They're part of our identity.

Mugs are warming

Cocoa is a gorgeous thing

This is down to the contents they carry rather than their material (unless you're one of those people who re-heat tea and coffee in the microwave). The warming effects of the drinks mugs transport is nourishing and heartening.

“If I feel sluggish and need extra oomph, I’ll use my Wonder Woman mug,” says psychotherapist Kelley Kitley. “If I need extra pep in my step at work, I’ll use my Boss Lady mug.”

Hot chocolate, for example, not only tastes good, but it smells lovely too. Aromas and flavours are powerful, and if we obtain them by way of a mug, it's only natural our minds forms a close allegiance with it. It's about expectation and union.

You wake up with it

Mugs are part of routines integral to our lives. Whether you wake up with a hot coffee, or snuggle down at night with a brandy and cocoa, these carriers of beverage comfort us in our fragile states. Soup when you're poorly, yes?

Katherine Schafler, a psychotherapist from New York, says: “We typically use mugs to get us going in the morning or to soothe us in the evening. Our mugs become these helpful, quiet, loyal sidekicks.”

So there we have it. Mindful mugs.