Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Coffee Coloured Mug

 Always get the amount of milk in your coffee correct
  (+29, -1)(+29, -1)(+29, -1)
(+29, -1) 		  [vote for,
against]

As someone who has milk in coffee, but not a lot I am proposing a range of coffee coloured coffee mugs in a range of white coffee shades. Then if someone else is making you coffee, they just have to match the colour of the coffee to the mug.
—PiledHigherandDeeper, May 20 2003

Pantone Colour Cue http://www.pantoneg...%20color_%20id.html
Not for washing your hair. [egbert, Oct 21 2004]

(?) Perhaps a bit too much cream for my tastes... http://www.emerchan...UCHR0008/s.dSMoEHjh
[waugsqueke, Oct 21 2004]

Nice and dark, Columbian perhaps. http://www.collecto...com/hall/hall02.jpg
[waugsqueke, Oct 21 2004]

(??) Look, a whole flock of 'em http://www.etrestau...media/BrownMugs.jpg
[waugsqueke, Oct 21 2004]

(??) And even one for people who like their coffee blue. http://www.spiritproducts.com/cm809.jpg
Point made. [waugsqueke, Oct 21 2004]

Lovibond for Coffee http://www.halfbake...bond_20for_20Coffee
Related idea [PiledHigherandDeeper, Oct 21 2004]

(?) 128 Mugs for Tea http://www.joshrubi...8_tea_mugs.html?rss
[PiledHigherandDeeper, Jan 25 2005]

(??) Swatch-Tea Cup http://images.zento...tos/1/600x600/3.gif
I'm tempted to post this as a separate idea, despite it coming up in annotations here, and in 'Milk Cubes' [zen_tom, May 11 2005]

Ok, now it's baked. http://www.suck.uk....duct.php?rangeID=76
Likely a direct copy of this idea. [Worldgineer, Aug 21 2007]

(?) Pantone mugs http://www.we-make-...archives/004212.php
Baked ? I call it ripped off [xenzag, Aug 21 2007]

mycuppa mug http://swissmiss.ty...08/mycuppa-mug.html
baked again. one size fits all [blahginger, Aug 21 2007]

Baked: exactly as described http://www.onkarkul...p?/project/pantone/
[calum, Nov 05 2008]

Slightly different approach http://www.pinteres...135459901265793992/
But I have to note that none of the colors match the coffee in the cup... [DrCurry, Dec 09 2013]

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       Is the mug half-empty or half-full?
—thumbwax, May 20 2003
   

       It's half-baked, actually.
—Cedar Park, May 20 2003
   

       Cute.
—DrCurry, May 20 2003
   

       Fabulous. And then how would you get the right amount of sugar? Some sort of hydrometer-spoon?
—lintkeeper2, May 20 2003
   

       This could also help hide the coffee stain in the cup. Could this work with Hot chocolate drinkers too? P.H.D. --- would the cups be extra large as to accomodate the people would aquire such taste because they drink a lot of coffee?
—I2RI, May 20 2003
   

       Nice idea.. I like it. I'd like to see Tea Coloured Mugs too, I suffer from the same problem as you, but with tea.
—Kevlar, May 20 2003
   

       lintkeeper2: I think we already have a standardised measure of sugar (the teaspoon!)
—PiledHigherandDeeper, May 20 2003
   

       Excellent! That idea is a true eye-opener.   

       At first I was thinking, "Where can I get a mug in just the right color, and then baked it myself with a waterproof coffee-mug label that hangs around the handle. It says:   

       Match color of coffee to tag with whole milk add 1 tsp. sugar   

       All you need is a color printer and a card laminator. Maybe I could make money with a rack of these in different combinations, like they do with birthday or name magnets.
—FloridaManatee, May 21 2003
   

       Haha! I was just looking for one... I reckon about Pantone 480. With 2 sugars.
—fshhhh, May 21 2003
   

       Pantone 465 for me. Ideally the mug should be made of a LCD material with the abiity to display any Pantone colour. If this was implemented in the USB Coffee Mug (q.v.) there could be a nice GUI interface for choosing the colour.
—hippo, May 21 2003
   

       Pantone do a little hand-held gizmo for matching colours. (Linky linky). Maybe the technology could be adapted to read the coffee colour in the mug and provide audible feedback when the correct colour is matched ("When", followed by "Whoa whoa whoa whoa" if the colour continues to lighten).
—egbert, May 21 2003
   

       Good idea. This would really take the guesswork out of it. My mom uses that powdered creamora stuff, and she probably already has a mug that would suffice (white).
—dijontoothpaste, May 21 2003
   

       [hippo] - when you say GUI I trust you mean "Gustatory User Interface"?
—sild, May 21 2003
   

       Ha, ha, ha, [dijon], my mom too! You think we have the same mother?
—k_sra, May 21 2003
   

       I used to take my coffee with just a *smidge* of milk. I finally switched to black because nobody could administer the correct amount of milk. Maybe with this idea I'd switch back. +
—snarfyguy, May 21 2003
   

       Wow.
—monkeyseemonkeydo, May 21 2003
   

       And once again we have evidence that newbies often do well here. Here's PhD's third idea, 5 days after account creation, and he's already pegged the croissant meter. (WTAGIPBAN)   

       Well done, have another.
—krelnik, May 21 2003
   

       On the other hand, they say that everyone has one good book inside them. I've noted before that most of the ideas in the Top Ten were posted within days of the poster's account creation date. Perhaps everyone has one good idea inside them?   

       But anyway, all the fuss and pother about "newbies" completely, entirely and utterly misses the point.
—DrCurry, May 21 2003
   

       +, but make mine black.
—Worldgineer, May 21 2003
   

       I think I have croissant envy. Way to go, newbie. +
—goober, May 21 2003
   

       I've seen a cocktail glass with lines on it... Fill to here with x, fill to here with y, and so on to get the measures right and remember the ingredients.   

       Could do the same with a Pyrex ( glass ) coffee cup and a Dremmel ( mini sander ).
—furmobile, May 21 2003
   

       I appreciate the intent of the idea, but various-shades-of-brown, black and for that matter, pretty much every other colour of coffee mug certainly exist and are quite widely known to. Suggesting the colour for a coffee mug is surely not a halfbakery-worthy idea.
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       Not this argument again. We went through this for the broccoli vendors idea. The idea is to use coffee cup color in an intelligent way, which is novel as far as I know.
—Worldgineer, May 21 2003
   

       No, the idea is very clearly stated by the author... "a range of coffee coloured coffee mugs in a range of white coffee shades". This is quite obviously baked and has been for decades.
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       waugs: while I have seen many brown mugs, I have not seen a range of mugs in multiple shades of brown, and I very much doubt you have either. I am also certain you have never seen anyone go into a coffee shop and ask for coffee to match the color of their mug. This is a novel idea, it is a half-baked idea, and the votes reflect that plainly.
—DrCurry, May 21 2003
   

       Of course, I have seen mugs in a range of brown colours, and so have you. Go to a store that sells lots of coffee mugs and you could leave with 20 different coffee shades without much effort at all. Don't give me that silliness. Suggesting the colour of a coffee mug bloody well isn't a halfbaked idea and the votes just reflect more of the mass vote mania that plagued this place a few weeks ago.
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       Just take your ball and go home then.
—goober, May 21 2003
   

       perhaps in the manner that you can choose an exact shade of paint and have it mixed in the shop. perhaps you could get your favourite coffee shade mixed up and painted onto the mug and fired in a kiln. perhaps lay on a coffee shop while you wait - but hey I waffle...
—po, May 21 2003
   

       Belgian or Mickey Mouse-shaped?
—goober, May 21 2003
   

       Are you seriously asking me to post a photo of a brown coffee mug?
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       I am seriously asking you to go into a store that sells lots of coffee mugs and photograph a stand with mugs in 20 different coffee shades, preferably all the same size. I have never seen such a thing, and I really don't believe you have either.
—DrCurry, May 21 2003
   

       We're not asking. We're demanding it!
—goober, May 21 2003
   

       Well you'll have to take my word for it, Curry. I'm not going to do that to prove a stupid point about an idea. Shame you don't get out much, though.
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       I see this as more of a novelty marketing idea. Of course many different colors of coffee mugs are available, but a sales installation - featuring mugs designed with the express and loudly articulated intention of matching coffee-dilution tones - would be new.   

       Of course, it doesn't really take coffee strength into account. One black coffee can be twice as concentrated as another, but it won't be twice as black.   

       Still, I bet people would buy it.
—snarfyguy, May 21 2003
   

       He's linking like a madman! I didn't realize a group of coffee mugs was referred to as a flock.
—goober, May 21 2003
   

       Whoa, bliss. What are you doing bringing reason up in here? Please stick to nonsense in the future.
—goober, May 21 2003
   

       waugs, different shades - all sold in one place please.   

       the flocking mugs are all one colour.   

       people like this idea - don't rain on his parade!
—po, May 21 2003
   

       Personalized mugs are commonly available as well. There are tons of companies who will produce a mug for you to your exact Pantone specifications, if you want.   

       po, I have just as much right to not like this idea as you do to like it. As usual, of course, whenever I point out a flaw in an idea, not another fucking soul speaks up and I carry the burden alone. I'm used to it. I'm having trouble believing I'm the only person who thinks it's a little fucked up when someone suggesting the colour of a coffee mug gets 30 votes, but y'all loved strap on testicles too, so who the hell knows what flies here these days.
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       why wait till it has amassed 31 votes?   

       I didn't appreciate its niceness till about _ the UnaBubba anno. its a nice halfbaked idea! would you prefer a too-much-coffee tinted urinal?
—po, May 21 2003
   

       Aw, c'mon - TIPUET* does not 'baked make.
*This Is Possible Using Existing Technology.
—thumbwax, May 21 2003
   

       // You are in a hole and you're only making it deeper.//   

       No, sir, there are no "holes'. There are only opinons. I have one, just like you do. Now, I think I've made my point fairly clearly. All done.
—waugsqueke, May 21 2003
   

       <sweeps stage - bloody actors! - egomaniacs all - bloody actors! - sweeps stage/>
—po, May 21 2003
   

       whose?
—po, May 21 2003
   

       <sidling into a charred battlefield, hours too late> I'm with waugsqueke - but for rather less delineable reasons than "baked."
Here goes: a range of different coloured coffee mugs doesn't seem like a particularly inventive idea to me, even if the range of colours is limited to shades of brown. There are already brown coffee mugs. Producing a range of them smacks of marketing more than invention.
—my face your, May 21 2003
   

       Call it marketing if you like, but that doesn't preclude it from the realm of invention. Many/most ideas are a repackaging of other ideas in a way that people find useful. This idea takes the pre-existing concept of color and uses it in a novel and useful way. The same could be said of cream cheese in the cream cheese slices idea or metal in the solid solar stirling engine idea.
—Worldgineer, May 21 2003
   

       somebody (okay it was me) said:   

       // I see this as more of a novelty marketing idea. //   

       Nothing wrong with that. Innovation is innovation...
—snarfyguy, May 21 2003
   

       Fair dos. This one just sits funny with me.   

       [Not wanting to start an argument but I'd distinguish the "cream cheese rings" idea on the basis that I've never seen cream cheese in a ring before. I have seen brown coffee mugs, though.]
—my face your, May 21 2003
   

       [but have you seen a brown coffee mug that perfectly matches your coffee?]
—Worldgineer, May 21 2003
   

       [I don't drink coffee.]
—my face your, May 21 2003
   

       [tea?]
—Worldgineer, May 21 2003
   

       [Just gin.]
—my face your, May 21 2003
   

       //it doesn't really take coffee strength into account//
[snarfyguy], it's even murkier than that. Different coffee roasts and blends produce varying shades, even batch to batch. However, I add the same amount of cream to any blend, either by volume measurement (x number of half-n-halfs), or by time (x number of seconds). The volume of cream only varies by mug size. I wouldn't want a dark roast coffee to match the mug color, if its pantone value is for a light roast -- that would be too much cream.
I suppose I could have a range of mugs to cover various coffee shade possibilities...
—Amos Kito, May 22 2003
   

       See - here's the thing - just because a pre-existing coffee cup is "brown" doesn't mean it's the right shade by any stretch. Maybe there's too much yellow - making it golden brown, so on and so forth. If you look at some brands of shelf-stable bottled iced-coffee, you'll note the labels have the same colo(u)r as the iced-coffee. It's fairly obvious they used the iced-coffee colo(u)r as the basis for the label colo(u)r, rather than vise-versa. That's what this idea is about - letting the dog wag the tail.
—thumbwax, May 22 2003
   

       /That would be a real invention, worthy of the bakery, and would do away with all of the nasty shit here about Prozac, scenery and testicles/   

       /Pantone do a little hand-held gizmo for matching colours. (Linky linky). Maybe the technology could be adapted to read the coffee colour in the mug and provide audible feedback when the correct colour is matched ("When", followed by "Whoa whoa whoa whoa" if the colour continues to lighten)./   

       I tried. Didn't stop all the nasty shit though.   

       Personally I'd be happier if more people concentrated on suggesting improvements and developing ideas instead of rubbishing them/each other. Or just make a facetious comment. Or just keep quiet if you've nothing constructive to add. Annotating isn't obligatory.
—egbert, May 22 2003
   

       <Obligatory Annotation>+</Obligatory Annotation>
—silverstormer, May 22 2003
   

       UB: intemperate personal stuff removed, only honest discussion remains. But I'm having trouble squaring your other remark with your earlier comment: what do dials have to do with it?
—DrCurry, May 22 2003
   

       //I'd be happier if more people concentrated on suggesting improvements and developing ideas instead of rubbishing them/each other//
Here, here!
—krelnik, May 22 2003
   

       Sure is a lot of fuss about a painted coffee mug.   

       Who said you were Fuzzy?
—silverstormer, May 22 2003
   

       /I'm taking the fifth on that one/   

       I've heard it harms defence to sit on it like that.
—egbert, May 22 2003
   

       Ah, think up an idea relating to feeding Western society's favourite addiction, and watch the croissants pile up...
—-alx, May 22 2003
   

       So if I proposed a condom that had the same color as the pigment of the type of person one preferred, I could rake in the croissants too?
—goober, May 22 2003
   

       No
—-alx, May 22 2003
   

       hmph...maybe I'll try, and maybe my fellow bakers will prove you wrong...but most likely they will prove you right since I use too many ellipsis...
—goober, May 22 2003
   

       sp: ellipses. And you're on the wrong track: you should have taken the caffeinated condom turning. You'd get a few takers on thinkgeek.com, if nowhere else.
—DrCurry, May 22 2003
   

       Doesn't different types of coffee mixed with different kinds of milk (cream, milk, powder) create different shades of coffee? The stronger the coffee the more color in the coffee. The thicker the cream, the more saturation of the color. I think a set of mugs with the words "light" "medium" "dark" written on them would do the trick, no?
—nhil, Jun 10 2003
   

       I wasn't going to churn the idea for this, but since someone already did, I'll mention it. A couple of weeks ago I was looking around inside a Big!Lots store, and I noted they had at least 9 different shades of what I would consider coffee-coloured mugs on their quite large mug display shelf, plus black and white (for people who overdo it on the cream).
—waugsqueke, Jun 10 2003
   

       No photo, no credibility.
—DrCurry, Jun 10 2003
   

       (groan)
—snarfyguy, Jun 10 2003
   

       (giggle) I'm glad it got churned, this painful debate was entertaining. I think it's an idea even if waugs finds pictures of 4,000 shades of brown coffee mugs, unless they are intended for this purpose. Though I like the idea of a cup with instructions - 2 lumps sugar, no cream - permanently glazed onto the cup.
—Worldgineer, Jun 10 2003
   

       Love this idea. Very "matchy-matchy" which is often "a good thing" (as future convict #580924 of Turkey Hill Farm might say) Could happen. I used to dream of the day (inbetween dreams of someone like Fabio buttering my buns) when I could pay to buy one slurpee (nectar of the gods) but have several flavors without mixing them (yuck). Then low and behold the halfbaked geniuses at 7-11 actually created (an extremely expensive but nevertheless ...) version. The only downside? Corporate America just isn't visionary enough. What would my $7.99 CAN have gotten me? Only two (ONLY TWO) sides.
—thecat, Jun 12 2003
   

       // No photo, no credibility. //   

       That's a meaningless statement. It's not like it's the only Big!Lots store on the planet. You're the one that wants visual proof? Go take a fucking look.
—waugsqueke, Jun 13 2003
   

       Given the geographic dispersion of the bakers it seems excessive to ask someone like me to spend 20hrs flying each way to go find a Big!Lots store, given that you had allegedly seen the aformentioned coffee mugs.
—PiledHigherandDeeper, Jun 15 2003
   

       Sorry for the confusion, I wasn't asking you.
—waugsqueke, Jun 16 2003
   

       [waugsqueke] i knew that you weren't talking to me but as you had seen the mugs in a range of colours it would have simplified this debate to have taken a photo, many of the bakers would probably like to see it, not just those close to their own big!lots store. Linking is the ultimate proof of baking in the bakery.
—PiledHigherandDeeper, Jun 16 2003
   

       I believe you waugs.
—Worldgineer, Jun 16 2003
   

       [wau...@#(#*] Cognizant of the -pre-sumed fact that you might be heretofore of such inclination to postulate that "It's none of your fucking business" whereas the party of the my part is concerned... in do I wade.   

       If you aren't the cauldron calling the kettle black (re: your ridiculous comments about me "shouting" at you in a different post (boo hoo, sniff/sniff), then attacking PHaD for ... your usual non-reason! PHaD must have HB'ers Stockhom Syndrome for actually responding so nicely and respectfully to such crap.
—thecat, Jun 24 2003
   

       waugs: you can swear all you like, but your credibility is still shot. Photograph please.
—DrCurry, Jun 24 2003
   

       [thecat] I am just happy that [waugs] keeps the idea churning, it keeps hitting the recent list mostly due to [waugs] disliking it, each time it gets a few more votes. Ironic really!
—PiledHigherandDeeper, Jun 24 2003
   

       This is a great idea, except that it requires a whole flock of mugs. What you really need is a mug with adjustable color -- a little thumbwheel in the handle that you can spin to change the color of the mug.
—dAulnay, Jul 16 2003
   

       Fashion maven Calvin Klein might be a customer for this, according to a new book by Lisa Marsh ("House of Klein: Fashion, Controversy and a Business Obsession").   

       Quoting today's NY Post: "To ensure he'd get just the right mix of coffee and milk, he kept a Pantone color swatch on the kitchen wall so that whoever was making it would get the ratio right."
—krelnik, Aug 26 2003
   

       Soory, but BAKED. Saw a selection of these in a (?possibly Peugot?) design comp exhibition in the gallery on ground floor of Oxo building in London a month or two ago.   

       Can't find a net link, but (I think it's) Droog design (who) have already been in talks with the designer to produce it (granted, the designer was English, so referred to it as an idea for tea, but it's the same idea).
—ivanhoe, Nov 11 2003
   

       Who knows... they may even have read this first.
—st3f, Nov 11 2003
   

       Probably licensed the idea from Waugsqueke Enterprises, Ltd.
—DrCurry, Nov 11 2003
   

       [waugs] & [DrC]: Sirs, I salute you.
—Jinbish, Feb 27 2006
   

       I had this idea today at work, but alas once again the bakery has thwarted me! And [egbert]'s anno is so good it needs a churn:   

       //Maybe the technology could be adapted to read the coffee colour in the mug and provide audible feedback when the correct colour is matched ("When", followed by "Whoa whoa whoa whoa" if the colour continues to lighten).//   

       Plus there's a good argument in there too! Huzah! [+]
—theleopard, Mar 12 2007
   

       Huzah for the rejuvenation of the word "Huzah!" (even though that particular ejaculation is more often spelled as "Huzzah!")
—MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 13 2007
   

       I had to look, being the masochist that I am, just to remind myself of what a stubborn twat waugs is/was.   

       (Sorry jutta, but tis true).
—blissmiss, Mar 13 2007
   

       (link) Someone could get rich off this idea. I'd want one, if I liked milk.
—Worldgineer, Aug 21 2007
   

       //Likely a direct copy of this idea.//   

       Don't flatter the HB - a student did this at my graduation show, five years ago. It's an idea whose time has come, is all.
—moomintroll, Aug 21 2007
   

       Why was this excellent idea not brought to my attention before??
—MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 05 2008
   

       It was - you annotated it in March 2007. Although I suppose you could have annotated it without reading the idea...

Excellent link, [calum]
—hippo, Nov 05 2008
   

       oh, snap, [Max].   

       Don't worry, my senility gets the better of me sometimes, too.
—Custardguts, Nov 05 2008
   

       I remember [waugs] getting so upset about this idea he turned atleast 13 shades of red. He never really grasped the cup or the concept!
—blissmiss, Nov 05 2008
   

       A simple and slight revision of this idea removes the controversy:   

       One mug, whatever you like printed on the outside, on the inside (up to the lip) are a /series/ of vertical color bands from light to dark with numbers or descriptions printed on them near the top.   

       That mug is surly not baked, and is a novel and HB worthy idea.   

       p.s. [4whom]: I have no idea who [Isaacson] / [BenIsaac] might be, and my spelling and grammer are not yours to hold or let go, but I strive to improve and thank you for pointing out that I have room to grow.
—James Newton, Nov 06 2008
   

       Well, hello there [Isaacson] / [BenIsaac]. Long time no see. Welcome back!   

       You may have to correct your spelling and grammar, as much as you have let it go, we have not!
—4whom, Nov 06 2008
   

       Hmmm, I can see shopping centre kiosks selling mugs in various shades of black to white, touching all the shades of brown within, who then screen-print on a photo of the owner's face along with specific instructions i.e. "decaf, 1 1/2 tsp. sugar".   

       Pithy sayings of your choice can be added as optional extra for a nominal fee. Great for offices where mug ownership is a hotly contested issue. [+]
—AusCan531, Dec 09 2013
   


 

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