According to the Oxford Handy Dictionary, a cup is a "drinking vessel usually with one side handle." If there are two side handles, it is a soup bowl. If there is only one , it is either a tea-cup or a coffee-cup.
While there is usually one or maximum two types of tea-cups on the basis of their design, there are at least three distinguishable kinds of coffee-cups: (1) "mocca" or "espresso," (2) "cappuccino," (3) mug.
"Mocca" or "espresso" cups are very small and narrow china vessels with the cubic capacity usually of no more than one deciliter. Their use is widespread especially in Eastern Europe from Poland to Croatia. In this part of the world, people never seem to stop or slow down. They are constantly in the human-race almost never taking the time to enjoy the little pleasures of life. This may be the reason why they do not "waste" time with leisurely leaning back and relaxing sipping a "normal" cup of coffee or cappuccino. They just gulp down a small amount of the suspiciously dark drink killing fatigue in ten seconds and out they are again on the run. Therefore, the little porcelain cups decorated with fine flowery pattern or little dots make up an inevitable part of all "nice" girls' dowry and are the adornments of all elderly ladies' show-case. Because espresso coffee is made under steam pressure in those well-known coffee machines of metal that can be found in 99% of the households of all Hungarian coffee fans, it is stronger than anything. Drinking more than one deciliter of it at one time may make anyone's heart beat with a double or triple speed. That is why there are special cups designed especially for this kind of coffee. They resemble a liquor glass both in shape and size, the only difference is that they are always made of china and liquor glasses are always without a handle. Both types of "drinking vessels" serve similar purposes, though: to improve one's momentary general feeling as soon as possible.
"Cappuccino" cups are wider and deeper than their above mentioned "colleagues," simply because of the fact that cappuccino is a thinner kind of drink made with more milk and sugar than coffee. Cups designed especially for it are about 7-8 cms deep with the upper diameter of about 10 cms which makes it capable of containing two deciliters of drink. Because Hungarians seem to be devoted to black coffee, cappuccino cups are rather rare. They are not, or just rarely available in stores, and they are sometimes missing even from reastaurants. In Southern Europe, on the other hand, where people apparently take life less seriously and prefer passing their time on the sunny terraces of the numerous cafes instead of preying their minds, the habit of sipping a "long" cappuccino is more common. Maybe if the bourgeois lifestyle takes stand in Hungary again and life means something joyful and pleasant and not just "making a living," it will gain ground hereabouts, too. The process has started but it is not in its full bloom, yet.
The well-known ordinary mugs, which are "pillars" of most people's everyday lives, make up the third group of my categorization. Mugs with the cubic capacity of 2.5-3 deciliters are the best "drinking vessels" for the so called "long coffee." A coffee is long when the proportion of water is higher in the mixture than that of coffe, therefore it much more resembles hot water with coffee aroma than coffee in the espresso sense. Drinking two or three whole mugs of it has no negative impact on anyone's blood pressure, so it would be a worthless idea to try with smaller vessels. We can get a "liquid" of this kind if we buy one of those fancy coffee machines made of plastic that are available all over the Western world but nowdays also in our region.
It is very hard to decide which of the three types is the best. Naturally it is very subjective. If you are a fan of espresso coffee, you will vote for those fancy, tip-top cups. If you are in favor of "long coffee," cappuccino, or even Turkish coffee, on the other hand, your choice will most likely fall on mugs. All have their advantages and disadvantages: "mocca" cups are narrow and small, as I have already stated at several points, therefore they are rather inconvenient to drink from especially for people with long nose. Once a cup or even a glass is small in diameter, it is very probable that its upper edge just hits the tip of a long nose while its lower edge is in the mouth. It may be very frustrating and embarassing... "Cappuccino" cups are very elegant in my opinion, and it is also very pleasant to drink from once you have managed to reach your mouth without spilling the sweet drink. Since they are not deep but wide, it is rather hard to keep the drink inside and not pour it on your lap or the table cloth. If cups of this latter type are elegant then mugs, especially the ones with bright colors and cute patterns are cosy. They are designed for informal occasions and are the actual parts of our lives: they may express something about us and our personality. For instance, if you are keen on elephants, you may have a mug with smiling little elephants on, but the range of possibilities and varieties is practically endless. Although mugs are rather informal and we usually do not serve coffee in them when our grandmother comes for a visit, I think they are the best and most convenient "drinking vessels with one side handle." They are deep with a relatively thick wall which makes it impossible to bite in two when lazily "chewing" on a cup of coffee when watching TV or reading the newspaper (it is a crucial point of view by all means ). The handle is of a normal size, too which means you can get a steady hold of it reducing the risk of dropping the mug to the minimum (it cannot be said about "mocca" cups and their "Liliputhian-size" handles). So they are apparently not only fancy but also practical.
There is a fourth group of coffee-cups that is worthwhile to mention although its "representatives" are completely different from the previous types. I am thinking about those white or brown plastic cups, or rather "drinking vessels," that we are all so familiar with from buffets and drink automats. They are far from being nice or well-designed. Their value does not lie in their esthetics but on a deeper level: in their production price. They are disposable, therefore they have to be as cheap as possible. Once they are cheap, the emphasis is on practicality and not on appearance. The question of practicality is reduced to the lowest possible level, though: they should be able to hold about two deciliters of hot drink for long minutes and that is all. And all the disadvantages are rooted here: because they have to be cheap, the amount of plastic used in the production is very low. Therefore they are light and the walls are thin making it very easy to press the cup from the side spilling the drink to the floor. The adjustment of a handle would increase the expenses, too, consequently it is always missing, which is the worst of all the disadvantages of plastic mugs: once the drink is hot , the thin plastic gets hot easily, too, and once the cup you are holding is hot, you may easily burn your hand or drop your drink losing everything you have come for.
But in the case of coffee automats and school buffets (for example) the design of the cup you are served with counts the least. You just want a good cup of coffee and do not care about the rest. That is why they are cheap and practical (if a coffee cup without a handle can be practical at all) rather than satisfying to the eye. But it is you (or a close companion of yours) who pick your very own coffee cup of either type, therefore they should serve some esthetical criteria too. That is why they are rather expensive. And they are not disposable, only some semi-fixed assets of our lives which should last some
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Friday, May 11, 2007
L 192 F
Having invited a new American friend of mine to our English language practice class, I was excited to hear her impressions. She was quite positive about the class itself, about our level of English, but had quite a poor opinion on the esthetics and design of the department and the classroom. She was surprised to see old, uncomfortable desks and chairs, empty classrooms, no decorations. Her remark startled me, it came unexpected, and I had no abrupt ideas to contradict her. The following essay is to evaluate her statement. My non-concealed purpose is to find the advantages of our department image and convince her how great it feels to be member of this faculty.
On our way to the department we can't stop praising the idea that our department has such a beautiful scenery onto the city. It is a lot of fun to run up the hill towards the building while running out of breath as well. With a well-chosen cursory glance we might discover a beautiful white satellite dish on top of our department. More intelligent people would start wondering about its practical value, but the final realization must be that it is for decoration - if not for the exclusive property of the leader of the department. While meditating on its efficacy we arrive at the entrance of building "D". The next happy moment is to realize that the elevator has just left, which offers us some more pleasant minutes up to the fifth floor. That explains the nicest and strongest legs of girls attending the English department The logical argument for the placement of our department into top position is probably its popularity, since our is the most numerous department of all the faculties. To enhance the joy of arriving at our destination we might be lucky enough to notice our teacher walking towards the classroom. At this point we still have a good chance of being the winners with a last effort in running and thus preceding the comfortably walking tutor.
Those students who happened to miss this excitement and are on time or are too late to risk going in can find another type of compensation: the walls offer a wonderful spare-time with a wide range of topics. The variety of information must satisfy all students with interest in up-to-date or expired deadlines, canceled classes and events.
The deep Puritanism of the furniture placed in the corridor reveals the freedom of choice. Everybody is allowed to identify with it or bring any pieces that would break the unity of this style. The total number of chairs adds up to 3, while we are owners of one table too. Of course those rebels who delay to acknowledge the conformity offered by these three chairs should think about the mess more chairs- and so- more talking students would impose on the classroom work. At times some extremists even try to reduce this number because of the big disturbance those chatting people cause in the teaching process.
Other simple pieces of decoration are the two carpets laid on the floor. Only two, since more carpets, especially if from a third style, would be non-esthetic. In addition, further obstacles are not needed for the rushing students who always stumble over those two crumpled carpets.
The large window at the end of the corridor might be tempting so it is optimal for overtasked students to make a decision whether to choose the easier way of escaping to the revealing garden that offers complete relaxation instead of the stressful classroom situation. The open window gives a chance for a quicker way of leaving the department as a parachute, while for some more balanced people provides fresh mountain air.
All those who can resist all that temptation will enter one of the uniform classrooms. The range of colors will tranquilize anxious participants, as the only variety, white, is said to have a relaxing effect. Even our board is white instead of the mourning-type black color. There is no need to bother with the jarring sound of the chalk given usually by left-handers and some evil-minded students and with the dry touch of chalky hands any more. The department uses ultra-modern and well-designed whiteboards. There is a little box attached to the board which most of us can't really honor yet due to the lack of instructions. Some tricky teachers even utilized the box for cleaning the board with it. The distinct parts in the box suggest that there might have been some writing instruments inside. The most creative ones in the teaching staff would remember to take their own pens the other time. Unfortunately noone seems to consider the fact, that hardly any pens beyond the age of a week can elicit visible characters. Disappointed people should keep in mind that the same system works in the Western countries too.
Everything else also looks modern. All recent teaching methodologies expect semi-circular arrangement of chairs. This expectation is almost fulfilled, although the curve seems to be a little straight. We can't trace any remains from the teacher's platform either. It might seem hard at times to get sight of some teachers though, especially of those who enjoy the hiding aspect of the large table right in front of them. Still, most of us get a nice view on the teacher and vice versa, except for those students who happen to read or write some homework for their next class. The tolerance we get from the teacher by ignoring the corners of the semi-circular placement is appreciated a lot.
Another clue for the modernity of the classroom is a complete set of bathroom appliances in the back part of the room. For some too demanding students it might not be easy in all cases, as they would start searching for such auxiliary and so less important parts as the towel or in some special cases the head of the tap. We shall be proud to present all these facilities to our guests showing how modern our classrooms look.
The comfort level is overall perfect. The soft touch of the wooden chairs helps us to forget about daydreaming and to concentrate on the much more interesting and useful lesson. Tiny little splinters coming out of the chairs enable us to throw our old stockings away and get a nicer pair instead. Also splinters in bleeding fingers give a chance to excuse ourselves and leave the class. The mobility of desks is an extremely important factor, and owing to the large available space, people with less attraction towards each other or those who can't bear the intimacy can pull their desks away up to 3 centimeters.
The limited number of decoration on the walls do not let us get distracted from the lesson, and it unintentionally draws our attention to the teacher. It also forces us to memorize all data that are important and that is never learnt by those students in other universities who can spy the information from the walls.
I can't question the intentionality of having some dirt and rubbish on the floor and in the desks. It is part of the training. Teachers should get used to the environment that is found in schools. Also the small windows were designed this way in order to prepare us to similar conditions in our teaching practice. Whoever is too sensitive to smells should despair of choosing this profession in time or train himself gradually to the intensity of human sweat. The degree of smells can be manipulated by the teacher though and should be considered in creating too much tension and excitement.
Our teachers' solidarity with their future colleagues is to be appreciated as well. Their staff-rooms reflect the same Puritan principles strengthening the unified spirit of the whole department. They can't be labeled to be over-demanding, their small desks and broken chairs correspond to the high quality of students' furniture. It is a nice gesture from them to steer clear of competition. This is how it should be anywhere else. Even the director's office agrees to the principle of unity, so every guest or sponsor would probably understand the needs of the department and popularize its contemplation in other universities as well.
The lavatories are not co-educated any more, the two sexes may take their time separately. The use of the toilets demands some creativity from future teachers to train them for unexpected events. E.g. we are capable of developing new ways for locking the door or finding the non-existing pull of the toilet.
The computer-room has a great design for at least 15 people. According to the department policy no students are allowed in without any official permission. This is quite logical, since the two teachers who regularly use the computers need some space for working freely. Also, they take care of our morals by keeping us away from the secret files on the Internet.
As a fourth year student of the English department I proudly declare the high niveau of the design of the whole department, including the outside and inside arrangement and all the equipment. I can't wait to see my American friend to convince her of the priorities we enjoy by studying in this environment and I welcome all her objections. Without question she will have to envy us. How great it is to be an English major!
On our way to the department we can't stop praising the idea that our department has such a beautiful scenery onto the city. It is a lot of fun to run up the hill towards the building while running out of breath as well. With a well-chosen cursory glance we might discover a beautiful white satellite dish on top of our department. More intelligent people would start wondering about its practical value, but the final realization must be that it is for decoration - if not for the exclusive property of the leader of the department. While meditating on its efficacy we arrive at the entrance of building "D". The next happy moment is to realize that the elevator has just left, which offers us some more pleasant minutes up to the fifth floor. That explains the nicest and strongest legs of girls attending the English department The logical argument for the placement of our department into top position is probably its popularity, since our is the most numerous department of all the faculties. To enhance the joy of arriving at our destination we might be lucky enough to notice our teacher walking towards the classroom. At this point we still have a good chance of being the winners with a last effort in running and thus preceding the comfortably walking tutor.
Those students who happened to miss this excitement and are on time or are too late to risk going in can find another type of compensation: the walls offer a wonderful spare-time with a wide range of topics. The variety of information must satisfy all students with interest in up-to-date or expired deadlines, canceled classes and events.
The deep Puritanism of the furniture placed in the corridor reveals the freedom of choice. Everybody is allowed to identify with it or bring any pieces that would break the unity of this style. The total number of chairs adds up to 3, while we are owners of one table too. Of course those rebels who delay to acknowledge the conformity offered by these three chairs should think about the mess more chairs- and so- more talking students would impose on the classroom work. At times some extremists even try to reduce this number because of the big disturbance those chatting people cause in the teaching process.
Other simple pieces of decoration are the two carpets laid on the floor. Only two, since more carpets, especially if from a third style, would be non-esthetic. In addition, further obstacles are not needed for the rushing students who always stumble over those two crumpled carpets.
The large window at the end of the corridor might be tempting so it is optimal for overtasked students to make a decision whether to choose the easier way of escaping to the revealing garden that offers complete relaxation instead of the stressful classroom situation. The open window gives a chance for a quicker way of leaving the department as a parachute, while for some more balanced people provides fresh mountain air.
All those who can resist all that temptation will enter one of the uniform classrooms. The range of colors will tranquilize anxious participants, as the only variety, white, is said to have a relaxing effect. Even our board is white instead of the mourning-type black color. There is no need to bother with the jarring sound of the chalk given usually by left-handers and some evil-minded students and with the dry touch of chalky hands any more. The department uses ultra-modern and well-designed whiteboards. There is a little box attached to the board which most of us can't really honor yet due to the lack of instructions. Some tricky teachers even utilized the box for cleaning the board with it. The distinct parts in the box suggest that there might have been some writing instruments inside. The most creative ones in the teaching staff would remember to take their own pens the other time. Unfortunately noone seems to consider the fact, that hardly any pens beyond the age of a week can elicit visible characters. Disappointed people should keep in mind that the same system works in the Western countries too.
Everything else also looks modern. All recent teaching methodologies expect semi-circular arrangement of chairs. This expectation is almost fulfilled, although the curve seems to be a little straight. We can't trace any remains from the teacher's platform either. It might seem hard at times to get sight of some teachers though, especially of those who enjoy the hiding aspect of the large table right in front of them. Still, most of us get a nice view on the teacher and vice versa, except for those students who happen to read or write some homework for their next class. The tolerance we get from the teacher by ignoring the corners of the semi-circular placement is appreciated a lot.
Another clue for the modernity of the classroom is a complete set of bathroom appliances in the back part of the room. For some too demanding students it might not be easy in all cases, as they would start searching for such auxiliary and so less important parts as the towel or in some special cases the head of the tap. We shall be proud to present all these facilities to our guests showing how modern our classrooms look.
The comfort level is overall perfect. The soft touch of the wooden chairs helps us to forget about daydreaming and to concentrate on the much more interesting and useful lesson. Tiny little splinters coming out of the chairs enable us to throw our old stockings away and get a nicer pair instead. Also splinters in bleeding fingers give a chance to excuse ourselves and leave the class. The mobility of desks is an extremely important factor, and owing to the large available space, people with less attraction towards each other or those who can't bear the intimacy can pull their desks away up to 3 centimeters.
The limited number of decoration on the walls do not let us get distracted from the lesson, and it unintentionally draws our attention to the teacher. It also forces us to memorize all data that are important and that is never learnt by those students in other universities who can spy the information from the walls.
I can't question the intentionality of having some dirt and rubbish on the floor and in the desks. It is part of the training. Teachers should get used to the environment that is found in schools. Also the small windows were designed this way in order to prepare us to similar conditions in our teaching practice. Whoever is too sensitive to smells should despair of choosing this profession in time or train himself gradually to the intensity of human sweat. The degree of smells can be manipulated by the teacher though and should be considered in creating too much tension and excitement.
Our teachers' solidarity with their future colleagues is to be appreciated as well. Their staff-rooms reflect the same Puritan principles strengthening the unified spirit of the whole department. They can't be labeled to be over-demanding, their small desks and broken chairs correspond to the high quality of students' furniture. It is a nice gesture from them to steer clear of competition. This is how it should be anywhere else. Even the director's office agrees to the principle of unity, so every guest or sponsor would probably understand the needs of the department and popularize its contemplation in other universities as well.
The lavatories are not co-educated any more, the two sexes may take their time separately. The use of the toilets demands some creativity from future teachers to train them for unexpected events. E.g. we are capable of developing new ways for locking the door or finding the non-existing pull of the toilet.
The computer-room has a great design for at least 15 people. According to the department policy no students are allowed in without any official permission. This is quite logical, since the two teachers who regularly use the computers need some space for working freely. Also, they take care of our morals by keeping us away from the secret files on the Internet.
As a fourth year student of the English department I proudly declare the high niveau of the design of the whole department, including the outside and inside arrangement and all the equipment. I can't wait to see my American friend to convince her of the priorities we enjoy by studying in this environment and I welcome all her objections. Without question she will have to envy us. How great it is to be an English major!
L 166 M
When my mother wakes up, she first opens the eyelids of her conscious to remember for a second what she had been dreaming about. During that second, through the inward eye all the colourful, happy and sad movements, objects and feelings slip down among the claws of her memories, never to be brought back to life if only by their very reoccurrence in it. I know that because she told me. Next she opens her eyes for real and staggers downstairs into the kitchen to prepare coffee. She sets out the cups, the spoons, the sugar and the milk onto a plate and sits down to wait for the coffee to be ready.
A few years ago she used to smoke a cigarette while waiting, nowadays she just sits observing. The white eight sided cups on similar saucers bore her to death, she prefers the ones that we, her sons sometimes get as presents. She particularly likes the one that has a giraffe on it. The body of the giraffe swells out in relief from the white porcelain of the cup, bowing its head down to its feet so that the neck forms the handle of the cup. The animal smiles cutely at a point constantly changing in time, but also in space, since that thing the giraffe is looking at is not on the cup. The other cup Mum likes a lot is green. My brother got it for one of his birthdays, or maybe for Christmas from a girlfriend of his. That girl like all the others my brother went out with was thin with short black hair, she wore glasses and didn't live have a telephone, also her father was dead or just divorced from her mother, anyway, he didn't live with his daughter. The funny thing about the cup is that when you drink your coffee, it has to be an American type of coffee with lots of water and milk, you find a small frog on the bottom of the cup. One would expect that somebody who drinks from it gets scared, but nobody ever got frightened, everybody would just smile and say it's funny. Similar cups with crocodiles, mice or snakes exists, also elephants and other exotic animals are represented in relief on cups like the one with the giraffe on.
Coffee cups that are not sold in sets sometimes can be precious to their users for they usually carry emotions, souvenirs of the one that made a present of it to us. Cups with names and proverbs written on are of this type along with the ones described in the previous paragraph. When one drinks coffee, milk, fruit juice or just plain water from such cups, one doesn't appreciate really the quality of the beverage. A benevolent feeling of the emotion that is related to the cup overwhelms the drinker. Memory opens its gate, the letters of the name of the person that gave us the cup lights up on top of it and the personality of the giver of the cup flies out of it, encircles us, the time we passed with him or her sends out its smells, lights and sounds and for a few minutes we step into another world. When one finishes drinking and puts the cup down all this world is sucked back into it, making the cup a recepient for that portion of our past life.
The specially designed coffee cups differ in many ways from the coffee cups that are sold in sets. While we only use funny cups occasionally, normal cups are used customarily. For instance when the coffee is ready, my mother pours it out into the eight sided ones to bring it upstairs and drink it with my father. She doesn't use the cups she likes, because she's too tired to care or that they haven't been washed since the night before, but also because the morning coffee is a ritual in their lives. They drink the coffee together discussing the day's duties, they perform that every day, except maybe for the weekends and having different cups would in a way disturb the mental route that connects them and which allows them to communicate silently. This silent connection is then with them all day. Drinking from similar cups establishes a kind of relationship among the drinkers, should they be a couple like my parents or a party of six or more. It is like in a restaurant, all the persons eating at the separate tables belong to a small community, which doesn't break up when one of the members pays his bill and leaves, since if you meet him later that day, you would recognise him, maybe even say hello to him, though you might not remember where you've seen him.
The use of coffee sets allows us to concentrate on coffee itself. One feels the warmth spreading out in the body, the caffeine making the heart beat faster, the flow of blood quickening, energy being produced to surplus, the mind setting down to creative work. Instead of watching the show of the past, one concentrates on near future, on the day to come or a specific task. To reach this effect of coffee people use simple cups, plain one colour ones, or sets with little decoration.
The difference between coffee sets and cups with individual design is washed away when we consider the fact that the similar coffee cups evoke different feelings in different families. A plain white set of coffee cups can have a socialist-realist feeling when used in a family living in a big block-of-flats, which would be totally other than it would have in the home of a family living in an all glass and metal house equipped with the latest high tech. It would have yet a different feeling when used in a flat rented by five students, not only because of the factor of environment, but also because of the differences of attitude towards life. The time factor is also crucial, with age everything changes character. Drinking from a brand new cup would put forth the fastening effect of coffee, while an old cup with its radiation of patina would help on bringing out the relaxing part of coffee. Other factors of the design of a coffee cup, such as material, colour or shape also influence a lot the state of mind of the user. Drinking from a porcelain cup makes coffee drinking a short holiday in the day, while having coffee from an ugly plastic glass can transform a nice custom into a boring necessity. The most important of all to the design are the motives, the drawings, the pictures that are represented on the cups and which are directly related to the mixture of emotions the cup arouses in the innocent drinker. The picture of a cyclist for instead would create an active feeling, while that of a gun will pump up the adrenaline level of most coffee thirsty person till aggressively, as for a flower, a peaceful mood is most likely to invade the brain cells.
As we have seen so far, the effect of coffee and drinking coffee is made up of a complex set of impressions and experiences that on their own only account for half of what we experience whiledrinking coffee. This part of the effect is constant with every cup at every single occasion. Personality is responsible for the other half of the coffee experience. Our basic dispositions are in a way reinforced by coffee. When my mother wakes, she is tired and angry at us, for not waking up in time, or she just feels fine, for on nice mornings everybody is only happy. Drinking coffee chases away tiredness from her and only remain anger, happiness, or whatever her mood is, to mix with the feeling of coffee, thus resulting in either melancholic or aggressive anger, either in silent or violent happiness.
Sometimes we are not conscious of the change of feeling we undergo, though every slight change has its outside source, should it be a needle or a house, a whisper or an ear-breaking noise. Everything is related to everything. The morning quarrel a shoemaker has with his wife might ruin years of the life of those that will wear the shoes he would make that day, for his bad mood will be reflected on all the things he'd do until he doesn't have a real nice coffee and forgets about the domestic raw. Having different cups at home enables us to, as I should say, influence our moments at least at fifty percent. One should be having cups for weekday mornings and weekend mornings, for afternoon parties, just as one should be able to say hello or goodbye, for if one wants to influence himself, he can.
A few years ago she used to smoke a cigarette while waiting, nowadays she just sits observing. The white eight sided cups on similar saucers bore her to death, she prefers the ones that we, her sons sometimes get as presents. She particularly likes the one that has a giraffe on it. The body of the giraffe swells out in relief from the white porcelain of the cup, bowing its head down to its feet so that the neck forms the handle of the cup. The animal smiles cutely at a point constantly changing in time, but also in space, since that thing the giraffe is looking at is not on the cup. The other cup Mum likes a lot is green. My brother got it for one of his birthdays, or maybe for Christmas from a girlfriend of his. That girl like all the others my brother went out with was thin with short black hair, she wore glasses and didn't live have a telephone, also her father was dead or just divorced from her mother, anyway, he didn't live with his daughter. The funny thing about the cup is that when you drink your coffee, it has to be an American type of coffee with lots of water and milk, you find a small frog on the bottom of the cup. One would expect that somebody who drinks from it gets scared, but nobody ever got frightened, everybody would just smile and say it's funny. Similar cups with crocodiles, mice or snakes exists, also elephants and other exotic animals are represented in relief on cups like the one with the giraffe on.
Coffee cups that are not sold in sets sometimes can be precious to their users for they usually carry emotions, souvenirs of the one that made a present of it to us. Cups with names and proverbs written on are of this type along with the ones described in the previous paragraph. When one drinks coffee, milk, fruit juice or just plain water from such cups, one doesn't appreciate really the quality of the beverage. A benevolent feeling of the emotion that is related to the cup overwhelms the drinker. Memory opens its gate, the letters of the name of the person that gave us the cup lights up on top of it and the personality of the giver of the cup flies out of it, encircles us, the time we passed with him or her sends out its smells, lights and sounds and for a few minutes we step into another world. When one finishes drinking and puts the cup down all this world is sucked back into it, making the cup a recepient for that portion of our past life.
The specially designed coffee cups differ in many ways from the coffee cups that are sold in sets. While we only use funny cups occasionally, normal cups are used customarily. For instance when the coffee is ready, my mother pours it out into the eight sided ones to bring it upstairs and drink it with my father. She doesn't use the cups she likes, because she's too tired to care or that they haven't been washed since the night before, but also because the morning coffee is a ritual in their lives. They drink the coffee together discussing the day's duties, they perform that every day, except maybe for the weekends and having different cups would in a way disturb the mental route that connects them and which allows them to communicate silently. This silent connection is then with them all day. Drinking from similar cups establishes a kind of relationship among the drinkers, should they be a couple like my parents or a party of six or more. It is like in a restaurant, all the persons eating at the separate tables belong to a small community, which doesn't break up when one of the members pays his bill and leaves, since if you meet him later that day, you would recognise him, maybe even say hello to him, though you might not remember where you've seen him.
The use of coffee sets allows us to concentrate on coffee itself. One feels the warmth spreading out in the body, the caffeine making the heart beat faster, the flow of blood quickening, energy being produced to surplus, the mind setting down to creative work. Instead of watching the show of the past, one concentrates on near future, on the day to come or a specific task. To reach this effect of coffee people use simple cups, plain one colour ones, or sets with little decoration.
The difference between coffee sets and cups with individual design is washed away when we consider the fact that the similar coffee cups evoke different feelings in different families. A plain white set of coffee cups can have a socialist-realist feeling when used in a family living in a big block-of-flats, which would be totally other than it would have in the home of a family living in an all glass and metal house equipped with the latest high tech. It would have yet a different feeling when used in a flat rented by five students, not only because of the factor of environment, but also because of the differences of attitude towards life. The time factor is also crucial, with age everything changes character. Drinking from a brand new cup would put forth the fastening effect of coffee, while an old cup with its radiation of patina would help on bringing out the relaxing part of coffee. Other factors of the design of a coffee cup, such as material, colour or shape also influence a lot the state of mind of the user. Drinking from a porcelain cup makes coffee drinking a short holiday in the day, while having coffee from an ugly plastic glass can transform a nice custom into a boring necessity. The most important of all to the design are the motives, the drawings, the pictures that are represented on the cups and which are directly related to the mixture of emotions the cup arouses in the innocent drinker. The picture of a cyclist for instead would create an active feeling, while that of a gun will pump up the adrenaline level of most coffee thirsty person till aggressively, as for a flower, a peaceful mood is most likely to invade the brain cells.
As we have seen so far, the effect of coffee and drinking coffee is made up of a complex set of impressions and experiences that on their own only account for half of what we experience whiledrinking coffee. This part of the effect is constant with every cup at every single occasion. Personality is responsible for the other half of the coffee experience. Our basic dispositions are in a way reinforced by coffee. When my mother wakes, she is tired and angry at us, for not waking up in time, or she just feels fine, for on nice mornings everybody is only happy. Drinking coffee chases away tiredness from her and only remain anger, happiness, or whatever her mood is, to mix with the feeling of coffee, thus resulting in either melancholic or aggressive anger, either in silent or violent happiness.
Sometimes we are not conscious of the change of feeling we undergo, though every slight change has its outside source, should it be a needle or a house, a whisper or an ear-breaking noise. Everything is related to everything. The morning quarrel a shoemaker has with his wife might ruin years of the life of those that will wear the shoes he would make that day, for his bad mood will be reflected on all the things he'd do until he doesn't have a real nice coffee and forgets about the domestic raw. Having different cups at home enables us to, as I should say, influence our moments at least at fifty percent. One should be having cups for weekday mornings and weekend mornings, for afternoon parties, just as one should be able to say hello or goodbye, for if one wants to influence himself, he can.
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