It's hard to explain. I must have spotted some mug I really liked in early life and since then have some vague concept of seeing it in the wild and something in my head clicking like "there it is, the last mug I'll ever need to buy" lol. My reply to Avis' post might shed some light. After writing about it a bit, I think I concluded there is no ideal mug, and I should just get one close enough at some point which makes me happy. I have a really good/pricey Yeti mug that I use, but it's got no soul, you know?