About half a year ago, an encounter with a disposable lid urged me to post about it with great concerns. Back to now, beginning 2012. A friend gave me this cup. See something familiar? Of course, it’s the lid. However, this one is not meant to be thrown away after one use. The cup itself is made of ceramics, the lid is rubber.

The "Pick Your Nose" Cup

So I’ve been using this cup for almost two weeks now. I am used to have a cupful of hot tea to get my work going, so the cup is very functional. However, I’ve never used the lid for its purpose: to keep the heat of the liquid inside the cup and to sip from (the tiny hole at the brim).

Why? Because:

(1) I don’t feel comfortable covering the cup with piping hot liquid in it with a piece of rubber. I always think that the rubber would melt and so, and affecting the taste of the liquid, although it might not be the case here – the rubber being intended with the purpose to handle (hot) beverage(?)

(2) It’s simply not comfortable to sip hot tea through small, ruber-y hole

(3) I’m thinking about the maintenance. Will hot (and sometimes sweet) beverage stick to the rubber? Will it damage the surface?

So, to save me from another fuss all over again, I rather not use the rubber lid as a lid when I’m using the cup. However, nice touch, gimmicky-cup factory.