Have you got a favourite mug?

I always use the same cup every morning for spring water to take with my medications.

Then I regularly use these two for tea and coffee throughout the day.

I bought them a few years ago at a French motorway service station.

These mugs are so charming! I am very impressed that you have kept them intact for several years. I find the type of mug or cup really affects my enjoyment of the drink - the worst for me being plastic or Tupperware cups. They seem to taint the contents and there is no aesthetic pleasure to be gained from looking  at them. 

The size of mug changes the taste as well, to big and not sweet enough, too big and the tea seems to be weaker, even after a longer  brewing time, 

Exact volume to tea sugar milk ratio must be adhered to Lol.

The size of mug changes the taste as well, to big and not sweet enough, too big and the tea seems to be weaker, even after a longer  brewing time, 

Exact volume to tea sugar milk ratio must be adhered to Lol.

Names for the part of the spoon that joins the bowl to the stem: neck, shoulder, transition, curve, bend, bolster

Sunflower said:

Milk in before or after?

There is a reason to put milk in before the tea when using a teapot.

The milk helps take the temperature down when the tea is  poured, so the very fine bone china will not crack and spill scalding tea.

I always used to insist on sugar before milk, milk before tea. 

And I always like tea in a proper tea cup with a saucer.  And using leaf tea.  Something civilised about the whole ritual!

I was a child of the 60s so probably grew up using 1950s cutlery. I remember my grandparents' cutlery particularly vividly. That was probably earlier 1930s/1940s

Avoiding eating utensils you despise  makes lots of sense to me. There's a particular bowl I love eating out of and which I should really use every day. It's currently stuck at the back of the cupboard. If I clear the inferior crockery out of the way I will actually be able to use it!  

Yes far left for me, looks balanced, not overly round or to big, not a fussy handle,,,I actually have a teaspoon with the BL logo on it, British Leyland  canteen Lol.

I will post pictures later, my knives for most things are thick handled stainless steel, non serrated, long blade, 1958,,,That kind of era, 

We have several sets of cutlery at work, but there is only "one true set of cutlery" that is both efficacious and ascetically pleasing.  All others are pale imitations of the one true set.  Also the cutlery must be shiny before use!  So I often contemplate which of one true sets is the shiniest and least water stained from the dishwasher and would require least shining to be truly shiny before use!

In general usage stainless steel is best.

My partner seems to like buying lots of extra things "for work" and then they end up coming home.  We have a perfectly good set of very nice Ikea cutlery, but some inferior cutlery has relatively recently appeared after her most recent change of job.  The inferior cutlery offends me and I despise using it!

Mugs I'm not overly fussy about except I use coffee bags at home.  The coffee bag goes in and doesn't come out.  They work best in the biggest mug possible.  So the biggest mugs we have at home are the best, but really only because they are the biggest.

Milk in before or after? About to make tea myself so I'm appraising my spoons. The one on the left is beautifully balanced and lovely to hold so it's got the job! 

I seem to remember that when round tea bags were first introduced there was some (pseudo?)science about how they infused tea better than square ones. I was always sceptical about this. I admire your mum's direct approach - if it doesn't look right, bin it! 

erm to save an hour of reading for you all, let me just say tea etiquette is so very important, size of pot to tea ratio, plus one for the pot, start of pour to finish of pour, oh dear must resist ,,, must resist, tea etiquette boar I am. Strong and not to hot, enough said, 

tea cosy, strainer, topping up pot midway through pour,,,, resist resist,,,,must stop,,,,,argh,,,, so tempted to tell all in finite detail argh,,,, off for a nice cup of tea,,, 

My mother also had very strong views on tea.

Tea bags had to be square/rectangular.

Many years ago, I once bought a packet of round tea bags.  The whole box of 80 went in the bin.  And she complained about the round tea bags  for months.

Absolutely! I know people who have given the person making the tea a brown envelope to match the shade/strength to. I had a strong aversion to milk as a child and I don't like to taste it in my tea now. My mother in law only puts one tea bag in a large teapot then half fills the tea cup with milk. I am quick to say "I'll add my own milk thanks"!