The Best Enamelware Mugs and Cups
Enamelware is steel coated with glass fired onto the surface. The result is a vessel that is rust-resistant, non-reactive, lightweight, and indestructible in normal use. The enamel can chip if dropped on concrete, but the steel underneath does not rust through for decades. Enamelware mugs and cups are what you take camping, keep in the camp box, and hand to children who break ceramic mugs. The best American enamelware was made from the 1870s through the 1950s; quality production continues today in Europe and the United States.
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How to Choose
Heavy gauge steel is the right substrate: thin-gauge enamelware dents and chips more easily. The enamel coating should be smooth and free of pinholes -- pinholes in the enamel allow moisture to reach the steel and cause rust from beneath the coating. Two coats of enamel is the minimum; three coats is better. Granite ware -- the blue and white speckled pattern -- is the most traditional American enamelware aesthetic and is still produced in the United States.
GSI Outdoors Enamelware 14oz Mug
If you only buy one, make it this one. Read the full guide below for alternatives at every price point.
Find on Amazon arrow_forwardThe Picks
GSI Outdoors Enamelware 14oz Mug
GSI Outdoors makes their enamel mugs in the traditional granite ware pattern -- blue and white speckle on heavy-gauge steel. The 14-ounce capacity holds a full cup of coffee with room for a second pour. The rolled rim is reinforced to prevent chipping at the most vulnerable point. The mug can be put directly on a camp stove burner or into a campfire.
A mug that goes directly from stovetop to fire to table is doing the job three pieces of equipment would otherwise do.
Find on Amazon arrow_forwardFalcon Enamelware Mug Pillarbox Red
Falcon Enamelware has been made in England since 1920. The classic Pillarbox Red mug is 11 ounces, two-coat enamel on heavy-gauge steel, with the characteristic dark rim band that is the hallmark of Falcon production. It is the mug that appears in British Army mess halls, National Trust properties, and country kitchens across England. The design has not changed since the 1920s.
Falcon has been making this mug in England since 1920. The dark rim band is not decoration -- it is the area most likely to chip, and Falcon reinforces it with an extra enamel application.
Find on Amazon arrow_forwardCrow Canyon Home Enamelware Mug Set
Crow Canyon Home makes their enamelware in the traditional American pattern in a variety of colors and speckle patterns. The mugs are 12-ounce capacity, two-coat enamel on 0.8mm steel, with a looped handle that stays cool on the stovetop. Sold as a set of four, making them the choice for a camp kitchen or a farmhouse table that sees heavy daily use.
The set of four is the correct purchase for a household or camp kitchen. Enamelware mugs get used hard; having a full set means replacements are already in the cabinet.
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