Starbucks Alabama mug: Been There Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-10-18 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Been There Series Alabama mug with Alabama in green script, THE COTTON STATE, a waterfall, a yellow plane and a sailboat — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

This Alabama mug from Starbucks' Been There Series writes Alabama in dark green script beside the words THE COTTON STATE, with a waterfall under a bridge, a songbird, a yellow propeller plane, a sailboat, a rocket and a green inside.

Series: Been There Series
Place: Alabama, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozstandard mug size
SKU: Not confirmed

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The town that thanked the boll weevil, with no weevil

In 1916, after the boll weevil had cut the previous year's cotton yield in Coffee County, Alabama, to about 60% of normal, farmers planted for a bumper crop anyway ^[1]. They tried every method they could think of. Less than a third of the crop was harvested ^[2]. Then peanuts took over: according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, the county had the largest peanut harvest in the nation in 1917 ^[3]. In 1919 an Enterprise city councilman, R. O. Fleming, proposed a monument to the beetle ^[4]. Residents gave half of the $1,795 it cost without being asked, and Fleming paid the rest ^[5]. Its base thanks the boll weevil as the "Herald of Prosperity" ^[6]. For thirty years the statue had no weevil on it; one was added in 1949 ^[7]. The open cotton bolls on the Alabama mug (2) are the crop the weevil came for.

The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
Alabama in dark green script with a dotted texture across the upper front.
2
The Cotton State
The words THE COTTON STATE are lettered beside a cotton plant with open white bolls.
3
Waterfall and bridge
A waterfall drops beneath a flat bridge on a yellow and green hillside.
4
Songbird
A yellow-green songbird perches on a cloud-shaped line above the plane.
5
Yellow plane
A yellow propeller plane flies to the right of the waterfall, with small clouds around it.
6
Sailboat
A sailboat with a yellow sail floats on wavy water near the bottom.
7
Rocket Side view
A tall white rocket with green fins stands in the middle of the side view.
8
Domed building Side view
A columned building with a small dome and flag stands at the lower left of the side view.
9
Flag Side view
A flag with a diagonal cross in yellow and green hangs at the left edge of the side view.
10
STARBUCKS wordmark Back view
STARBUCKS runs vertically up the back beside the handle.
11
Arched bridge Back view
A long bridge with several arches crosses a green riverbank on the back.
12
Golf bag Back view
A golf bag with clubs stands on the back, beside a cotton plant.

The photos show the front, one side and the back. The underside is out of view, and small details on the back are described only where legible.

Collector notes

Our checklist lists two Been There Alabama mugs, and the artwork differs: this one has THE COTTON STATE lettering, a yellow propeller plane and arched bridges on the back, while the other has a black bear on the back, butterflies and camellia blossoms.
The inside is green, which shows at the rim in every view. The STARBUCKS wordmark runs up the back beside the handle, so a photo from that side shows no place name at all.

Before you buy

Our checklist lists two Been There Series Alabama mugs. This one has THE COTTON STATE lettering, a yellow propeller plane and arched bridges on the back, while the other has a black bear and camellia blossoms. The inside is green, and the back photo shows only the STARBUCKS wordmark, not the place name.