Starbucks Albuquerque mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-09-30 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series Albuquerque mug with hot air balloons, a lizard, a prickly pear cactus and a dancer around the word ALBUQUERQUE — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Albuquerque mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the city name in lime green over a dark green circle, with hot air balloons, a lizard, a prickly pear and a dancer around it. An aerial tram, a coyote and a fisherman fill the other sides.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozstandard mug size
SKU: Not confirmed

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The party in a parking lot where Balloon Fiesta began

In 1972 Albuquerque radio station KOB turned fifty, and its promotional director, Susan Johnson, went looking for a centerpiece for the birthday party ^[4]. The organizers invited 21 balloons. Last-minute cancellations and a storm in the Midwest cut the field to 13 ^[5]. Those thirteen pilots launched from the parking lot of Coronado Center Mall ^[6]. They were given red-carpet treatment in front of some 10,000 to 20,000 spectators, according to the Fiesta's own history ^[7]. Today the event lists about 600 balloons and 700 pilots on a permanent site of more than 350 acres, which it describes as grown from a corner in a mall parking lot ^[8]. The striped balloons over the green circle on the Albuquerque mug (2) fly in the event those thirteen pilots started.

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

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
ALBUQUERQUE in lime-green capitals over a dark green circle.
2
Hot air balloons
Several striped hot air balloons float over the green circle. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta runs nine days in the first full week of October.^[1]
3
Stacked sandwich
A tall stack with a red-purple top and green layers sits at the upper left. New Mexico's official state question is "Red or green?", about chile peppers; the mug doesn't say what the stack is.^[3]
4
Dancer
A dancer in a red polka-dot dress with a swirling green-and-pink skirt stands at the right, beside the handle.
5
Lizard on a rock
A blue-and-green lizard with a red head sits on a blue rock below the lettering.
6
Prickly pear
A pale-blue prickly pear cactus with red buds stands at the lower left, with a tiny white cup tucked against it.
7
Pink ridge Side view
A pink-and-red mountain ridge slopes down from the left toward the tram line, with green scrub below it.
8
Aerial tram Side view
A blue-and-white aerial tram car with passengers hangs from a cable. The Sandia Peak Tramway runs from the northeast edge of Albuquerque up to Sandia Peak, is 2.7 miles long and opened on May 7, 1966; the mug doesn't name it.^[2]
9
Coyote Side view
A green-and-blue coyote-like animal sits upright below the tram.
10
Walking couple Side view
Two people in red and blue clothes walk side by side with music notes floating above them.
11
Paddler Side view
A person in a red boat paddles on a blue river at the lower left.
12
Pavilion Side view
A white-railed pavilion with a blue roof and people on its porch stands at the far left.
13
STARBUCKS wordmark Back view
The vertical STARBUCKS wordmark sits beside the handle on this side.
14
Fisherman Back view
A fisherman in a blue shirt stands on the bank holding a rod, with the line running to the right.
15
Red-trimmed building Back view
A red-trimmed building with shop windows and a few figures stands at the right edge.

The three photos together cover the whole outside of the mug except the area right behind the handle.

Collector notes

The inside of this mug is a soft sky blue, which shows in all three photos.
The tall stack at the upper left of the front reappears at the right edge of the side photo, so you can check it from either angle.

Before you buy

The inside of this mug is a soft sky blue, which shows in all three photos. The tall stack at the upper left of the front reappears at the right edge of the side photo, so you can check it from either angle. The photos cover the whole outside except the area right behind the handle.

Hidden Starbucks cup

Starbucks says a to-go cup is hidden in every Discovery Series design. On the front of the mug, a white to-go cup with a green dot sits near the prickly pear. Where the hidden cup is on other mugs