Starbucks Maine mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-11-14 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series Maine mug with a moose, blueberries, a sailboat and a basket of shells around the word MAINE — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Maine mug sets MAINE over a dark green circle ringed by a moose, wild blueberries, a long-haired cat that looks like a Maine coon, a sailboat, a basket of clams and mussels, a gull, and a white house and tower on a rocky shore.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Maine, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozStarbucks's Discovery Series launch story calls it the 14-ounce ceramic mug
SKU: Not confirmed

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The fax that gave Maine's blueberries a new story

In the 1990s, a University of Maine professor faxed John Sauvé, executive director of Maine's Wild Blueberry Commission, an article from an obscure farm-research magazine ^[1]. Its title was "Plant Pigments Paint a Rainbow of Antioxidants," and it ranked blueberries first among twenty fruits and vegetables tested ^[1]. Sauvé later said he lacked a deep understanding of the findings, but he knew this: "if your product happens to come out first in something, you might want to look into it" ^[2]. He took the story to a trade show in Japan ^[1]. According to The Maine Mag, Maine had been exporting three million pounds of blueberries to Japan, and two years later the figure was 30 million ^[1]. A 1999 Maine Times article, as summarized by the Portland Public Library, says a growing Japanese market, where blueberries are believed to combat eyestrain, was helping sales ^[3]. The cluster of blueberries on the Maine mug (3) is the crop at the center of that story.

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

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
MAINE in light blue capitals over a dark green circle. A thin green stem runs from the blueberries above into the circle.
2
Moose
An orange animal with pale spots, a heavy body, a hump at the shoulders and a long drooping nose stands in grass at the upper left, with grey-green evergreen shapes and a light blue cloud at the far left edge behind it. The antlers are drawn as branching tines, one dark and one light blue, rather than the broad flat palms of a real bull moose, but the drooping nose and heavy shoulders fit a moose. The moose is Maine's state animal.^[4]^[5]
3
Wild blueberries
A cluster of dark blue berries with yellow and blue leaves sits above the lettering, with two loose berries to the right. Maine's official state berry is the wild blueberry, though the drawing shows only the fruit, not the low bushes that would mark wild ones.^[1]^[4]
4
Sailboat
A sailboat with an orange hull and orange, teal and pale yellow sails crosses dark blue water at the lower left. A blue cat sits on its deck (see the cat).
5
Basket of clams and mussels
A yellow basket holds pale ribbed oval shells and blue-green shells below the lettering, with lemon slices and a small orange shape with a dark stick at the rim, and open dark blue shells with orange meat at its foot. The pale shells look like clams and the dark open ones like mussels, served as a steamed shellfish meal. The mug doesn't name the dish.
6
House on a rocky shore, possibly a lighthouse keeper's house
A white house with a dark roof, chimneys, a steep front gable and a row of dormer-like windows stands behind a white fence above water and striped tan rock ledges at the upper right, with sun rays behind it. It may be a lighthouse keeper's house, but no detail ties it to one named Maine light. The mug doesn't name it.
7
Gull
A grey gull with a pale spotted breast, black wing tips with white spots and a yellowish bill stands on top of a yellow jug (see the jug), with small birds flying behind it. The drawing does not show enough to name the species.
8
Long-haired cat, likely a Maine coon
A shaggy blue cat with an orange face, pointed ears and a long plumed tail sits upright on the sailboat's deck, looking up at the moose. The shaggy coat and plumed tail fit the Maine coon, Maine's state cat. The mug doesn't name the breed.^[4]^[6]
9
Yellow jug with a leaf emblem, possibly maple syrup
A pale yellow jug carries a green serrated leaf, and a dark tap-like spout with a drip stands at its left under the gull. The leaf and the drip may point to a jug of maple syrup and a sap tap, but the mug has no label to confirm it. Maple syrup is Maine's official state sweetener.^[4]
10
Tower beside the house, possibly a lighthouse
A narrow white tower with a dark top rises at the far upper right, partly hidden by the handle, behind the white house on the rocks. Its shape and place on the shore may be a lighthouse, but too little of it is visible to be sure.

The photo shows one side of the mug, in front of a dark box. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.

Collector notes

The inside of this mug is bright teal-blue, which shows at the rim in the photo.
The moose, the blueberries and the sailboat are on the front; the house and the gull sit beside the handle, so a photo taken from the left misses them.

Before you buy

The photo shows one side of the mug. The house on the rocky shore (6) and the gull (7) sit beside the handle, so a photo from the left misses them. The inside is bright teal-blue. Starbucks also made a Been There mug for Maine, so check the series name before you order.