Starbucks Maryland mug: Discovery Series

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

Starbucks Discovery Series Maryland mug with butterflies, a lacrosse player, yellow flowers and a red bridge around the word MARYLAND — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Maryland Discovery Series mug shows the state's emblems: lacrosse, black-eyed Susans, a rockfish, a blue crab, a butterfly pair that resembles the Baltimore checkerspot, a red bridge and boats.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Maryland, 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 Maryland tournament that nearly ran out of parishioners

In August 2019, riders galloped down an 80-yard course at St. Joseph's Church in Cordova, Maryland, spearing rings with lances, for the 151st year of the tournament ^[1]. It almost stopped there: the parishioners were growing older, and only a partnership with the Eastern Shore Jousting Association kept it going ^[1]. Beginners aim at rings one and three-quarter inches across ^[1]. Advanced riders must finish the course in under eight seconds, standing in the stirrups ^[1]. Maryland made jousting its official sport in 1962 and, according to the Maryland State Archives, was the first state to name one ^[2]. Men, women and children ride in the same tournaments ^[3]. Lacrosse came later, becoming the official team sport on 1 October 2004 ^[2]. The player with the stick on the Maryland mug (3) holds the newer title.

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

What's on the mug

1
MARYLAND lettering
MARYLAND in red capitals; the second half, LAND, runs over a dark green circle.
2
Butterflies (resemble the Baltimore checkerspot)
Two butterflies hover above the lettering: one dark slate-blue with red spots and a red border, one lighter blue with red edges; both are dotted in white. Rows of white spots and a red-orange wing edge match how the Maryland Manual describes the Baltimore checkerspot, the state insect, but the mug colours the wings blue where the real butterfly is dark brown, so the match is loose. The mug doesn't name them.^[6]
3
Lacrosse player
A player with a long blue ponytail, red goggles, a red-and-white striped top, red shorts and yellow shoes runs with a lacrosse stick, ball in the net, to the right of the lettering; the skin is drawn blue. Lacrosse is Maryland's official team sport. The mug doesn't name a team or a real player.^[2]
4
Black-eyed Susans
Two yellow flowers with dark, dotted centres sit below the lettering among green leaves. Yellow petals around a dark centre match the black-eyed Susan, Maryland's state flower; the centres are drawn blue-black. The mug doesn't name it.^[4]
5
Red suspension bridge
A red suspension bridge with two towers crosses blue-grey water at the lower left. It continues onto the side of the mug. We cannot tie it to one named Maryland bridge, so it is described, not named. The mug doesn't name it.
6
Sailboat Side view
A large sailboat with yellow and blue sails and a yellow hull crosses the middle of the side photo. Nothing on it points to a specific named boat. The mug doesn't name it.
7
Blue crab Side view
A blue crab with a dotted blue shell, jointed legs and red-tipped claws sits below the oak leaves. The Maryland Manual says the blue crab was named the State Crustacean in 1989. The mug doesn't name it.^[8]
8
Rockfish (striped bass) Side view
A green fish with dark horizontal stripes along its body leaps above the water near the bridge, with spray drops; its tail and drops also show at the left edge of the front photo. The Maryland Manual says seven or eight dark stripes run from head to tail on the rockfish, the state fish, which is the closest match. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]
9
STARBUCKS wordmark Back view
The vertical STARBUCKS wordmark runs beside the handle on this side.
10
Bird (may be a Baltimore oriole) Back view
A bird with a blue head, yellow underside and dark wings with pale bars perches above the brick building (also seen at the left of the side photo). The dark hood, bright underside and barred wings follow the pattern of the Baltimore oriole, Maryland's state bird, but the Maryland Manual gives the male as black and golden orange, and this bird is blue and yellow, so the match is loose. The mug doesn't name it.^[5]^[13]
11
Brick building with white columns and a white dome (resembles the Maryland State House) Back view
A red brick building with a white columned front and a white, tiered dome on its roof stands at the right of the back photo; the dome looks taller in the side photo, where a green tree sits at its foot. Red brick and a tall stacked wooden dome resemble the Maryland State House in Annapolis, whose wooden dome the State Archives calls the oldest and largest of its kind in the United States, but the drawing is simplified. The mug doesn't name it.^[12]
12
Turtle (may be a diamondback terrapin) Back view
A turtle with a green body and a dark patterned shell walks along the base of the design, below the cake. The diamondback terrapin is Maryland's state reptile, and the Maryland Manual says its shell is marked with diamond-shaped rings; the shell here is stylised, so this may be one, but the mug doesn't say.^[9]
13
Layered cake with a slice on a server (may be Smith Island cake) Back view
Above the turtle a round cake, blue on top and red below, shows many thin dark layers; a square slice with the same thin layers sits on a long server above it. A cake of many thin layers may refer to Smith Island cake, Maryland's state dessert since 2008, which the Maryland Manual describes as eight to ten layers; the mug doesn't say.^[10]
14
Oak leaves (may be white oak) Side view
A sprig of green oak leaves with rounded lobes hangs above the crab on the side, with a few small red details we can't make out. Rounded lobes fit the white oak, Maryland's state tree, so this may be a nod to it. The mug doesn't name it.^[11]
15
Second sailboat Side view
A smaller sailboat with a dark blue sail and a yellow sail sits behind the large sailboat on the side photo, near the bridge.
16
Lighthouse and pier house
Between the lacrosse player and the handle, a yellow lighthouse with a dark cap stands next to a house with a red roof on a blue lattice pier. Part of it is hidden by the handle. We cannot say which lighthouse it is. The mug doesn't name it.
17
Yellow stepped structure
At the lower right of the front, a yellow block with stepped edges, black dashes and a round dark opening sits on the water line next to the boat. We cannot tell what it represents. The mug doesn't name it.
18
Motor boat
A white motor boat with a blue cabin window, a red stripe along the hull and a small figure at the stern runs along the bottom of the front, between green and blue wave stripes.

The three photos together cover most of the outside of the mug. The area behind the handle is out of view.

Collector notes

The side and back photos show the mug sitting on its dark gift box, printed STARBUCKS DISCOVERY SERIES in light capitals.
The inside rim is light blue, which shows at the top of the side photo.

Before you buy

The three photos cover most of the outside of the mug, but not the area behind the handle. The inside rim is light blue, and the mug sits on a dark gift box printed STARBUCKS DISCOVERY SERIES. Maryland also appears in the Been There and You Are Here series, so check the series name before you order.