Starbucks Oahu mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-10-15 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series Oahu mug with a plumeria flower, snorkeler and surfboards around the word OAHU — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Oahu mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the name in pink over a dark green circle, with a plumeria flower, a snorkeler and a rack of surfboards. A paddleboarder, a bowl of toppings and a food truck fill the other sides.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozstandard mug size
SKU: Not confirmed

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The reef at Hanauma Bay that was dynamited for a phone cable

In 1956 a contractor called Hawaiian Dredging blasted a swath of reef 200 feet wide through Hanauma Bay, on Oahu's southeast coast ^[1]. The reason was a telephone cable: the city had sold the Hawaiian Telephone Company an easement for the first leg of a new trans-Pacific line ^[2]. Coral rock was piled on the beach and hauled away, and oil covered the water ^[3]. According to the city's own history of the bay, such devastation would be unthinkable today, but in those times it was considered an improvement ^[4]. Many residents fished there, and by the 1960s few fish of any size were left ^[5]. In 1967 the state declared the whole bay a Marine Life Conservation District, banning the taking of marine life, shells, coral, rocks or sand ^[6]. The fish multiplied as visitors fed them bread and peas, and by the late 1980s as many as 10,000 people a day used the bay ^[7]^[8]. The snorkeler on the Oahu mug (3), reaching for a fish, could be in the water that dynamite opened up.

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

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
OAHU in pink capitals over a dark green circle.
2
Plumeria flower
A pink and white flower with yellow centre sits at the top of the circle.
3
Snorkeler
A swimmer in a green top and pink fins reaches toward a small fish at the left of the circle.
4
Rack of surfboards
A rack holds several upright surfboards in pink, teal and yellow at the upper right.
5
Arch bridge
A pink and teal arched bridge runs below the circle, with water beneath it.
6
Paddleboarder Side view
A person in a striped top stands on a long board and paddles, with a looping line behind them.
7
Riders on horseback Side view
Two riders on horses cross a yellow field below a pink mountain ridge.
8
Beach skyline Side view
High-rise buildings in pink and yellow line a curved sandy beach, with a small sailboat on the water.
9
Bowl with toppings Back view
A teal bowl holds sliced yellow fruit, dark berries and a spoon.
10
Food truck Back view
A white truck covered in colourful patterns stands at the upper left of this view, with people near it.
11
Group of people Back view
A person with a backpack stands beside another person seated on a ledge above the bowl.

The three photos together cover most of the outside of the mug. The inside colour and the base are not visible in any photo.

Collector notes

The paddleboarder, the beach skyline and the riders on horseback are on the Side, so a seller photo taken only from the front shows none of them.
The back shows a large bowl with a spoon, a food truck and a group of people, with the handle on the left.

Before you buy

The snorkeler is on the front, but the paddleboarder, the riders on horseback and the beach skyline are on the Side, and the bowl, food truck and group of people are on the back. Check a seller's photos for all three views. The inside colour and the base do not show in any photo.