Starbucks Palm Springs mug: Discovery Series

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

Starbucks Discovery Series Palm Springs mug with a tennis player, golf bag and cactus around the words PALM SPRINGS — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The Palm Springs mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the name in pink over a dark green circle, with a tennis player, a golf bag and a mid-century house. Prickly pear cactus, a Ferris wheel and a pool lounger fill the other sides.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Palm Springs, California, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozstandard mug size
SKU: Not confirmed

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The Utah quarry that reopened for a Palm Springs house

In 1993, Brent and Beth Harris bought a Palm Springs house for $1.5 million ^[1]. Richard Neutra built it in 1946 for Edgar Kaufmann, the Pittsburgh department-store owner ^[2]^[3]. After Kaufmann died in 1955, it passed through a string of owners, including Barry Manilow ^[4]. According to Dwell, owners covered the courtyard and put air conditioning on the roof, and the house began to crumble ^[5]^[6]. The Harrises hired Marmol Radziner, a Los Angeles firm ^[7]. A Utah quarry was persuaded to re-open a section of its site so that more of the original buff-colored sandstone could be obtained ^[8]. A fabricator in Kansas fired up a defunct machine to reproduce crimped metal ^[9]. The Guardian called the result "an award-winning restoration" ^[10]. The low, glass-walled house on the Palm Springs mug (4) may be a house like Neutra's.

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

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
PALM SPRINGS in pink capitals over a dark green circle.
2
Prickly pear cactus
Tall cactus with flat teal pads and small orange flowers stands at the left.
3
Tennis player
A player in a pink skirt and red cap swings a racket above the circle, a tennis ball beside them.
4
Mid-century house
A low house with a flat angled roof, glass walls and a yellow door sits below the lettering.
5
Golf bag
A pale green bag with yellow panels holds golf clubs at the right of the lettering.
6
Bighorn sheep
A pink sheep with curled horns stands on rocks at the right.
7
Ferris wheel Side view
A Ferris wheel with pink spokes stands behind a crowd of people and palm trees.
8
Red jeep Side view
A red open jeep drives across the upper left of this view.
9
Wind turbines Side view
A row of white wind turbines stands in front of dark teal hills, under a pink sun.
10
Poolside lounger Back view
A person in sunglasses reclines in a chair with a sunscreen bottle beside them.
11
Stacked stones Back view
A figure sits on a tower of stacked stones among palms and tall plants.
12
Cowboy boot Back view
A large boot covered in stars and a moon stands at the centre of this view.

The three photos together cover most of the outside of the mug. The base and the area under the handle are not visible.

Collector notes

The inside of this mug is aqua, which shows in all three photos.
The Ferris wheel, the red jeep and the wind turbines are on the Side, and the lounger and the pool float are on the back, so a seller photo taken only from the front shows none of them.

Before you buy

The inside of this mug is aqua. The Ferris wheel, red jeep and wind turbines are on the side and the lounger is on the back, so a seller photo taken only from the front shows none of them. The base and the area under the handle are not shown in our photos.