Starbucks Tampa Bay mug: Discovery Series

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

Starbucks Discovery Series Tampa Bay mug with TAMPA BAY printed in pink inside a dark green circle, a cable-stayed bridge with yellow pylons, a manatee, a city skyline and a beach with umbrellas, photographed front-on with the handle on the right. — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

TAMPA BAY in a green circle, ringed by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a manatee, a downtown skyline and a beach; round the back a Cuban sandwich with pickles, a pirate, a TECO-style streetcar, a tiger and the Sulphur Springs Water Tower.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: Tampa Bay, Florida, 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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Fourteen inches from the gap on the Skyway

Early on 9 May 1980, a squall raced toward Tampa Bay and the sky went black ^[11]. At 7:33 the freighter Summit Venture, running empty to the Port of Tampa, struck a support column of the southbound Sunshine Skyway ^[11]. The roadway above it gave way. Six cars, a truck and a Greyhound bus fell 150 feet into the water ^[12]. Thirty-five people died ^[11]. Then one car, creeping through the rain, stopped. According to The Islander, Richard Hornbuckle's yellow Buick halted 14 inches from the gap ^[13]. Its four occupants scrambled out and began stopping the traffic behind them ^[13]. The bridge that replaced the span opened to traffic on 30 April 1987 ^[11]. Around the six pillars nearest its centre stand 36 concrete barriers called dolphins ^[14]. The Florida Department of Transportation says they can take the impact of an 87,000-ton ship moving at 10 knots ^[14]. The cable-stayed bridge sweeping across the front of the mug (3) is that replacement.

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

What's on the mug

1
TAMPA BAY
The words TAMPA BAY in pink capitals, on two lines, inside a large dark green circle in the middle of the front.
2
Manatee
A blue-green manatee with a rounded snout, small flippers and a speckled back lies on top of the green circle. The round body and flippers match the West Indian manatee, the species found in Florida's coastal waters. The mug doesn't name it.^[2]
3
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
A long bridge sweeps across the bottom right of the front, held by fans of pink cables from tall yellow pylons, with a second, smaller fan on another yellow pylon further back. A cable-stayed bridge over open water in Tampa Bay is the Sunshine Skyway, which spans Lower Tampa Bay; the drawing makes the cables pink, while the real ones are painted yellow. The mug doesn't name it.^[1]
4
City skyline, probably downtown Tampa
A cluster of towers in pink, yellow and blue stands behind the bridge, the tallest with a pointed yellow top. It looks like downtown Tampa, but the towers are too stylised to match to particular buildings. The mug doesn't name it.
5
Jet airliner
A blue and yellow jet plane climbs over the skyline, trailing pink lines. No airline or airport is marked.
6
Fried onion on a plate, resembling a Bloomin' Onion
A golden, petal-cut fried onion with a pale dip bowl at its centre sits on a blue oval plate below the green circle. It resembles the Bloomin' Onion of Outback Steakhouse, a chain based in Tampa, but the mug carries no brand. The mug doesn't name it.^[8]^[9]
7
Beach with umbrellas and palm trees
A yellow beach at top left of the front with striped umbrellas, towels, palm trees, people walking and boats offshore, joined to a long pier. No particular beach is identifiable.
8
Spotted fish
A large teal fish with dark spots and an open mouth at the left edge of the front, with a pink fin rising behind it; its tail continues on the side view next to the pirate. The species is not clear from the drawing.
9
Cigar, for 'Cigar City'
A dark cigar with a decorated band at the top left of the front; the print wraps round the mug, and the side photo shows the rest of it at top right. Tampa's Ybor City cigar factories gave the city the nickname 'Cigar City'. The mug doesn't name it.^[3]
10
Cuban sandwich with pickles Side view
A sandwich cut in two, with grill stripes on the bread, layers of filling and slices of dill pickle flying round it. Dill pickles and pressed bread are typical of the Cuban sandwich, which the Tampa City Council named the city's signature sandwich. The mug doesn't name it.^[5]
11
Pirate, likely for the Gasparilla Pirate Festival Side view
A pirate in a feathered hat, yellow shirt, green waistcoat, red breeches and tall yellow boots stands with hands on hips and a sword at his side. It most likely refers to Gasparilla, Tampa's pirate-themed parade, but the drawing carries no label. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]
12
TECO Line Streetcar Side view
A yellow streetcar with maroon trim, a row of square windows and two sets of wheels runs on a track at top left of the side view; it is also visible on the back. Its old-fashioned shape matches the replica Birney cars of Tampa's TECO Line, which runs between downtown and Ybor City; we have not confirmed the exact paint scheme. The mug doesn't name it.^[6]
13
Tiger Side view
A pale blue tiger with dark stripes walks above the row of shops, also visible on the back. Nothing on the mug ties it to a particular zoo or park.
14
Brick street with outdoor cafe tables, possibly Ybor City's 7th Avenue Side view
A row of low red and maroon brick buildings with balconies, palm trees, umbrellas over cafe tables and people strolling. It may be 7th Avenue in Ybor City, Tampa's historic brick district, but the buildings are generic. The mug doesn't name it.^[3]
15
Sulphur Springs Water Tower Side view
A tall pale blue cylindrical tower with small slit windows and a notched, battlemented top rises from a clump of trees. A round tower with slit windows and battlements matches the Sulphur Springs Water Tower in Tampa. The mug doesn't name it.^[4]^[10]
16
STARBUCKS Back view
The word STARBUCKS printed vertically in black capitals beside the handle on the back.
17
Sandy point with small boats Back view
Left of the streetcar on the back, a yellow sand spit curls round a dark blue inlet, with dots of people on the sand and three small boats on the water. No particular beach or point is identifiable.

The photos do not show the inside below the rim, the bottom of the mug or any base markings. No photo shows the area under the handle.

Collector notes

Two other Starbucks mugs carry the same place name: a Been There Series Tampa Bay mug and an Icon Series Tampa mug. Check the series in the listing, then the artwork: this Discovery design has TAMPA BAY in pink inside a dark green circle on the front, with the Skyway-style bridge and manatee, and a pirate, a Cuban sandwich and a yellow streetcar round the side.
The STARBUCKS wordmark runs vertically next to the handle on the back; the side view, with the pirate, the pressed sandwich and the streetcar, is the quickest way to confirm a listing shows this design.
None of the drawings is labelled on the mug. The bridge, the water tower and the sandwich match named Tampa Bay things closely; the skyline, the onion, the pirate, the streetcar's paint scheme and the Ybor street are our best reading, not a fact printed on the mug.

Before you buy

The real Skyway's cables are painted yellow; the mug draws them pink on yellow pylons, so the colour is not a misprint. The photos do not show the inside, the base or any markings. Starbucks also made a Been There Series Tampa Bay mug and an Icon Series Tampa mug; this Discovery design has TAMPA BAY in pink inside a dark green circle, with a pirate and a pressed Cuban sandwich round the side.