Coffee and Tea Doodles: Mugs, Teapots and Cafe Treats

A mug with three curls of steam might be the coziest thing you can draw in ten seconds. It sits happily beside a to-do list, a reading log or a rainy-day journal entry, and it is very hard to get wrong.

These coffee doodles start with that basic mug, then branch into cups, pots and a few cafe treats. Tea drinkers are covered too, with a teapot, a teacup and a tea bag. Everything is plain and generic, so there is no lettering or symbol to worry about on any cup.

A mug in four stages

1. Draw the body as a rectangle that is a little taller than it is wide, with both bottom corners well rounded. Leave the top edge flat for now.
2. Add the handle on the right side: a curve shaped like a letter C facing backward, starting just below the top and ending just above the bottom. Draw a second, smaller curve inside it so the handle has thickness.
3. Turn the flat top into a rim by drawing a narrow ellipse across it, so you seem to look slightly down into the mug. Then add a simple pattern on the body, such as two horizontal stripes or a small heart.
4. Draw three curls of steam above the rim. Each one is a tall, loose letter S. Make the middle one the tallest.

The steam is the detail that makes it read as a hot drink, so do not skip it. A curved line just inside the rim ellipse shows the level of the coffee if you want one more touch.

Cups: tall, dainty and to-go

• Tall cup: draw the mug body about twice as tall as it is wide and narrow it slightly toward the bottom. Use a small handle near the top, or none at all.
• Teacup and saucer: draw a half circle like a bowl, flat side up. Add a small round handle on one side. Under the cup, draw a long, flat oval for the saucer, wider than the cup, and a short line under the bowl for its foot.
• To-go cup: draw a tall trapezoid that is wider at the top. Cap it with a lid: a thin flat band slightly wider than the cup, with a lower, narrower band on top of it. Draw two lines across the middle of the cup for a sleeve and leave the sleeve blank or fill it with a few stripes.

Pots: teapot, kettle and press pot

• Teapot: draw a wide, round body like a squashed circle. On the left, add a spout as a curved tube that starts low on the body and rises outward to a slanted tip. On the right, add a large C-shaped handle. Top it with a flat lid, a shallow curve, and a small round knob.
• Kettle: draw a dome with a flat bottom, wider at the base. Add a short, stubby spout pointing up at an angle on one side, and a handle that arches over the top from one side to the other. A small knob sits on the center.
• Press pot: draw a tall, straight-sided cylinder. Add a flat lid on top, a thin vertical rod rising from the middle of the lid, and a small ball on the end of the rod. Give it a squared handle on one side, and draw a horizontal line near the bottom third to show the coffee level.

Little extras: beans, tea bag and spoon

• Coffee bean: draw a small oval, then a gentle S-shaped line running along its length. Scatter three or five at different angles.
• Tea bag: draw a small rectangle and clip its two top corners so the top comes to a blunt point. From that point, draw a wavy string leading up to a small blank square tag.
• Spoon: draw a small oval for the bowl and a long, thin handle that widens slightly at the far end.
• Sugar cubes: draw a small square, then add a slanted top and side to make it a tiny box. Stack two or three.

Three cafe treats

• Croissant: draw a fat crescent with blunt ends, curving like a smile turned upside down. Divide it with four or five curved lines that follow the bend, so the middle sections are widest and the end ones are small.
• Cookie: draw a circle with a slightly bumpy edge and add a few filled dots for chips.
• Slice of cake: draw a triangle on its side for the top, drop a line from each near corner, and close the bottom. One line across the side makes two layers, and a wavy line along the top edge is the frosting.

For donuts, cupcakes and a dozen more snacks to set beside your drinks, see the easy snack and treat doodles.

Patterns to dress up a mug

Once the plain mug feels easy, the body becomes a small blank canvas. Try one of these on each mug in a row:

• Two or three horizontal stripes, or one thick band near the top.
• Evenly spaced dots.
• A single small heart, star or leaf in the center.
• A zigzag line around the middle.
• A row of short vertical dashes near the rim, like a knitted cuff.
• A simple face: two dots wide apart and a small curve, set low on the body.

If you enjoy drawing things from around the home in this pared-back way, the everyday household object doodles include a kettle, a spoon and plenty more.

Arranging a cafe corner

A small group reads better than a single doodle floating alone. For a planner or journal corner, try this arrangement:

1. Draw one large steaming mug slightly off-center.
2. Tuck a croissant or cookie to one side, overlapping the mug a little or sitting just beside its base.
3. Lay a spoon at an angle in front.
4. Scatter three coffee beans and a few dots in the remaining gaps.

Add one accent color with a highlighter or marker, such as a warm brown or mustard for the drink and the pastry. Let the outline dry for a minute first, since gel and felt-tip ink can smudge.

Warm drinks suit cooler months especially well. A mug beside a pumpkin and a few leaves from the fall doodle set makes a quick seasonal header.