A coaster, drink coaster, beverage coaster, or beermat is an object used to rest drinks upon. Coasters protect the surface of a table, or any other surface where a user might place a cup, from condensation created by cold drinks. A coaster on top of a beverage can also be used to show that a drink is not finished or to prevent contamination (usually from insects). Coasters can also stop hot drinks from burning the table surface.
In a pub or bar, coasters are used to protect tables and bar surfaces. Coasters are typically made of paper, and sometimes are used to write on. Coasters are often branded with trademarks or alcohol advertising. Coasters are not to be confused with bar mats, which are larger pieces of rubber or absorbent material that are used to protect countertops or floors and to limit the spread of spilled drinks.
The first coasters were designed for decanters or wine bottles so that they could be slid (or "coasted") around the dinner table after the servants had retired. They were in common use after about 1760. [1] Early coasters took the form of a shallow tray or dish made of wood, papier-mâché, silver, or silver plate. [2]
In 1880, a German printing company, Friedrich Horn, introduced the first coaster made of cardboard. [3] In 1892, Robert Sputh of Dresden manufactured the first coaster made of wood pulp. [4] Watney's brewery introduced them to the United Kingdom in 1920 to advertise their pale ale. [4] The packaging company Quarmby Promotions, established in 1872, began manufacturing coasters in Milnsbridge in 1931. After Quarmby Promotions was taken over by the Katz Group, it moved production to Brighouse and in 2006 to Morley, West Yorkshire, before closing its production in 2009. [5]
Saucers are also long used in western culture for much the same purpose. When drinking tea, it is customary to use a cup and saucer set. By the mid-twentieth century, drink coasters made in many materials and styles were manufactured for domestic use. Today, they are common as everyday houseware pieces and are also used in restaurants.
Coasters are often made from high grammage paperboard but may also be made from several layers of tissue paper. Drink coasters are also sometimes made from soapstone, metal, wood, and silicone. Important parameters for coasters are water absorbency, wet rub, and printability. [6]
Some drink coasters are made to be recycled.
Coasters are often adorned with a customized image, usually mentioning or advertising a brand of beer. However, they can also promote a drinking establishment, sports franchise, businesses, or special events.
Some coasters are collectible items. Tegestology is a term coined from Latin ( teges "covering" or "mat", and etis) defined as the practice of collecting coasters, with practitioners known as tegestologists. [6] A 1960 British Pathé News short shows comedy duo Morecambe and Wise as tegestologists. [7]
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
A drink can is a metal container with a polymer interior designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans exteriors are made of aluminum or tin-plated steel and the interiors coated with an epoxy resin or polymer. Worldwide production for all drink cans is approximately 370 billion cans per year.
A mug is a type of cup, a drinking vessel usually intended for hot drinks such as: coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. Mugs usually have handles and hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cups such as teacups or coffee cups. Typically, a mug holds approximately 240–350 ml of liquid.
A mat is a hard floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including:
A trivet is an object placed between a serving dish, bowl, pot, or pan and a dining table, usually to protect the table from heat damage. The word trivet refers to three feet, but the term is sometimes used in British English to refer to trivets with four feet or no feet.
A saucer is a type of small dishware. While in the Middle Ages a saucer was used for serving condiments and sauces, currently the term is used to denote a small plate or shallow bowl that supports a cup – usually one used to serve coffee or tea.
Hires Root Beer is an American brand of root beer that was manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper. Introduced in 1876, it was one of the longest continuously made soft drinks in the United States.
A beer stein, or simply stein, is either a traditional beer mug made out of stoneware or specifically an ornamental beer mug sold as a souvenir or collectible. An 1894 article on beer mugs in the American Vogue magazine that describes various types of steins stated: "And it is to this [i.e. German] nation that we owe Wagner's music and the apotheosis of the beer mug."
The Beer Can Museum, located in East Taunton, Massachusetts, is a collection of more than 5,000 different beer cans, along with beer can folk art and crafts, beer can clothing, beer can telephones and radios, and a beer can and breweriana related library. In November 2013, it was included in Travel & Leisure's list of 'America's Strangest Museums.'
A tankard is a form of drinkware consisting of a large, roughly cylindrical, drinking cup with a single handle. Tankards are usually made of silver or pewter, but can be made of other materials, for example wood, ceramic, or leather. A tankard may have a hinged lid, and tankards featuring glass bottoms are also fairly common. Tankards are shaped and used similarly to beer steins.
A placemat or table mat is a covering or pad designating an individual place setting, unlike the larger tablecloth that covers the entire surface. Placemats are made from many different materials, depending on their purpose: to protect, decorate, entertain or advertise. Materials and production methods range from mass-produced and commercial, to local and traditional.
Wood wool, known primarily as excelsior in North America, is a product made of wood slivers cut from logs. It is mainly used in packaging, for cooling pads in home evaporative cooling systems known as swamp coolers, for erosion control mats, and as a raw material for the production of other products such as bonded wood wool boards. In the past it was used as stuffing, or padding, in upholstery, or to fill stuffed toys. It is also sometimes used by taxidermists to construct the armatures of taxidermy mounts.
A liquor license is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
Cup plates are coasters that provide a place to rest a tea cup while leaving space for a light snack. Teacup plates originated in England in the early 1800s and went out of fashion in the second half of the 19th century, with a brief reappearance in the first third of the 20th century as bridge sets. The cup plates were in common use in the United States during the first half of the 19th century, and were a precursor of the very specialized dishes of Victorian era: ice cream sets, berry sets, lemonade sets, etc.
A drinking establishment is a business whose primary function is the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Some establishments may also serve food, or have entertainment, but their main purpose is to serve alcoholic beverages. There are different types of drinking establishment ranging from seedy bars or nightclubs, sometimes termed "dive bars", to 5,000 seat beer halls and elegant places of entertainment for the elite. A public house, informally known as a "pub", is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms are increasingly used to refer to the same thing, there is a difference between pubs, bars, inns, taverns and lounges where alcohol is served commercially. A tavern or pot-house is, loosely, a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licensed to put up guests. The word derives from the Latin taberna and the Greek ταβέρνα/taverna.
An alcoholic beverage is a beverage containing alcohol (ethanol). Alcoholic drinks are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—and typically their alcohol content is between 3% and 50%.
Pulque, occasionally known as octli or agave wine, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous consistency and a sour yeast-like taste.
Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.
A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about 100–250 millilitres (3–8 US fl oz). Cups may be made of pottery, glass, metal, wood, stone, polystyrene, plastic, lacquerware, or other materials. Normally, a cup is brought in contact with the mouth for drinking, distinguishing it from other tableware and drinkware forms such as jugs. They also most typically have handles, though a beaker has no handle or stem, and small bowl shapes are very common in Asia.