2017 Starbucks Philippines You Are Here Series Mug Collection Batch One

I know this is a bit late, as they have outed the first batch last February 7, 2017 and has just recently released the second batch (another post, Haha!) , but Starbucks You Are Here Mug Series is finally here in the Philippines!!! But I do not know if I'm gonna be happy about it.

You see, I've been a collector of their Global Icon '08 Series tumblers. I have always meant to post about my collection here since I started blogging again and I believe I have one lurking among my drafts. As always, I tend to forget about it or I'm feeling too lazy to continue writing it. Now that the You Are Here series is here, I guess it would forever remain that way. The launch of this series means the end of the Global Icon series. I may be wrong, but I no longer see it whenever I chance upon a Starbucks Store. Good thing I have managed to collect all except for one (Naga, which I'm still hunting online).

That's the reason why I'm not too happy about the release of the You Are Here (YAH for short) series here in the Philippines. Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, out with the old, embrace the new. Though I will not be collecting one, I will be happy supporting those who wish to collect them all. In fact, I have an officemate who has just started collecting Starbucks mugs and I'm happy to help him on this endeavor.

Now presenting...

Philippines

Starbucks used the Banaue Rice Terraces (Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) to represent the Philippines in this collection. Commonly referred to as a potential candidate to be the "Eight Wonder of the World," these are 2,000-year-old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people.

My thoughts: I do love the Banaue Rice Terraces when I've been there so many years ago, I personally think the Philippine Eagle would better represent the country. Don't get me wrong, but rice terraces are common among Asian countries and would not make an excellent recall.

Manila

They went with a combination of the previous Global Icon series: "Kalesa" and "Jeepney", along with what I believe will be the Manila Baywalk.  I love it! These two icons really best describe what Manila is to me: traditional and modern; the old versus the new.

Quezon City

I really don't get the icons featured here on this design. The buildings may represent the various government buildings located in the city. That's just according to me. The film roll actually represents Quezon City being called the "City of Stars", according to my officemate. While one addicted to Starbucks mugs blog, actually pointed out that this film roll detail can also be seen on the "Cannes" YAH mug. This is also another reason for me not to really love these YAH series. Though it is a vibrant and colorful, it lacks the uniqueness that I find with the Global Icon series. And no, this is not an excuse to hate the YAH series. Haha! Anyway, of the first five YAH designs from the Philippines, this is my least favorite, as I find it to dull when compared to the four and totally lacks recall. Sorry.

Cebu

I see that they have also integrated the colorway and the Guitar design from the first version of the Cebu Global Icon series on this one, plus a building that I'm not sure what it represents. You see, another reason why I'm not too gaga over the YAH series. Cebu is best represented by Lapu-lapu, who graced the second edition of Cebu Global Icon Series, or by a danggit (rabbitfish), which I think is represented anyway by the clusters of fishes near the back of the mug, or the Mactan-Mandaue or the Marcelo Fernan bridges. However, their designs are too complicated to be translated into a simpler manner that the YAH series is aiming for, hence the feeling of being borrowed from a database of designs in a Microsoft's clipart kind of way. I hope you get what I mean. Anyway, using green and orange (two of my favorite colors) places this just above the Quezon City design.

Makati

I also see that they have also used the orange colorways of the original Makati Global Icon Series. I believe the design shows Makati as the business and shopping district of the Philippines, plus traffic (Haha!) as represented by buildings, buses and shopping bags. As mentioned, too lame and no recall factor. The fact that it is orange is just the reason I love this mug. Sorry.

There you go. The first five You Are Here Collection mug from the Philippines. Not bad, but not great, at least for me. Good thing another three (Boracay, Baguio, and Tagaytay) went out, which I will write about the next time. Costs Php525 a piece. If I were to rank them in order of purchase, I will be buying them in this order: Manila, Philippines, Makati, Cebu, then Quezon City.

Edit: I did post something about my Global Icon Series after all. Haha!

All images are from Starbucks Philippines' Facebook page.