Drinking coffee from a Mario castle? Not exactly.

Sorry Mario, but your coffee is in another castle?

Coffee Beans
     Mario has a history of visiting castles, but often leaving them in worse shape than when he enters them. Super Mario World is a perfect example of this as Mario not only goes in and removes certain castle residents, but he then destroys most of the castles making sure the residents can't return.
     We have been playing Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64 a lot over the last month and seeing many castles in the games. Bean 1 says things like, "Let's go to the castle!", or "Mario goes to the castle!", or "We beat the castle!". Anything to do with the castles seems fun for Bean 1, and he really enjoys playing/watching the castle levels in the Mario games.

     Perhaps the castles in Mario is what influenced me to finally drink coffee from a castle. What do I mean by "drink coffee from a castle"? Brew yourself some coffee, and then take a look!

You can click each image to see the details on the mug.

The Brew
     Mrs. Coffee and I, along with the two beans, went to a Renaissance Festival last year where I purchased the mug shown above. The coffee mug pictured is officially titled "Castle Mug" by the manufacturer, Grey Fox Pottery.
     After getting the mug home, I was actually a little paranoid about washing it due to the bottom of the mug not being glazed over, even though the vendor I purchased it from said it would be okay for hand washing, and it should be dishwasher safe as well. So, I used it as a desk decoration and not an actual coffee mug for the last few months.

     That changed on Monday though, when I visited Grey Fox Pottery's website and read, "We use leadless glazes and everything is dishwasher and microwave safe.". I threw the Castle Mug in the dishwasher for a quick washing, and it survived. Then I proceeded with the more important part of pouring freshly brewed hot coffee into the Castle Mug.
     Did the mug hold up, or did the hot coffee destroy the Castle Mug beyond repair, like Mario does to castles in Super Mario World?
     Thankfully, the Castle Mug survived! I have enjoyed coffee from it so far twice this week, and apparently my initial concerns over hot coffee and water affecting the mug seem to have been misplaced.

     The Castle Mug is pretty big, but it is very sturdy and has a nice weight to it. I'm not sure exactly how many ounces it holds though, and I have contacted Grey Fox Pottery about it. *UPDATE: Mike from Grey Fox Pottery responded to my inquiry about how many ounces of coffee the Castle Mug can hold and said, "I think it measures slightly more than 24 oz. to the rim. There is a little variance since they are all hand made." All the coffee mugs made by Grey Fox Pottery according to their site are "Handcrafted in the USA", which I think is pretty cool in this day and age.
     You can see their wide assortment of coffee mugs, as well as other mugs and steins at their site GreyFoxPottery.com.

Questions
     Do any of you perhaps own a Castle Mug as well, or maybe even another mug or stein from Grey Fox Pottery?
     If so, how often do you use it, and has it held up well?