JSLALALAND

CITY & ITS PEOPLE

In LA, cups don't lie

In LA, the cup in someone's hand tells you where they're headed today. Part four of the 'don't lie' series: eight tribes of cups plus a hidden one. Find yours.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. Why cups?

    LA is dry, so everyone's drinking water; LA is big, so everyone's in their car. So you leave the house with three things: phone, keys, cup. What cup someone carries is more honest than what they're wearing.

  2. 01 | The 40oz Life

    Has a handle, holds over a liter, covered in stickers, and the car's cupholder was made for it. Signature line: 'I drank three liters of water today.'

  3. 02 | The Gym-to-Desk

    One press and it pops open, drinkable one-handed, color-matched to the activewear, carried from Pilates all the way to the office.

  4. 03 | The Smoothie Statement (the clear Erewhon cup)

    A nearly $20 smoothie, in a clear cup so you can see the color; carrying it's a kind of ID. Signature line: 'This one's a collab.'

  5. 04 | The Iced Matcha Girl (the glass straw cup)

    A glass cup with a glass straw, always holding an iced matcha or oat latte, set on the table just in frame. 'I made it myself at home.'

  6. 05 | The Always-Iced

    Drinks everything iced all year, rainy days included. Which coffee shop the cup is from tells you which neighborhood they live in. 'Hot coffee? I don't drink hot.'

  7. 06 | The Chinamaxxer (hot water in a thermos)

    A little thermos of hot water or red dates and goji, and can't help frowning at people drinking something iced first thing in the morning. 'Warm is better for your body.' Every Taiwanese grandma is a member.

  8. 07 | The Hydration Optimizer

    Electrolyte powder in the water, always, several brands of bottled water in the fridge, and very concerned with how many milliliters they've had today. 'Plain water isn't enough.'

  9. 08 | The 5PM Glass

    After 5 p.m., the cup becomes a wine glass: in front of a Malibu sunset, at dinner at a friend's place. 'You worked hard today.'

  10. Hidden tribe | Three cups in the cup holder

    Both cupholders full, and one more in the passenger seat: a water, a coffee, and yesterday's. That's an Angeleno.

  11. 3 p.m., tired

    The tumbler type refills again, the Erewhon type drives out for a smoothie, the iced Americano type goes for a second, the thermos type brews hot tea, and the wine glass type checks the clock: two more hours.

  12. Taiwanese folks' cups

    When you first get to LA, you still use the thermos from Taiwan; by year three, you're buying giant tumblers; by year ten, you drink iced in LA and hot in Taiwan; and there's always a boba cup sleeve somewhere at home.

  13. Two-city mirror

    In Taipei, there's a boba in your hand; in LA, it's a giant water bottle. 'Your cup doesn't lie, because it's with you every time you're thirsty.'

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In this series

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An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).