All three are ceramics. The differences come down to what the clay is made of and how hot the kiln got – and those two facts decide almost everything you will notice in daily use.
Earthenware
Fired lowest, around 1,000-1,150C. The clay body stays porous, so it must be glazed to hold liquid. It chips more readily than the others and is the least tolerant of temperature swings. It is also the cheapest, which is why so many decorative and hand-painted mugs are earthenware. Fine for occasional use; not what you want as a daily driver.
Stoneware
Fired around 1,200-1,300C, hot enough that the body vitrifies and stops being porous even where it is unglazed. Heavier walls, excellent heat retention, and durable enough for daily dishwasher use. The speckled and reactive glazes people associate with “artisan” mugs are almost always stoneware. If you want one material for everyday coffee, this is it.
Porcelain
Fired hottest, roughly 1,300-1,400C, from a finer white clay including kaolin. The result is dense, non-porous, and strong enough to be made very thin – which is why porcelain mugs are light and have a delicate rim. That thinness is a genuine trade-off: it feels better to drink from and it loses heat faster.
Bone china
Porcelain with bone ash added to the body. It is the strongest of the group by weight, the most translucent, and the most expensive. Hold a bone china mug up to a window and you will see light through the wall.
Choosing
| If you want | Buy |
|---|---|
| Heat retention and durability | Stoneware |
| A thin rim and a light mug for tea | Porcelain or bone china |
| Decoration and low price | Earthenware |
| Something that survives a busy household dishwasher | Stoneware |
Every product page on this site states the material, because “ceramic” on its own does not tell you which of these four you are getting.