Coffee & Clay: The Pottery Class That Starts With a Latte
There are pottery classes. And then there is Coffee & Clay.
At Mud Hut Pottery Studio in Riverside, California, Saturday and Sunday mornings look a little different. Students walk in, choose a drink from the Clayfeine menu, and spend 90 minutes making something with their hands — a handbuilt mug, textured and personalized, that they get to take home and use every single day.
It is one of our most loved classes. And once you understand what happens inside those 90 minutes, it is easy to see why.
What Is Coffee & Clay?
Coffee & Clay is a 90-minute beginner handbuilding class offered every Saturday at 11am and every Sunday at 11am and 1:30pm at Mud Hut Pottery Studio in Riverside, CA.
The class is $50 per person and includes everything — the clay, all tools and supplies, instruction, and a specialty drink from Clayfeine, our in-studio coffee cart.
No experience required. No mess. No wheel.
Just a great morning, a warm or iced drink, and something beautiful you made yourself.
It Starts With the Menu
When you walk through the door for Coffee & Clay, the first thing you do is choose your drink.
Clayfeine — Mud Hut's own in-studio coffee cart — offers a rotating menu of specialty lattes, chai, and hot or iced teas. Current flavors include vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon spice lattes, plus a flavor of the month, and peach or raspberry tea served hot or iced.
Your barista gets to work while you get settled at your station. By the time your hands are in clay, your drink is on its way.
It is a small detail that changes the entire tone of the morning. Instead of walking into a class, you feel like you are walking into an experience.
Then You Make a Mug
Once you are settled in, your instructor walks you through the handbuilding process step by step.
You start with a slab of stoneware clay — a flat, workable piece that becomes the foundation of your mug. Your instructor guides you through shaping it, forming the walls, attaching a handle, and building something that is structurally sound and completely your own.
From there, you get to add texture. Mud Hut has a collection of texture rollers you can press into the clay to create patterns — geometric, organic, floral, abstract. This is where the class becomes deeply personal. Two people can sit next to each other and walk out with mugs that look nothing alike.
At the end of class, you apply underglaze — a colored ceramic pigment that gives your mug its final look before it goes into the kiln. Choose your colors, paint your design, and add your own finishing touch.
Then you leave. And you wait for the best part.
The Kiln Does the Rest
After class, Mud Hut takes over.
Your mug is fired in the kiln, glazed, and fired again — a process that transforms your raw clay piece into a fully finished, food-safe, beautiful ceramic mug. Because it is made from stoneware clay, your finished piece will be dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and oven safe.
Pieces are typically ready for pickup in 4–6 weeks.
There is something genuinely exciting about coming back to pick up a piece you made. It looks different than you remember. More finished. More real. It does not look like a beginner made it — because the process does not leave room for it to look that way.
Why Handbuilding Is the Perfect Starting Point
If you have been curious about pottery but intimidated by the wheel, Coffee & Clay is the class for you.
The pottery wheel is a skill that takes time and repetition to develop. It involves spinning clay at speed, and the learning curve is real — and wonderful — but it is not always where people want to start.
Handbuilding is different. You are working with clay at your own pace, using your hands and simple tools to shape something intentional. It is tactile, meditative, and surprisingly satisfying for a first-timer.
Most students in Coffee & Clay have never worked with clay before. By the end of the 90 minutes, every single one of them has something to show for it.
Who Is Coffee & Clay For?
The short answer: almost anyone.
It is perfect for:
First-timers who want to try pottery without committing to a wheel class
Friends looking for a creative Saturday or Sunday morning together
Solo visitors who want two hours of calm, creative focus
Couples looking for a daytime alternative to Date Night
Anyone who has been saving a pottery class in their phone for months and is finally ready to go
Coffee & Clay tends to attract women who are done going through the motions of a weekend — the scroll, the errands, the same Sunday routine — and want something that leaves them with more than they came in with.
A specialty drink and a mug you made yourself is a pretty good trade for 90 minutes.
What Real Students Say
"I booked Coffee & Clay for myself and two friends. It was my first time working with clay and the instructor was great. She took her time on each step and made it very easy. The coffee was delicious — I got a dark chocolate covered strawberry iced coffee and wow! I'll definitely be booking more classes." — Christine E., Mud Hut student
"Really nice and calming. A hidden gem in Riverside." — Allison W., Mud Hut student
Ready to Book Your Coffee & Clay Morning?
Coffee & Clay is offered every Saturday at 11am and every Sunday at 11am and 1:30pm at Mud Hut Pottery Studio in Riverside, CA — conveniently located off the 91 Freeway at 9900 Indiana Ave, Unit 5.
The class is $50 per person and includes your specialty drink, all clay and tools, and instruction from one of our experienced handbuilding instructors.
All classes require advance booking — spots fill up, especially on weekend mornings.
👉 Book your Coffee & Clay spot here
Not sure if Coffee & Clay is right for you? Browse our full class schedule or reach out at hello@mudhutpotterystudio.com — we are happy to help you find the right fit.
Mud Hut Pottery Studio 9900 Indiana Ave, Unit 5 · Riverside, CA 951.594.5757 · mudhutpotterystudio.com Book a Class · Instagram · Gift Certificates
A coffee and clay student adding finishing toucher to her mug before painting it.
