Guess what! It actually was always blue, but only in direct sunlight. There was a period of time when we weren't able to procure our regular black handled mugs and these were the only black handled mugs we could get our hands on. We were aware of this quirk, but made the executive decision that since it's only noticeable in direct sunlight and since customers love the black handled mugs so deeply, to use the alternate supplier instead of discontinuing this style. The great news is that supply chain with our preferred supplier is back in action and this shouldn't be a problem with future orders.