There are some brave, efficient people who will drink their coffee in whatever state it’s in. Ice cold, scalding hot, medium-hot, lukewarm — it doesn’t matter as long as it gets the job done. I am not one of those people, FYI. I like my coffee the temperature it turns approximately 30 seconds after pouring it from coffee maker to cup. When it no longer possesses the ability to scorch my mouth, but if I spilled it all over myself, I’d probably yelp.
My problem is that coffee doesn’t stay that way for very long, especially in offices that use A/C liberally. My other problem is that I drink and eat slowly; I’m usually multitasking, so I get distracted and forget that my coffee or bagel even exist for minutes at a time, and by the time I’m halfway through with my cup, the coffee’s gone chilly. With tea, it’s worse. I’ll set the boiling hot, steeping tea aside and completely forget about it — by the time I remember I wanted tea, it’s flavored ice water. Sad!
And yes, I could just microwave my drinks, and I do. But until microwaves are able to reheat coffee without it somehow tasting like the last three things that have been nuked, I’m going to look for another option. Which is where the Ember mug comes in.
What is the Ember mug, exactly?
Ember products (the ceramic and travel mug) use technology to keep your coffee or tea the *perfect* temperature. All you need to do is download the Ember app, connect it with your mug, and then let it know what drink you’re currently enjoying. It’ll set the liquid to whatever temperature you prefer (temps range between 120-145 degrees). Once you select how hot you want your coffee or tea, the coaster on which your mug sits keeps the liquid at said temperature.
I tried the mug with both tea and coffee, and both drinks stayed perfectly hot. The only real downside is that it needs to be hand-washed, and you need to be near a plug when you use it.
If your dad is notorious for heating and reheating his morning cup of joe, this could also make a for a no-brainer Father’s Day gift (it’s this Sunday, remember?). What dad (or human, really) wouldn’t want a device that keeps coffee and tea sublimely hot?
It’s $79.95 for a ceramic mug and $149.95 for a travel mug. Definitely not the price of a mug you can just grab at Target, but does coffee that stays hot REALLY have a price tag? You can also buy accessories like a 24k gold lid for your travel mug, if you’re feeling fancy.
