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Ember Ceramic Mug review

Hot beverages like coffee, cocoa, and tea are obviously meant to be enjoyed when the beverage is hot. But if you don’t chug your mug of joe minutes after pouring the cuppa, your hot beverage quickly becomes lukewarm. I usually get up at least twice to reheat my mug of tea in the microwave before I’ve consumed it. There has to be a better way to keep your drink at the perfect temperature from the first sip to the last drop right? Ember thinks they have solved this problem, so I ordered one of their Ember Mugs and am here to share my experience with it.

What is it?

The Ember Mug is an 8-ounce mug that has a built-in heating element that will keep the contents of the mug at the right temperature for your beverage.

What’s in the box?

Ember Mug
Recharging saucer
AC adapter

Specs

Capacity: 10oz.
Weight: 0.75lb
Size: 4.2 x 3.25 x 4.3 inches
Temperature range: 120° F – 145° F
IPX7 rated (fully submersible under water)
Cleaning: hand wash only

Design and features

At first glance, most people would mistake the Ember Mug for an ordinary white ceramic coffee cup. But the Ember Mug is actually made of stainless steel with a FDA food grade ceramic-reinforced coating.

The bottom of the mug reveals a non-slip base, a power button, and gold rings.

The rings are electrical contacts that connect to the saucer which is used to recharge the Mug’s built-in rechargeable battery.

Connecting the included AC adapter to the saucer and then setting the Ember Mug on top will cause the status LED on the base of the mug to glow red to indicate that the Mug’s batteries are recharging.

After about an hour and a half, the mug’s battery is completely charged and the status LED glows green.

Once fully charged, you’re ready to start using the Ember Mug. However, you might want to wash it first! But only wash it by hand because it’s not dishwasher safe due to the electrical components inside. The saucer should only be wiped clean and not submerged in water.

To use the Ember Mug, all you have to do is pour in your hot beverage and enjoy. By default, the mug will keep the beverage at a temp of 130° F degrees from full to the last sip. If you want to customize the temperature, you will need to install the iOS or Android Ember app and pair the mug with your mobile device.




The app has temperature presets that you can choose for different beverages, or you can choose any temperature from a minimum of 120° F to a maximum of 145 °F.

Using the Ember Mug

The first time I used the Ember Mug was at home before installing the app. I boiled water on the stovetop like I always do and poured the water into the Mug over a tea bag. I waited a few minutes, removed the tea bag and moved to the couch where I sipped the tea for 90 minutes or so. Every time I wanted a sip, the tea was still hot which was great. I didn’t have to get up and reheat the tea in the microwave which helped me improve my couch potato skills. The only troubling thing that I noticed was that the LED on the mug started glowing red after an hour to let me know that the battery was getting low. I was surprised that the mug’s battery only lasted for 60 minutes because the tea in the mug was hotter than the set temp, meaning the mug was not having to use any juice to keep the tea at the right temp.

The next day I took the Mug to work with me and that’s when more problems with this product started becoming apparent to me.

First of all, at work, I don’t have access to boiling water like I do at home. I do have access to a hot water machine, but the water is only 160° F at its hottest, which isn’t the right temp for brewing the black tea that I prefer. Since you can’t put the Ember Mug in the microwave to heat the water to boiling, which is what I have been doing several times a day with a traditional mug when I’m at work. I filled my glass mug with water and put it in the microwave to boil the water.

Once the water was boiling, I put the teabag in the Ember Mug and dumped the water from my 10-ounce mug into the Ember Mug. Problem #1: The Mug’s true useable capacity is only about 8-ounces instead of 10-ounces and Problem #2: I made a mess pouring water from the glass mug into the Ember Mug.

Here’s a history of the temps using the Ember Mug and an IR thermometer which I pointed straight down into the center of the mug.

  • 160° F degrees out of water machine in a glass mug
  • Microwave glass mug of water 1.5mins to a temp 185° F degrees. Transferred water to Ember Mug with a teabag.
  • 167° F degrees after 3 mins steeping. The status LED starts pulsing white to show that the temp is either over or under the desired temp.
  • 152° F degrees 5 mins later
  • 142° F degrees 5 mins later
  • 130.5° F degrees 10 mins later – The status LED glows solid white to show that the desired temp is achieved.
  • 129.5° F degrees 3 mins later
  • 123.5° F degrees 3 mins later – The status LED is pulsing to show that the contents are below the desired temp.
  • 127.5° F degrees 15 mins later
  • 125.5° F degrees 15 mins later
  • 126° F degrees 5 mins later and the cup is empty.

I then set the mug on the saucer to charge it. For my next test, I went with green tea which can steep at the temp out of the hot water machine. I also installed the Ember app so I could compare what it thinks the beverage temps are vs. what my IR thermometer reports.

  • 142° F degrees 8:46am
  • 132° F degrees 8:54am – app shows 136
  • 125° F degrees 9:04am – app shows 132

The app reports a higher temperature than my IR thermometer. Not a big deal though. What is a big deal is that the app loses connection with the Mug and it has to be paired again when you want to use it to check the temp or customise it. Almost every time that I would launch the app, it would not reconnect to the mug. I finally got frustrated and stopped using the app altogether since I am fine with the default temperature setting of 130° F degrees.

What I like

  • Perfect hot beverage temps from the first drink, to the last drop.
  • No cables to plug in for charging. Just set the mug on the saucer to charge.

What needs to be improved

  • Capacity
  • Battery life
  • App loses connection to the mug

Final thoughts

I had high hopes for the Ember Mug at work and thought it would be the perfect solution to my lukewarm tea woes. Unfortunately, the fact that the mug doesn’t hold that much liquid and the battery life is too short makes the Ember Mug an expensive novelty item. Sure, I could just place the Mug on the charging saucer and not worry at all about battery life. But then I can also buy a cup warmer like this one from Amazon for less than $10. Disclaimer: I’ve never used a cup warmer plate, so I don’t know how well they really work. But, the cup warmer can be used with any mug including my favorite glass mug which I can use in the microwave to boil water to brew my tea. I plan to order one and try it.

When it’s all said and done, the Ember Mug is a nicely made product but needs to have a larger capacity and at least double the battery life before I would recommend it.

Price: $79.95
Where to buy: Ember
Source: The sample for this review was purchased with my own money.

Forget yoga. Get your workout by toting around some beverages!

A recent trip to the local wine store has opened my eyes to the many possibilities for smuggling alcoholic beverages with you in a variety of purse styles.  Apparently, now the seemingly health-conscious can also smuggle in their potables (potent or not) in this yoga mat-like Sling Beverage Cooler.  The sling measures 28″ long x 3.25″ in diameter to hold 6 12-ounce cans.  It’s made of polyethylene and hemp, and the insulated bag is waterproof, with a seam-sealed lining to contain any condensation or spills.  The adjustable strap allows you to carry it on your shoulder or crossbody.  The Sling Beverage Cooler is available in tan for $21.95 at UncommonGoods.

CouchCoaster solves the problem of where to put your drink

No matter how carefully your furniture is arranged, sometimes you find yourself without a convenient, secure place to put your drink while you read or watch TV.  With the CouchCoaster, you can have a steady, easily reachable place to hold a bottle, cup, or can right on the arm of your sofa or chair – without leaving behind stains or rings.  Made of flexible, weighted, BPA-free silicone, the CoachCoaster has a tacky base to hold it in place over the arm of your sofa or chair. The arm must be at least 5.5″ thick with gently sloping sides; the furniture can be made of leather or fabric.  If the arm won’t work, you can open the coaster and lay it along the seat, tuck it between the cushions, or even lay it over the back of the seat.

CouchCoaster holds bottles, glasses, bottles, or cups up to 3.5” in diameter; a slot in the side accommodates cup handles, and an insert gives a tighter fit for smaller bottles and cans.  CouchCoaster was created by Barry Freeder from London, UK, but it’s available to us in the USA for $25.00 through Amazon.

Your drinks will be shaken, not stirred, with the Mixology cocktail shaker

If you like to mix up your own drinks in your home bar, you know you need various tools, including a cocktail shaker.  Unless you have an incredible memory, you’ll also need a recipe book, or you’ll find yourself asking Siri or Google how to make drinks.  With the Mixology Cocktail Shaker, you’ll have recipes for eight drinks, like Mai Tais, daiquiris. cosmos – even shaken Martinis – right there on the shaker.  You just twist the outer cover to select the drink you want, and you’ll uncover the ingredients needed.

The Mixology shaker is made of stainless steel and copper plating.  It has a 750ml capacity (about 25.4 fluid ounces), and the recipes are listed in milliliters.  And you’ll be glad to know you can throw the shaker in the dishwasher after you’ve worn out your arm muscles shaking up all those drinks!  The Mixology Cocktail Shaker is $29.99 at ThinkGeek.

A tasting glass that cools your whiskey without diluting it

This tasting glass was inspired by the Glencairn, the traditional whiskey-tasting vessel.  But this one has a wider base with a dimple in the middle designed to hold it in place on a cooling metal base.  Place the metal base in the freezer for a few hours before using, and it will be ready to chill your whiskey without ice cubes that dilute your drink – and without those metal balls or stone cubes that risk the safety of your teeth.

The metal cooling base should chill your drinks for 30 minutes.  You should pour to keep the level of the whiskey below that of the dimple in the glass, which is said to divide the whiskey and “prevent overpowering alcohol vapors from hitting your nose while you taste”.  The tasting set is completed with a faux-leather coaster to protect your table from the cold metal.

The Whiskey Tasting Glass and Chilling Coaster is $40.00 at UncommonGoods.