Ember earlier this year introduced a new version of its electric Travel Mug, adding a key Apple feature - Find My support. You might be wondering, why does a mug need Find My? I'm not sure I have a great explanation, but it's a nice-to-have add-on for a product that's positioned as a small luxury.
The Ember Travel Mug 2 is $200, and the reason it's so expensive is because it's self-heating. It can keep a beverage at your desired temperature for three hours while on the go, or all day when on the included charging coaster. The temperature can be set from 120°F to 145°F, which is hot, but not likely to cause burns.
I have no insight into coffee temperatures as a non-coffee drinker, but some internet research suggests that's an ideal coffee temperature range. I know there are some people out there who like coffee really hot, but if on the higher end of warm works for you, this cup will get coffee to a level you like.
While I don't drink coffee, I do drink tea, and because I drink green, oolong, and white varieties, I'm fairly well-versed on beverage temperatures. 150 to 160 degrees is in the burn your tongue range. For me, 145 is uncomfortably warm, and 138 is just about right. By default, the Ember Mug is set to 135, but you can turn it up to 145 or down on the cup itself or in the app.
Design wise, the Ember Mug looks like your average travel cup. It has a soft touch silicone exterior in black and a stainless steel interior that holds 12 ounces of liquid. 12 ounces is on the smaller side for a travel cup and I do wish that it held more, but it needs to fit in a cup holder and have space for the battery, heating elements, and other hardware.
There's a logo at the top of the Ember Mug that can be interacted with to control the mug, and a series of LEDs at the bottom that let you know the status of the cup, the temperature, whether the cup is empty, and whether the battery has died. The Ember Mug knows when liquid is inside, and it immediately detects the temperature of what's poured in.
You can swipe to change the temperature of the Ember on the mug itself, or in the app. It's easiest to adjust the temperature on the cup if you like to make regular changes, but if you just need to set it on your favorite temperature, it's quick to do within the app. The app is decent, and there are presets for different beverages like 135 degrees for coffee, and 131 degrees for a latte. Some of the temperature choices feel a little arbitrary, but all of the presets are editable.
There's a tea timer in case you want to brew tea in the mug, and a recipes section that has a handful of drink options. There is a health integration feature that can estimate the amount of caffeine that you're consuming per day by how often you refill the Ember Mug.
Since this is a travel cup, it works with a battery. The battery lasts for approximately three hours, give or take about 20 minutes. My testing was primarily at 138 degrees, and the cup was able to keep it at that exact temperature until the battery ran down. It charges via a charging base that needs to be plugged in, and if the cup is on the base, it can keep a drink warm all day.
If you're using it at a desk, it's handy to have it on the charger for all-day heat, and the option to grab it and go when necessary is useful. I'm a slow drinker so I can exhaust that three hour battery life, and I appreciate the always-on charger option. The Ember Mug's charger is unfortunately not USB so I have to have a separate cable plugged in to an outlet, which I'm not a fan of. I'd prefer being able to power it through a dock/my computer but that is not an option.
The Ember Mug is not double walled and when the battery runs out, it's not going to keep a drink warm for long. Compared to a much cheaper tumbler with insulation, like a Yeti, the Ember Mug has pros and cons. It doesn't keep a drink warm without power and it's expensive, but it can keep a drink at a specific temperature for an extended length of time, which can't be replicated by an insulated cup.
If I pour 175 degree tea into a Yeti, I have to open the lid and wait for it to cool down, or wait for a long time for it to be drinkable. With the Ember Mug, it gets to my preferred temperature much quicker, and stays there. The Ember Mug is also able to heat up a beverage that has cooled down, so you can pour lukewarm coffee in it to heat it back up, though this takes a lot of time and doesn't seem to be the best use case.
In terms of functionality, there are some things to be aware of. The Ember Mug uses a press down l... Click here to read rest of article
Article Link: Review: Ember's Travel Mug 2 Won't Get Lost With Find My Integration
- Article Link
- https://www.macrumors.com/review/ember-travel-mug-2/
