I Tried A $226 ‘Smart Mug’ That Keeps Coffee At The Exact Temperature You Want 24/7, & Found Out What The Buzz Is All About: Ember Mug Review
The Ember mug isn’t just a mug. It’s a temperature-control mug with an app and internal heating system that keeps your hot beverages at the perfect temperature to drink. But it could very well pass off as an Apple product.
“Our smart mug allows you to set an exact drinking temperature, so your coffee is never too hot, or too cold,” is the company’s claim, boldly emblazoned on their packaging. My first thought: Surely no one needs that sort of precision with coffee drinking. I’d be the first to admit that I never thought I would ever need a temperature control mug — much less one that has an app and costs $226 (or $176 here).
But in an absurd twist of events, after testing out the Ember Mug² for a couple of weeks (there is an Ember Mug 2 with a larger capacity), I’ve come to see why people would splurge on this... and why some people will think I'm mad for saying this. Trust me, I see both sides of the coin, and have also wondered how I got from being okay with drinking tepid coffee that's been left out for hours, to sipping on my perfect 57°C coffee daily from a smart mug with a pretty price tag. Read on for my full review.
What is the Ember mug?
The smart mug has an in-built warmer, plus it comes with a sleek warming coaster, and connects to an app for you to control temperatures and alert you when your coffee has reached optimal temperature.
What’s the difference between this and an insulated tumbler, whether it’s a viral Stanley or Owala or your good ol’ Thermos? If you like keeping your coffee scalding hot, these do the job just fine. But if you’re a sipper of your morning cuppa, or tend to get distracted by tasks all day long, the Ember mug comes in handy in keeping your coffee or other hot beverage of choice at the perfect temperature, like it's been freshly brewed.
Ember Mug: Key features at a glance
Capacity: 295ml (414ml for the larger Ember Mug 2)
Features: Comes with heating pad
Heating system: Keeps drinks hot at your preferred temperature, either customisable or preset
Battery life: 1.5 hours for Ember Mug²
Care instructions: Handwash only. Submersible up to 1m in water
8days review: Using the Ember mug
The first thing you notice when hold the Ember mug is that it feels sturdy, in a high-tech, sleek kind of way that immediately sends signals to your brain that this is a substantial piece of tech that you’re holding and not a regular cup. Setting it up is easy enough — download the Ember app (pictured above) and it pairs your phone with the mug. You can adjust your preferred drinking temperature on the app (I stuck to the preset 57 deg Celsius), as well as tinker around with vanity features like changing the on/off light colour on the mug.
How reliable is the temperature control function on the mug? After all, that’s its entire personality, right? We’re happy to report that it’s indeed accurate and in fact, surpassed our expectations. Straight out of the Nespresso machine, my coffee was at 64 deg Celsius, a little too hot for my liking. Half an hour later, it cooled to 57 degrees, my pre-picked temperature, and I get a notification from the app. I take a few sips and it’s a comforting, soothing type of warm, like a perfectly warm hug in a mug. (Conversely, it also heats up beverages up to your preferred temperature in minutes.)
I then left my coffee untouched for one hour. After an hour, I come back to perfectly warm coffee (at 57 deg Celsius, the app tells me). My brain takes a second to comprehend this at first — I'm used to having tepid coffee after an hour, or if it's in an insulated tumbler, scalding hot coffee. It's a strange feeling, especially the first time I used the Ember mug, but I’m pleasantly surprised at how nice this feels. I'm no longer just chugging room temp coffee purely to stay awake — it's a splash of enjoyment added to a dreary Monday morning, and I’m beginning to see what the fuss about this mug is all about.
One of the best things is the mug’s internal heating system, which means it keeps your drink at warm at a constant temperature on its own (for up to 90 minutes) — most other warming mugs need to be plugged in to the warming coaster. On the warming coaster plugged in, the Ember mug can keep drinks warm all day.
There are a few things I noticed after using it a few times. When it comes down to, say, the last quarter of your beverage, it does feel hotter with lesser liquid for the mug to heat up. Also, while you can keep track of the beverage temperature on the app, I admittedly stopped looking at the app after the first few uses, knowing that the Ember mug would do what it does. Another consideration: The Ember mug is best suited for those who are in one place all day as you need to have access to a power point (for those who are on the go, there’s the Ember travel tumbler).
The bottomline:
It's not a necessity — I’m no snob that would turn away tepid coffee at a café, or even be bothered to warm up cold coffee in the microwave oven at home. But like everything in life, there are certain things you splurge on as a treat, and to elevate life in small ways. This could be one of them, whether you’re a coffee aficionado or someone who just finds comfort in your daily caffeine routine and wants to prolong the enjoyment of your morning cuppa as much as possible.
What else to buy to keep your beverages warm
If you’re not fussed over precise temperature control of your drinks, or need to have hot beverages on the go, these are other options to consider.
Ember Tumbler 16oz, $253
The Ember mug’s more mobile cousin, if you will. Comes with the same temperature control via the app, but has a three-hour battery life and comes with two lid options so you can have your coffee on the go the way you like it. Buy here
The super popular Owala Freesip bottle is designed mainly to keep drinks cold, but this travel coffee tumbler version is designed to keep drinks hot for up to six hours (albeit without Ember’s temperature control). Buy here
Keeps drinks warm (from 25℃-70℃) with temperature displayed on the mug warmer’s LED display. But unlike the Ember mug, the 17oz stainless steel mug does not have an independent heating system, so be sure to keep the mug on the warming mat to keep drinks hot. Buy here
Thermos One-Push Tumber with Carry Loop, 0.75L, $30.98
If having hot beverages on the go is important to you, then this stainless steel vacuum flask is for you. Comes with a carry loop for easy carrying, and it only weighs in at 300g. Keeps drinks both hot and cold. Buy here
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