So I felt like a review was warranted, because this little mug seems to have quite a lot of mixed reviews. I think that's because people buy it expecting it to do something that it wasn't designed to do. It all depends on your need.
If you need a mug to hold a hot temperature, without electricity, for hours, this isn't the mug for you. And there is no such mug, aside from vacuum sealed options - in which case, those are better for that purpose than this one is.
I like my coffee at 140. This mug will hold it there for about an hour on battery-alone. BUT, I rarely ask it to do that.
PRIMARY USE: I wanted a way to keep coffee at a perfect temp, sitting next to me while I type reports, or visit with a patient in my office. I drink coffee (sometimes tea) throughout the day. It was far too often I was running to the microwave to heat up a cup - not ideal. With the Ember, I can have my mug sitting next to my computer at home, next to my computer at the office, or next to my therapy chair at the office... yes this means buying more than one docking station. But, come on - this whole product is a very 1st-world problem solver, anyhow.
SECONDARY USE: I'm also a part-time law student, and I visit the law school in Minnesota once or twice each semester for intensive residencies. I get there at around 7am and stay till around 5pm. How can I get coffee? Starbucks is too far to walk. The student center coffee is unacceptable. I needed a solution to brew my own coffee, at my desk. My solution is the combination of this mug (to provide hot water at the perfect temperature) and the Handpresso Auto, which heats its own water, and brews an espresso shot directly into my already perfectly temperature Ember mug... The result? A lovely Americano, brewed at my desk using tap water and an Illy espresso pod. For this method, I do need to wait about 15 to 20 minutes for the water to be heated up to 140 (depending on how hot the water was when I first put it into the Ember).
ACCURACY: So far, for me, it's been very accurate. I have tested it at different times with a laser thermometer, and it's almost spot on each time.
CONSTRUCTION: I like the soft touch materials, even on the charging dock. The standard lid is plastic, but works very well. The 360-degree drinking design is nicely thought out. The "dial" feels a bit scratchy - not smooth. Which surprised me, given the great attention to detail in every other aspect of the design (including the lovely packaging - similar to Apple Products packaging).
CHARGING: One con that doesn't make much sense to me, is that the battery isn't being recharged, while the mug is on the doc being kept warm. This makes little sense, given that there is enough electricity being input, that both could be happening at the same time: the mug could be heating/maintaining, while the battery is being topped off. Perhaps there is some technical reason this isn't happening. But I can't fathom one. Most people wouldn't be ok with their laptop or phone being un-charchable while it was in use. But, does that change it from 5 stars? No.
APP: Kinda neat. I'm a tech nerd, so it's cool, but not really necessary. Would be nice to see a computer app for this - maybe something that could pop up in the notification center of your iMac... sometimes I'm working on the computer and have no idea where my phone is even located.
OPTIONAL RING: Embarrassed to say that I did get this LOL. I like the plastic lid, because if I'm traveling or walking around, the spring-loaded lid keeps the splashing at bay, and bug/gnats from sneaking into the coffee (I sometimes do sessions outside). But generally, I prefer the ceramic feel, and was happy to see that as an option - it, too, came in lovely packaging.
Hopes for the Future:
I'd like to see a car lighter option with a docking station designed to fit into a standard cup holder (about the size of the bottom of the Ember). I have thought about mounting an extra dock in my car, but I think it'd be too difficult. But eventually, it would make sense that Ember could at least increase their sales by 1/3 or even 2/3's if they re-marketed this add-on to EXISTING customers. One huge part of expansion is being able to market a product to your existing customer base (like with the ceramic ring). An auto-version of the base would most certainly be more successful than the ceramic ring.
I'd like to see the battery start charging at ANY time the Ember is on the dock - not just while it's powered off.
I'd like to see the display modernized. The dot-letters and dot-images remind me of dot matrix printers for some reason. Not the most aesthetically appealing, but not horrible either.
Would be nice to turn off the display while on the dock - I don't always want to see what the battery level is - or show off to others my dot-matrix-y display LOL.
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Ember Temperature Control Travel Mug, 12oz
Ember Technologies
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Perfect temp to the very last drop!
The bottom line- The mug works perfectly and does what it says it will do and kept my coffee within 2 degrees of my desired temperature the whole time- I did have an issue and I would give customer service 10 stars if I could for how they handled itHere is the longer more detailed reviewI was frustrated with my coffee being cold half way through drinking it so was intrigued when I learnt of the Ember mug. I had concerns as it was a new company and new technology. I read all the tech reviews I could find and all - yes all of the reviews on Amazon and lots of the reviews on starbucks.I decided to wait as well let’s be real new tech is going to have issues but when I saw so many positive reviews coming through I decided to try it. I was still expecting that there was a chance I would have an issue but I was comforted by buying it through amazon and by the postive reviews about their customer service and felt any issues would be dealt with satisfactorily.Well I did have an issue and customer service was everything you want it to be. No excuses, no blame the customer, they were sincere, genuinely wanted to resolve it, incredibly responsive and personal - no cliche copy paste corporate lines.My issue was one I had not seen anyone else comment on and Ember said they had not heard of it but were very concerned. Basically the lid was too big. You needed to be very strong to screw it on and off and after a few attempts the plastic was wearing off from the friction. We discussed it by email ( note they do not respond on weekends ) and then I shipped it back with the mug at their expense and they sent me a replacement the day after they received it.My new mug works perfectly. I brewed my coffee into it directly this morning at 140 degree. Within 8 minutes it cooled it to my desired temp of 130 degrees and kept it there within 2 degrees for an hour until I had finished my coffee. I kept the inner lid depressed the whole time as I didn’t want to keep opening and closing it but it still stayed hot as dialed in.When I first depressed the lid it did spray 5 or 6 drops of crema out but I closed and opened it a couple of more times and it didn’t repeat that. I would be a little cautious the first time and maybe put a napkin over it. It’s possible it was a tad over the max fill line so it may have been user error.After it kept my coffee hot at 130 degrees OFF the charger plate btw the battery was at 69%.Other considerationsThe mug has pleasing aesthetics. Quite Apple like. It’s simple and graceful. Has a good weight and a pleasing tactile feel. The charger is slim and simple in style too.The rim is thin. I dislike drinking from thick rimmed mugs so was pleased with this detail.The 360 degree opening ring to drink out of is also a positive. You don’t have to line up with a hole every time you take a sip.The lid doesn’t leak! That’s a great feature combined with a quick and easy way to drink from it by just pressing down on the centre ring of the lid. I’ve had soooo many travel mugs leak I had given up on them until Ember came along. It was a big selling feature for me.There is nothing this mug didn’t do that it said it would and it did everything it said it would.You may wish it did more but it’s only fair to measure it on what it promises and if you want to get cutting edge technology then realistically be prepared to have an issue but you should demand excellent customer service to rectify and they certainly provide that.A measure of a company is how well they manage a problem. Two thumbs up to Ember support team!If you want to enjoy every drop of your coffee at the right temperature without gulping it down all at once I recommend this mug. It’s just made my mornings a whole lot more pleasant 😊I am attaching a pic of how my first lid fit ( it was too big and sat too high in the mug ) and how my new lid fits - obviously this is before you screw then in place so if your lid seems to fit too tightly this will give you some perspective for comparison.
Top reviews from other countries
Behzad Noferesti
Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2021
Nicolas G. Ramirez
Fantástico termo para mantener mi cafe en el punto perfecto!
Reviewed in Mexico on August 4, 2018
