Imagine this: you prepare your morning coffee right before you leave the house for your daily commute, and within minutes your tongue-scorching hot coffee is transformed into just the right temperature. Even better, it maintains that perfect temperature for up to three hours, regardless of the season. Sounds ideal, right?
The Ember Travel Mug 2+ promises to provide this blissful experience, and what’s even better about it is that it also comes with Apple’s Find My support, so if you lose it along the way, you can find it with the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook.
By now I’m quite familiar with the Ember Smart Mugs, and although I use the Ember Mug 2 at home, it seemed like a smart upgrade to carry my morning tea (I don’t drink coffee) in the Ember Travel Mug 2+ instead of my usual 470ml (16oz) Thermos insulated travel mug. The only reason I’m choosing this over the Ember Travel Mug is that the capacity of the Ember Travel Mug is rather small at 355ml (12oz). Many Of tea.
In the end, I did make it happen… and unfortunately, the experience was not as ideal as I had hoped. Don’t get me wrong, the Ember Travel Mug 2+ is an attractive smart mug that pretty much does what it says on the tin.
Within seconds I was able to connect to the accompanying smartphone app, set my desired temperature (in my case 60ºC / 140ºF), and remotely lock the mug’s touch display to prevent accidentally changing the temperature while carrying it around. So far so good.
Straight
I usually start my morning drink as soon as I get to my desk at the office (or when I get home), which is usually a little over an hour after I make my tea. When I’m on the go, I shove my travel mug into the side pocket of my backpack. Unfortunately, in the case of the Ember Travel Mug 2+, this was a bad idea, even though the manufacturer says it has a leak-proof lid.
The screw-on cap didn’t drip, but tea did dribble out of the closed spout when tilted slightly. The seal wasn’t very good, and even when filled to the max, even a small dip allowed liquid to seep through a hairline gap.
So I make a conscious effort to hold my mug in my hand and keep it upright during my commute, but that means I have to give up reading during my morning commute, which makes my commute less than ideal.
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Battery problems
Additionally, because there’s less of a seal around the mouthpiece, I think the mug’s heating element has to work harder to maintain temperature, shortening the 3-hour battery life. This is the longest-lasting battery in an Ember mug to date. The 14-ounce Mug 2 that I use at home only lasts a maximum of 80 minutes when removed from the charging plate.
The travel mug will last up to 2.5 hours, but unfortunately I’ve usually only drunk half the contents at that point. I’m a slow drinker, so sue me. To be honest, I get distracted by work and forget to drink tea, so the short battery life may not be an issue for most people.
If you want your drink to stay hot longer with the Ember Travel Mug 2+ (or any other smart mug from the brand), you’ll need to keep it on the charging plate.
What is lost is found again
But there’s a positive: With Apple’s Find My network built in, you’re unlikely to lose the Ember Travel Mug 2+.
This may seem like a no-brainer to most people, but I’m already on my third Thermos travel mug, and one time it slipped out of a backpack side pocket without me noticing, and a kind soul came running over to return my dented stainless steel mug.
Given the price of the Ember ($199.95 / £199.95 / AU$300), I hope I don’t lose it, but at least I know there’s a chance I can find it if I do.
This is definitely a premium mug. If you don’t mind the lid leaking or having to be handled with care, this could be a good investment or a thoughtful (albeit pricey) gift for a loved one. It’s well-made and the bright display looks very clear when it’s on. The latter automatically turns off within a few seconds, helping to conserve battery life. If Ember can fix this lid, their next version will probably be the best self-heating travel mug ever.
While I can’t complain about how well it keeps my tea warm, my thoughts on the Travel Mug 2+ ultimately boil down to one word: lukewarm.
