If you love your coffee hot, then you’ll want to discover which cup keeps coffee hot the longest. Usually, coffee gets cold quickly before you can enjoy it and the flavor of your drink tends to change or reduce as your coffee cools. Not to mention, if you’re the busy type with more flow of work, you may even forget that your coffee is there and that’s a more reason you need a cup that keeps your coffee hot the longest. However, the market is full of dozens of cups and mugs that people use for coffee. So, it can be challenging to choose the best cup that keeps your coffee hot the longest.
Not to mention, each type of cup has its pros and cons. Additionally, you’ll find that some cups are better for keeping your coffee hot while on the move and others are suited for around your home or office. This article will discuss the different types of cups (in order) from the most effective cups for keeping your coffee hot the longest to the least effective cups. Let’s get started.
Which Cup Keeps Coffee Hot the Longest?
The best cup to keep your coffee hot the longest is the stainless steel vacuum-insulated cup. This cup will keep your coffee hot for 6 to 12 hours. In addition, stainless steel cup is the perfect option for people who need to keep their coffee hot for longer without lugging around a heavy coffee mug. The second close cup for keeping your coffee hot the longest is the battery-powered heated coffee mug. These coffee mugs will keep your coffee hot as long as the battery lasts.
Here’s a list of the cups that keep your coffee hot the longest from the most effective to the least effective:
1. Vacuum Insulated Tumblers
Vacuum-insulated tumblers such as yeti tumblers keep your coffee hot for 6 to 12 hours. These double-walled tumblers have their inner and outer walls made of stainless steel. The space between the walls works by sucking all the air out thus creating a vacuum. The heat of your coffee can’t pass through the vacuum thus it stays in your coffee keeping it hot. Eventually, or after 12 hours your coffee will cool down.
2. Battery Powered Heated Coffee Mugs
Battery-powered coffee mugs keep your coffee hot for 3 to 10 hours. As the name suggests, these mugs run through battery power and they keep your coffee at the same temperature as long as the batteries last. The only thing you need to do is add hot coffee to the mugs then set the desired temperature and the mug will maintain your coffee at the set temperature. The best battery-powered heated coffee mugs that are worth considering include:
- Cauldryn heated coffee mug
This coffee mug has a 10-hour battery life and enough power to bring your coffee to a boil. It is considered the best battery-powered coffee mug for people on the move. The Cauldryn coffee mug is versatile since you can use it to boil your water when you want to prepare some coffee while on the go. In addition, you can swap the bottom heating element with a blender.
- Ember heated coffee mug
The Ember heated coffee mug comes in both a larger travel mug and a smaller coffee cup. The cup and mugs are ceramic coated and you don’t experience the metallic taste that would otherwise impact the taste of your coffee. However, unlike the Cauldryn coffee mug, the Ember heated coffee mug only keeps your coffee hot and it can’t warm your coffee cup. The Ember heated coffee mug has a 1 to 3-hour battery life depending on the model that you buy. The coffee mug is ideal for use around the home or office.
3. Phase Change Material (PCM) Vacuum Insulated Mugs
The PCM vacuum-insulated mugs keep your coffee hot for 4 to 6 hours. The idea behind these cups is to bring the temperature of your coffee down until it’s at the ideal drinking temperature then keep your coffee around this temperature for four to six hours. The best PCM insulated mug is the Burnout travel mug.
4. Double-walled Ceramic Cups
These cups have two walls (inner and outer) with air in between. They are similar to vacuum-insulated mugs but instead of a vacuum between the two walls, there’s air. The air barrier provides insulation thus keeping your coffee hot for longer.
5. Ceramic or Glass Mugs
Ceramic or glass mugs keep your coffee hot for 10 to 30 minutes. Mostly, these cups are used to drink coffee while at home. You can preheat the ceramic coffee mugs to keep your coffee hot for longer.
6. Aluminum Cups (Single Wall Stainless Steel)
Stainless steel and aluminum cups keep your coffee hot for a short period (10 to 15 minutes). Generally, these cups are not great for keeping your coffee hot for longer. Heat easily passes through them.
Factors to Consider When Buying Cups that Keep Your Coffee Hot
Here are some factors that you need to consider when buying cups that are meant to keep your coffee hot.
1. Durability
The durability of your coffee cup or mug is important. As usual, accidents happen especially with kids around and you don’t want to keep buying coffee cups now and then since they’re pricier. Therefore, you can avoid glass coffee cups that are meant to keep your coffee hot for longer.
2. Insulation
A quality cup for keeping your coffee hot longer should be double-walled. This way, there’s a vacuum, and heat from the coffee cannot pass through the vacuum thus your coffee remains hot.
3. Size
The size of your coffee cup depends on your coffee consumption. If you’re a one-cup coffee drinker, keep that in mind as you buy your coffee cup.
4. Ease of Cleaning
A clean cup ensures that your coffee retains its flavor and quality. Therefore, you want to choose a cup that’s easy to clean. One that you can probably toss into your dishwasher.
5. Portability
The portability of your coffee cup matters. If you travel a lot, you need to ensure that your cup is portable (easy to carry around) and that the lid is spill-proof.
Tricks and Tips to Keeping Your Coffee Hot in a Cup for Longer
Here are some tips and tricks to keep your coffee hot in a cup for longer no matter the choice of your cup.
1. Pre-Heat Your Cup
Preheating your coffee cup will help retain the heat. This is because, when your cup is cold, it absorbs the heat from your hot coffee for it to warm up. Thus your coffee becomes cold quicker. Therefore, preheat your cup with boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds to warm it up. So, when you add your hot coffee into a pre-heated cup, the cup warms up the coffee thus keeping it hot for longer.
2. Add Insulation
As mentioned earlier, insulated cups keep your coffee hot for longer. Therefore, you can insulate your coffee cup with a scarf, a cup sleeve, paper, a towel, or a rubber silicone cover.
3. Use an Airtight Lid
A cup of coffee without an airtight lid leads to a loss of heat more quickly than the one with a lid. As the steam evaporates from the coffee, it cools it down leading to cold coffee. However, when you add hot coffee to a cup, then close it with an airtight lid, the coffee will retain the steam thus your coffee will remain hot longer.
4. Increase Volume
More coffee in a cup will stay hot for longer than vice versa. This is because more coffee creates more total thermal mass so your coffee remains hot longer. On the other hand, less coffee cools down quicker since there’s less thermal mass.
