At first glance, the Ember mug, the product of a young Californian company, looks like a useless gadget for geeks. Indeed, on paper, it is a cup connected to a smartphone, the latter to control the temperature. “After the toothbrush, the cup,” some sneer already.
Except that keeping the desired temperature for your coffee or tea is not nothing. Few people like to enjoy a hot drink at a tepid temperature and there are many situations where you cannot (or will not) drink your coffee in 4 minutes ...
A beautiful object
The Ember mug is one of those objects with a neat design, accomplished technology and is easy to use. The inventor Clay Alexander took 8 years to refine his project.
Everything has been studied in the slightest detail, including the base cup-shaped saucer. As a result the user does not require to deposit the cup at a specific place as the connector is “circled”, (see photo below).
The ember mug is made out of ceramic (which holds much more heat than faience or glass) and can hold 295 ml. It contains in its base: a LED of several colours, a heating base, a battery and a ‘chip’ equipped with a thermometer and a Bluetooth connection to communicate with the smartphone.
It cannot go in the dishwasher, but cleans easily, even after leaving tea in it for a few hours.
Given the many years of research and the neat design, this mug comes with a price of 99 €. You can also get a travel version for 179 €.
How does it work ?
Through the Ember app, you initially set your ideal temperature for a hot drink: from 50 to 62.5 degrees.
As soon as you pour your coffee or your tea hot (around 80 °), the cup LED flashes in white until the temperature reaches the one you set at the start. The opposite case is possible but consumes more battery: you pour warm liquid and it must be heated for a few minutes.
As soon as your drink reaches the desired heat, the LED stops flashing, and (this is an option) you receive a notification on your smartphone.
As long as the cup’s battery is not completely empty, the heat is maintained at the desired level and your tasting pleasure is optimal. The autonomy is an average of one hour, but if you have set the temperature to the max (62.5 degrees, it’s a little hot ...), it will only last about 30 minutes.
Of course, if you work at a desk, you can connect the base: your tea or coffee will stay warm all day because the battery will recharge when you put the cup back on the saucer.
Conclusion: futile or the best invention of the year ?
Everything depends on the situation. If you are in a hurry in the morning, like many people, and you drink your coffee in 6 minutes, it will not really have time to cool. Using Ember’s heated and connected cup is not very interesting.
On the other hand, on weekends, when you have a comfortable breakfast sipping coffee, or when you take an evening tea, it’s often frustrating to settle for a lukewarm drink after 10 minutes. Ember’s ceramic mug makes perfect sense, as it will keep the drink at the desired temperature (configured via the app), within half a degree, for the duration of the battery (30 minutes or more).
The ideal use probably concerns all those who work at an office and whose tasting of the hot drink is often interrupted by an emergency, a phone call, an appointment. It is possible for them to rest their mug permanently on the elegant base (saucer). Their tea or coffee will remain indefinitely at the temperature they deem ideal.
Unfortunately the Ember mug is quite pricey, and 295 ml may not be enough to hold your favourite cup of tea. And the app to control the heat of your beverage might become invasive, as when the notifications are disabled, you are not notified when the desired temperature is reached. However there is an LED on the cup that does the same work.
So it’s up to you to decide whether this mug is your cup (of tea).
