Many guys like to start their day with a cup of hot coffee to fully wake up their body and mind. And if you have to work all day, then pick up the kids from school, and hopefully even hit the gym afterward, you might find yourself in dire need of another cup of java by lunchtime. Of course, you can always get it at a coffee machine or go to the nearest Starbucks, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to bring your own coffee from home, brewed exactly the way you like it?
Enter the travel coffee mug, a great companion for people who travel a lot, enjoy drinking coffee while they work, or simply being able to sip on a hot beverage wherever they are. A good portable mug will retain heat for at least five hours, keeping your coffee as tasty as it was when you first brewed it in the morning. Just pour the coffee into the mug, tuck it into your daypack, and take a sip out of it every time you feel that your mental or physical battery is getting depleted.
If you’re not a fan of coffee, you can still use one of these mugs for tea, cocoa, and any other beverage you wish to keep steaming hot throughout a busy day of working and commuting. A portable coffee mug also makes a nice gift for Father’s day, a colleague’s birthday, and many other special occasions. Because there is a wide variety of mug designs available for purchase, you can always choose a personalized gift that’d make the recipient smile and think of you gratefully as they take a swig of their favorite hot beverage.
As you will see, there are many travel coffee mugs to choose from, but all the options can essentially be boiled down to these three categories:
- insulating coffee mugs
- electric coffee mugs
- mug warmers (these will work with almost any stainless steel mug, by the way)
Choosing a mug that suits your needs from our list is as easy as figuring out which category has the most advantages for you and defining your budget. Whatever you decide, we are sure that there is a coffee mug on our list that will live up to your expectations and help you enjoy your favorite hot beverage more conveniently than ever before!
Arctic Tumblers Stainless Steel Camping & Travel Coffee Mug
This coffee mug is available in a number of bright, lively colors, so you don’t have to go for the generic black or gray color options that dominate the market if you don’t want to. It also comes in two sizes as not everyone needs to have 30 ounces (almost 1 liter) of coffee every day. The smaller version also comes with a handle grip, allowing you to use the mug as a traditional cup instead of just gripping it like a bottle.
The coffee mug from Arctic Tumblers is made from stainless steel, which allows it to retain both heat and cold for hours. Your hot beverages won’t become lukewarm for at least 6 hours after you pour them into the mug, and iced drinks will remain pleasantly cold for up to 24 hours! You can take this mug to work, keep it in your car during a road trip, or go hiking with it. It is ready for anything you can throw at it (or pour into it)!
Sensible Needs Coffee Mug
The second entry on our list comes with a lot of accessories that are nice to have if you use a travel coffee mug on a regular basis. Inside the box, you will find not only the mug itself, but also a transparent lid, a detachable handle, a drinking straw, and a special brush for cleaning the straw. Given that the Sensible Needs mug only costs as much as your average travel coffee mug, you’re getting a pretty good bang for your buck.
Performance-wise this coffee mug is on par with the competition with 6 hours’ temperature control for hot beverages and 24 hours for cold ones. The mug was designed with the diameters of common cup holders in mind, so you’ll always be able to set it down instead of having to hold it because of an unconventional or poorly thought-out design. It is made from high-quality stainless steel and BPA-free plastic, so it’s an overall solid performer with an additional accessory trick up its sleeve.
Obstal Stainless Steel Insulated Coffee Mug
The coffee mug from Obstal comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, so you can even get one to keep your spiced wine warm if coffee just doesn’t make it for you anymore. Of course, you can also pour coffee, tea, or even plain water into it, so ultimately, your choice should only be defined by the shape you prefer. The traditional coffee mug design is available in two size versions (20 ounces and 30 ounces) and multiple colors, some of which are going to look great on a man’s office desk, while others could become a stylish accessory in a woman’s purse.
This coffee mug also comes with a transparent lid, a drinking straw, and a dedicated cleaning brush, so you won’t need to make any additional purchases. Depending on the shape of your chosen mug, it might come with a plastic handle that will transform it into a regular cup. If you like all the Obstal products so much that you can’t choose the one that suits your needs best, you may want to take a closer look at their three-product sets. Available in various colors and featuring a stylish, minimalistic design, an Obstal coffee mug set can be a great gift for someone you love!
Ember Temperature Control Coffee Mug
The Ember coffee mug is a premium product for those who value top quality in everything they use. It doesn’t rely on improved insulation only to keep your beverage hot. Instead, it absorbs the heat from your coffee as you pour it into the mug and stores it in the mug’s walls. Once your drink cools down enough to hit a critical temperature, the mug starts heating it up and keeps it at your desired temperature level until the last sip.
That’s right, with this mug you can actually choose how hot your drink should be. The same is true if you need to cool down some juice, ice tea, or a smoothie; simply use the special dial at the bottom of your mug. Alternatively, you can hook it up to your phone and configure the desired temperature from the special app. From there, you can create presets for different drinks and receive notifications regarding your beverage’s current temperature. Pretty smart, right?
Cauldryn Coffee Travel Mug
Like the Ember mug, this travel coffee mug will cost a pretty penny, but we found that it is well worth it. The mug feels like a high-quality, premium product, and it surely is one. The interesting part about this coffee mug is that it is available in several bundles with different additional accessories. The basic version only includes the mug itself, but if you’re willing to go further and pay an extra $20, you’ll get a blender extension for the mug so that you can prepare your favorite smoothies in it. Throw in another $10, and you’ll get a percolator to go with the mug and the blender. Considering how often and how long you’ll want to use your much, the price shouldn’t be much of a barrier.
BURNOUT Temperature Regulating Coffee Mug
If you don’t have that much money to spend on your new travel coffee mug but still want something fancier than simple insulation, you can’t go wrong with the mug from BURNOUT. It’s a solid mid-range product that is definitely worth every cent you pay for it. Unlike many other travel mugs, this one doesn’t only preserve the heat, but it absorbs it from the liquid and stores it to heat up your drink later, once it has naturally cooled down below the right drinking temperature. This way, you don’t have to wait for your coffee to cool down if you want to drink it shortly after brewing it and pouring it into the mug. We do wish that the drinking temperature would be configurable, but that is a minor concern given the price.
Puncia Electric Smart Coffee Mug
If you’d like to spend as little as possible and don’t mind compromising some of the portability, this coffee mug from Puncia could be the right choice for you. The heating function of this mug has to be powered from a wall outlet or the “cigarette lighter” outlet in a car. This means that it can’t be used for hiking trips and other outdoor activities, but it is still more than enough for most office dwellers’ daily use. The mug has a display to show your chosen temperature and two buttons to configure it, so it’s as user-friendly as it gets. It also comes in several different colors, making it a great all-rounder.
Ixaer Heated Travel Coffee Mug
For those on a very tight budget, this coffee mug provides the essential functionality you can expect from a travel mug, but with some reservations.
First, this mug has to be powered by the 12V power outlet in your car, so its portability is quite limited. Second, it takes a relatively long time to heat your drink up. It also gets hot to the touch. Given the price, you can’t really expect it to have a display and wireless capabilities or give you control over the drink’s expected temperature.
Still, it’s a reliable product that only has one job and does it reasonably well. If you spend hours commuting to and from work in your car or work as a truck driver, this could be the travel coffee mug you need.
S’Well Stainless Steel Coffee Mug
This coffee mug comes in a multitude of colors, which is nice if you don’t want a bland-looking stainless steel mug. Just like most other options on the market, this mug is made of stainless steel too, but it is covered ia n glossy finish that is pleasant both to the eye and the touch. We find that the wood texture finish of the Teakwood style looks particularly classy, but you may choose from over a dozen other options as well.
The S’Well mug has good insulation and will keep your drink warm for at least 6 hours. It also has an ergonomic form and a mouth that’s wide enough to let in ice cubes, yet not too wide so that it’d be uncomfortable to drink from.
Cosori Coffee Mug Warmer
This entry on our list is quite different from all others because in this case, all the heating is done by a special base, not the mug itself. This sacrifices a lot of the portability, but you get to drink your coffee from an actual mug that’s not oversized and not too heavy to handle comfortably.
The mug itself is equipped with a cool-touch handle and is designed to conduct heat from the base as well as possible. The base itself is rather compact and has a built-in display and two buttons to help you configure temperature. It needs to be plugged into a wall outlet to function, so it’s best to use in your office.
Tech Tools Heated Travel Coffee Mug
Another wired option that has to get electricity from your car outlet to function is the coffee mug from Tech Tools. It’s minimalistic and slightly retro-looking with its stainless steel design elements and an analog temperature indicator. The indicator only shows how hot your beverage currently is, though, and can’t be used to select a custom temperature.
The mug has a special rubber base to prevent it from accidentally slipping or falling in your car and spilling your drink. It is available in black, red, and an unfinished stainless steel color.
Corkcicle Stainless Steel Travel Coffee Mug
The last product on our list is a coffee mug that doesn’t have any of the fancy features that come with electric coffee mugs. However, it does promise to keep your drink warm or cold for at least 3 or 9 hours, respectively. A triple wall construction allows the mug to deliver on this promise, and it even exceeded our expectations in some usage scenarios. You can choose between the 16-ounce and 24-ounce versions of this mug, and both of them are available in a number of vibrant colors.