There is a nice narrow window in which a cup of coffee is pleasant, neither the tongue is hot nor very hot. This is a problem you can easily avoid by organizing your brew, but if it's too much, you can spend $150 / £150 / AU$ and invest in an Ember temperature control mug. Ember comes in two sizes: a cylindrical travel mug with a lid, which is the pricier option, or a regular-looking coffee mug, which will set you back $80/£80/$125). Both will keep your drink indefinitely at the temperature of your choice if it's kept in its charging saucer or for two hours otherwise.
The Ember mug is available in two models, both available in black and white (Image credit: TechRadar) I know what you're thinking: why would you pay so much for a hot cup of coffee when you could buy a nice insulated bottle for a fraction? of the price, what would keep your drink hot for hours? This is a good question that I have come across several times whenever I bring it to the office kitchen. "But why?" asked a colleague. "I have a bottle for €5 that keeps coffee boiling all day." There is friction. Ember helps you avoid the horrors of a monkey's tongue by letting your drink cool to your favorite temperature, then keeping it off. You can reach for it at any time, knowing that it will be perfect. That's the Goldilocks cup.
Design matters
The glasses are very elegant, with a smooth finish that is easy to clean (by hand, only the lid of the travel mug can survive a dishwasher). They are quite heavy and less than a "dumb" cup of the same dimensions, but that is to be expected due to the addition of a heating element. The travel mug has quickly become my favorite because while the regular coffee mug keeps your beer at a comfortable temperature, the drink forms after a while due to contact with air. gross. The travel mug keeps drinks airtight and therefore cooler.
The Ember travel mug displays the current temperature and the target temperature of its contents (Image credit: TechRadar) Although it looks similar to a thermos, it should be noted that the Ember travel mug is not well insulated (if it is). , your drink could not be chilled to a comfortable temperature) and, once the battery is discharged, your drink cools down quickly. It's a shame this happens after only two hours if you remove the cup from its saucer. It's definitely designed for commuting from office to office and coffee on work days, not camping holidays in Cornwall. The charging plate is big enough with the UK plug attached, but you can still slip it into your bag and plug into Starbucks. There's another downside to the travel mug to keep an eye on: its design includes a push-on lid (similar to a pop-up stopper in a bathtub), with a raised lip to prevent spillage, and when you drink, your Drink tends to pool on top and dries out. It is easy to wash, but it is not very pretty. This type of lid is not suitable for cooling cookies, which is less forgivable.
Cutlery Firmware
So, you've just thrown in your (pretty yummy) Ember package and installed it on your roller coaster, but don't touch these freshly ground beans. First, you need to get the Ember app, available for iOS and Android, and connect your phone to your mug via Bluetooth. Once this is done (and the mug and phone are at least 50% charged), sit back and start nibbling on a batch of cookies while the mug's firmware updates. There have apparently been some pretty major changes since the first installment of the product, and while home Wi-Fi is pretty reasonable, it took half a pack of Hobnobs to complete the process.
Before you can use your Ember cup, it will take a while to update its firmware (Image credit: Ember) Now, dust off those crumbs because it's time to give this cup some love. If you have the ceramic version, you can choose a color for your light using a Photoshop-style dial. Owners of the travel mug can enter a name, which will scroll on its discreet LCD screen when turned on. Neither of these options is useless unless your home or office is so full of Ember drinking canisters that you might be plugged into the wrong one, but it's a good idea. The app displays the current temperature of your drink and allows you to choose your desired temperature. It includes several presets for different beverages, but you can also manually set it to 0,5C. The travel mug's temperature can also be adjusted without an app: Press the "Ember" logo, then turn the bottom of the mug to the right. right to increase the heating or to the left to let it cool down. The application also indicates the current fill level of the cup, which is very convenient when you get used to your weight. There is little more disappointing than searching for a cup of tea to find only some thin remains, as well heated as they are.
Give your Ember travel mug a name with the help of the app, it will be displayed every time you turn it on (Image credit: TechRadar) When your drink reaches the desired temperature, a notification on your phone will notify you that it's ready to drink. be taken. Unfortunately, on our Android phone (a Samsung Galaxy S9 running Android Pie), the notification could not be dismissed by scanning and could only be removed by restarting the phone or by denying the app's permissions.