A mug of coffee on a desk is lukewarm within about half an hour. Nobody drinks it that fast while working, which is how the second trip to the microwave happens.
Three ways to slow it down
- A lid. Most heat leaves through the open top. Any lid - even a saucer - buys real time, and it costs nothing.
- An insulated mug. A double-walled steel tumbler keeps coffee hot for hours. The trade is that it tastes like drinking from a thermos.
- A warmer under the mug. A heated plate replaces the heat as it is lost, so the mug you like stays the mug you use.
What a mug warmer does not do
A warmer holds temperature. It does not reheat. Put cold coffee on it and you will wait a long time for something you still would not call hot. Pour it hot, put it on the plate straight away, and it stays drinkable through the morning.
Getting the most out of one
- Use a flat-bottomed mug. Heat moves through contact. A mug with a raised ring on the base touches the plate on a thin line and barely warms.
- Keep a lid on. The warmer heats from below while the open top loses heat above. A lid makes a bigger difference than people expect.
- Watch the power source. A USB warmer runs from a laptop port, but many laptops cut USB power when they sleep. A wall charger or a power bank keeps it on.
What we stock
The USB mug warmer runs from any USB port - laptop, power bank or a wall charger you already own - and has an on/off button on the mat, so it is not heating every time the laptop is on. The body is fireproof PC plastic.