Ember Cup 6oz Smart Mug Review

Ember Cup 6oz Smart Mug Review

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Buy it at Amazon: Ember Cup 6oz Smart Mug [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Easy to use, fast heating of hot/warm drinks, but small capacity.

You’ll receive the smart mug, charging base, power adapter, and a user guide. The mug measures 3.25” tall, has a 3” diameter, and has an interior depth of 2”, since the bottom half of the base is occupied by the battery, heating element, and internal circuitry. The maximum capacity of the mug is 6 fluid oz.

The Ember Cup has a minimalist, smooth, handle-less design. On the front is the Ember logo, and on the bottom is where the gold charging contact rings and power button are located. Note that the mug is not microwave-safe, as this will damage the electronics inside. To charge the mug, use the charging base coaster which is 4.25” in diameter and about ½” tall. On the bottom is a rubber pad to keep the unit from sliding around and at the back is the charging port for the included adapter. What’s neat about this charging method is that it doesn’t matter how you set the mug down in the base, since the two pins will have contact with each of the charging rings, no matter which direction it faces. Just be sure not to leave water in the saucer as this could damage/corrode the charging contacts.

When you place the powered off mug into the base, the LED below the logo on the mug will illuminate and pulse red to indicate that it’s charging. When the unit is fully charged, the LED turns a solid green. Then to turn the mug on, short press the power button on the bottom and the LED will start flashing white intermittently. To set the holding temperature of the mug, you’ll need to download and install the Ember app to a mobile device. Then press and hold the power button for 5 seconds to activate Bluetooth pairing, indicated by a quickly flashing blue light. In the app, tap add a new device, and it should find and pair with the Ember cup automatically. You’ll need to register an account or sign in, and then you can choose a personalized color for the LED on the front. This is so you can tell the difference between your mug and the mugs of others if you have multiple mugs in use in your household. Then, whenever the mug is picked up, it will quickly flash this color, so you know who it belongs to. If there is a firmware update available an update will appear and it usually takes only a couple minutes to complete.

The mug can sense when it is empty and will not activate the heating element if there’s no liquid in it, but you can still set your target temperature, by moving the slider at the bottom from 120-145°F (or 50°C - 62.5°C). In the settings, you can change the LED color and its brightness from dim to bright, but you cannot disable it completely. You can also set your temperature units to Fahrenheit or Celsius and enable or disable notifications. To use your mug, make sure it is on then simply fill it with your hot beverage of choice, like coffee. If the starting temperature of your drink is higher than the set temperature the heating element won’t activate. Once it falls below your set temperature by several degrees, the heating element will engage and the LED flashes white while it heats back up. On average, it took about 25 seconds to raise the temperature 1 degree, and the app displays a popup here to let you know when it’s at your desired temperature. Checking with an instant read thermometer, the reading in the app was about 4-5 degrees high, so your mileage may vary regarding accuracy, however, it was still plenty hot and enjoyable. Be aware that if you do set the target temperature lower than the current temperature, the mug doesn’t actively cool the liquid; it simply turns off the heater and lets it cool down naturally.

For me, I found the ideal drink temperature to be between 125°F and 130°F as it’s still pleasantly hot but not enough to scald you when you take a sip. Note that if the mug is placed on the charging saucer and actively maintaining the temperature of your drink, the battery won’t increase in charge until the cup is emptied or powered off. There’s also a 2-hour inactivity auto-shutoff while sitting on the base that can be reset by simply picking up the mug and putting it back on the charger. To turn the mug off, press and hold the power button until the LED slowly fades out. The mug is fully waterproof so you can wash it by hand with a soft sponge or cloth. It is not dishwasher safe. Just be sure to fully dry it with a cloth before setting it back on the saucer for charging. The other thing to keep in mind is that your beverage needs to already be semi-warm in order for it to work effectively. This mug is not designed to heat up cold beverages efficiently and in fact, the heater won’t automatically kick on unless the starting temperature is at least 100°F, though you can turn it on by changing the holding temperature.

Overall, the Ember cup is a decent warming mug that will keep your beverage at your favorite temperature for at least 90 minutes if you pick it up and walk away or indefinitely while in a charging base as long as you pick it up for a sip once every 2 hours. The capacity of this model is small though, at only 6 oz, but the advantage is that your beverage will heat up quickly and doesn’t use a lot of energy to do so. If you prefer a larger size, Ember also has mugs with 10, 12 and 14 oz capacities, and additional charging bases can be purchased separately which are compatible with all Ember mug models, so you can have multiple places in your home where you can set your mug down to charge or stay warm.

Buy it at Amazon: Ember Cup 6oz Smart Mug [Affiliate Link]

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