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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: maryofdoom on January 16, 2013, 07:35:40 PM

Title: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: maryofdoom on January 16, 2013, 07:35:40 PM
All right, Mustachian friends. You've helped me out with many things in the past, and now I turn to you once again. What is the best travel coffee mug?

I am rough on my travel coffee mug. At least, as rough as it is possible to be on a coffee mug. I brew my own coffee at home and drink it from my mug in the car, on my way to work. I've tried many different kinds of travel mugs and run into problems with all of them.

I need a mug that..

 - does not leak, at all (ideally with a screw top)
 - can be run through the dishwasher

I know it seems like a trivial thing, but a bad experience with a coffee mug in the morning can set the tone for the whole day. A wet, stained, and sticky tone. (I also put too much sugar in my coffee, because I was once a coffee-drinking teenage girl.)

Does anyone have a travel coffee mug that works particularly well for them?
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: LowER on January 16, 2013, 10:41:00 PM
Been through many. The Bubba from Walmart is hands down the best. We've had ours for 2 years and many runs through the dishwasher. You can put them upside down and no leaks. I think they were 8 dollars but we can't find the same size anymore. The larger ones leak. The good ones hold about 16 ounces and keep drinks blazing hot for about 3 hours. Can't recommend highly enough - just wish we could find more.
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: tmac on January 17, 2013, 06:33:55 AM
I'm on a continual quest for the perfect travel mug. I split my time between these three options:

1) I got this one as a gift from a client. It doesn't leak and is very well insulated. Presentable for meetings and trying not to look like the weird cheapskate I really am.

-- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Starbucks-Mug-Stainless-Steel-Travel-Mug-New-Logo-Sipper-Lid-NWT-/290736299242

2) I also use a lidded Mason jar (or any other small jar) with a wool sock folded over it as insulation. Doesn't leak, can be dishwashed, can be microwaved (an underrated feature), and is multipurpose. I have lots of them for food storage and don't ever have to wash a mug out in the morning before I can get my coffee on. You can get a sippy cup lid for them, but that removes the spill-proof features.

-- http://cuppow.com/

3) Still, my old standby is an plastic mug I got from a gas station in 1991. Mine started out white with an Xtra Mini Mart logo. It's now is beat up, stained, and disgusting. DH keeps threatening to throw it away. He'll have to tear it from my cold, dead hands.
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: maryofdoom on January 17, 2013, 07:14:30 AM
The Mason jar with a sock is a great idea. I have plenty of jars kicking around already, and I'm sure I can fashion some kind of sleeve for one.

I don't much care about people judging me for being a weird cheapskate, because I usually just leave the mug in my car when I go to the office. Hell, in my office, I have a pint glass that I found on the street. I ran it through the dishwasher, and now I have a water glass.

(I am totally ordering myself a blue Cuppow right now.)
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: boy_bye on January 17, 2013, 11:32:53 AM
The Mason jar with a sock is a great idea. I have plenty of jars kicking around already, and I'm sure I can fashion some kind of sleeve for one.

I don't much care about people judging me for being a weird cheapskate, because I usually just leave the mug in my car when I go to the office. Hell, in my office, I have a pint glass that I found on the street. I ran it through the dishwasher, and now I have a water glass.

(I am totally ordering myself a blue Cuppow right now.)

i have a cuppow and I LOVE IT! i can use my mason jar for tea on the go, or water at my desk, and nothing tastes plastic-y or metal-y. and when i drink water out of my jar, everyone asks if i'm drinking moonshine! win / win / win!
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: jdisc on January 17, 2013, 12:18:19 PM
http://www.amazon.com/Contigo-AUTOSEAL-Stainless-Insulated-Tumbler/dp/B001RMIWJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358450135&sr=8-1&keywords=contigo+mug

Contigo - SS with a push bitton screw on lid. I've had mine for about two years. It fits perfectly in a bike water bottle cage, it never leaks (I have no qualms about putting it in my pannier or backpack full of coffee), it can be thrown in the dishwasher, and it keeps a cup of coffee hot for hours. Love mine.
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: sheepstache on January 18, 2013, 09:38:46 AM
Got a recommendation from a stage manager and you know those ladies have some high travel mug standards.  She loves her Copco.  I'm not sure which model but apparently the ones that snap closed are indeed spill- and leak-proof.
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: meadow lark on January 18, 2013, 11:06:09 AM
I often drink from a mason jar.  I don't use the cuppow, I just unscrew the lid.  I like the sock idea!  My current fav cup is a Home Depot "Prevent Back Injury" travel mug Igot for $1 at Goodwill.
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: meadow lark on January 21, 2013, 08:06:54 PM
Thinking about the cuppow - there is a pin on Pinterest right now with a mason jar and a straw.  It says to make a straw size hole in the lid then glue a washer over it, I assume to protect you and the straw from the sharp edges of the lid's hole.
Title: Re: Best travel coffee mug?
Post by: MafiaPrincess on January 22, 2013, 08:34:45 PM
I have 5 contigos.  I take all 5 full to work.  The lids don't clean well enough if only dishwashed though.. and the instructions tell you not to.  I hand wash mine.