★★★★★ 5
The perfect coffee mug warmer!
Color: Wood
If you need a coffee cup warmer for your desk or work-station, this is it! I've been using almost daily for several weeks now and zero complaints thus far.
As with many-a-reviewer, the problem I was trying to solve is my coffee going cold long before I was done with it, leading to repeated microwave rewarm sessions. After reading through numerous reviews, articles on the matter, and forum postings, I settled on this product. My requirements:
- I did not want to use a specialized cup
- I did not want to have to find "flat-bottom" cups, I wanted to use any cup in my cupboard
- I wanted the coffee to stay hot, not just warm
- I needed auto-off, since I surely would forget to turn it off
- Idiot-proof controls
This product's description seemed to check all the boxes, and it delivered! I've been using for several weeks and it's been perfect. It works with my regular ceramic coffee mugs, and on high setting, keeps my coffee pretty hot (130F). All my ceramic mugs are concave bottom - look at picture in my review - so that's why it only gets that hot on High. A flat-bottom cup may only need Medium setting since it would have more contact area for heat transfer.
The faux-wood trim makes it look sorta classy, and although it is large, it doesn't look absurd on my desk, and I'd rather it be bigger than my cup, rather than too small. And I imagine I could use it to keep soup or other food warm on my desk, since I also take forever to finish food when I do eat at my desk. The faux-wood trim does not get hot-to-touch, so it also prevents burns from accidental touch. The surface is, of course, very hot but no little kids or cats in our house, so that wasn't a concern for me.
I'm glad I went with this 36W option, even though some articles I read indicated this was overkill. As mentioned above, I imagine I need the higher wattage heating element because I use regular concave-bottom coffee mugs. I have it plugged into surge protector that powers my tower PC and 4 UHD 27" monitors, and I haven't tripped anything yet. 36W is even less than what a fast-charging laptop charger would pull, so this doesn't seem excessive for a workstation.
FOOD SAFETY WARNING: As a former research lab assistant that grew bacterial cultures as one of my duties, I'd like to remind people to keep in mind that the danger zone for bacterial growth is ~40F to 140F, especially with dairy creamers. To test temperatures, I used a ceramic concave-bottom mug (starbucks mug in picture) and a metallic flat-bottom mug (green mug in picture). Here are the liquid temperatures I measured for this warmer:
- Ceramic convex-bottom mug, Warmer on High: 130F
- Metallic flat-bottom mug, Warmer on High: 175F
- Metallic flat-bottom mug, Warmer on Med: 150F
As you can see, the concave-bottom makes a significant difference in heat transfer, and thus the temperature of the liquid. Use common sense on how long you leave your coffee on the warmer. Coffee at 130F is probably fine for a couple hours, but if you're gonna be leaving it all day, you'll want it to be at 140F+, so use a flat-bottom cup. The metallic one I have got real hot to the touch, including handle and lip of cup, even at Medium, so you'll probably want to use a ceramic one.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
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