Nextmug - Temperature-Controlled, Self-Heating Coffee Mug (Burgundy - 14 oz.)

As a previous Ember owner, I'm very impressed with the NextMug. I decided to try the NextMug mostly because the little prongs on the Ember charge plates kept seizing up needing replacement of the charge coaster. It's hard to keep them dry all the time since they are always around liquid. Infrequent contact with liquid and the relatively weak springs under each charge contact prong, has resulted in 5 of my charge coasters seizing up over 2.5 years. I thought the elevated design of the NextMug's charge plate would result in them being less prone to seizing. We'll have to see about that over time. I also, of course, loved the price differential. The NextMug is substantially cheaper than the Ember. I also liked the many colour options. I was, however, concerned that at the lower price the NextMug would be of inferior quality. IT ISN'T. Indeed I prefer the shape, 'feel' and build quality of the NextMug over the Ember. I also prefer the colours. With Ember you can get any colour you want as long as its black or white (or at least that used to be the case). With NextMug you get a terrific rainbow of deep pastel colours to choose from. I've used the NextMug now for 6 months and love it. I like that I can use it/set it up without the need for an app. There is/was little value in the Ember's app other than being able to see how much battery was left - and it was a rather clunky app. It always takes time to sink up and the only thing I needed it for, the battery level indicator, wasn't on the home screen. You had to dig down to find it. The NextMug shows you right on the mug what your battery level is. The ONLY downside to the NextMug is that you have to turn it on. Ya, I know, quality problem to have. But after a couple years of the Ember Mug just turning itself on each morning when I poured coffee into it, I can't tell you how many times I have forgotten to press the On button on the NextMug to find lukewarm coffee when I take my first sip 20 minute later. That said, when I press the on button the coffee is piping hot again in just a few minutes. I've had the NextMug for 6 months now and I still forget to turn it on about half the time. Grrr! Old habits die hard. My hopes for a better charge plate, so far, have not been realized. About 6 months in the NextMug charge plate had to be replaced. It wasn't because the prongs seized though. In this case one of the two prongs broke off when I was cleaning it. There was a bit of gunk between the two prongs and I was cleaning it out with my fingernail and one of the prongs sparked and broke off. I wasn't pushing hard. I was purposely cleaning out the 'gunk' because I believe the gunk that had built up over time between the Ember prongs was part of the reason why they ultimately seized up all the time But the warranty replacement process was simple. All I had to do was email NextMug and ask for a replacement charge plate and they sent it out to me. I didn't need to show a proof of purchase or a picture of the damaged plate. They took my word for it. Ember also replaced all their broken charge plates (5 in total over the 2 and a half years I used it) within the one year warranty window. (Note: I had to buy two replacement ones of my own during that time after the warranty on the original and a replacement had ended). To replace under warranty, Ember required me (not unreasonably) to show proof of original purchase (a screenshot of my Amazon order) a photo of the damaged plate, and a photo of the serial number on the bottom of the damaged plate before they would send out a replacement. A bit more work than NextMug. That said, the NextMug person said that if I had needed a warranty replacement on the mug itself, then I would have had to have shown proof-of purchase. But not on charge plate warranty claims. Over the 2 plus years I used the Ember, the inside white coating had worn off making the inside looks really ugly. Also the life of the battery had more than halved. Meaning at the two year point the battery only lasted about 1/3 as long as when new. I'm guessing that the battery life of the NextMug will run down about the same over time too - like all rechargeable batteries do. Since I've only had it for 6 months so I can't compare them. But I also think the build quality and terrific interior coating of the NextMug will outlast that of the Ember. But I won't know that for sure for another year and a half. I wish BOTH companies had a little replacement charging nodule that could be swapped out of the charge plate. Maybe send a few extra with each mug because that is clearly the Achilles Heel of both products. The part that consistently failed on the Ember and, so far, has failed once on the NextMug. There would be no need to replace the entire charge coaster and charge cable if that little part that keeps breaking could be easily swapped out. I bet it would also save them a ton on warranty repair costs and shipping for them and such a swappable part would probably add only a $1 to the cost/price of the product. All in all, for the significant price savings, the build quality and the colour options and terrific customer service, I now recommend the NextMug over the Ember every time.

Great products, Great company awesome customer service. Keeps my coffee hot. No need for an app. Simple, straight forward to use. The lid fits snugly and they offer travel lids. (All lids and bases are interchangeable) I've had it for 18 months and It stopped charging and i contacted company. They got back right away and helped me troubleshoot. Turned out one of the charging pins broke off. They sent me a new base. These days it's rare to to find a company that stands by their product especially after 18 month. Love this Colorado company. I've now Ordered a travel mug and a mug for my sister straight from their site as they were on sale. They have beautiful new colors in the 14 Oz. Mugs I've tried the ember and another from Amazon and didn't like either.

Received the order, and the plug they gave isn’t for Australian power points. This is pathetic as this was a birthday gift which I gave to someone and they’ve come back to me telling me that the plug is for another country. This was a complete embarrassment for myself and would not recommend anyone else to purchase.

There is no specific mention (that I can see) in the product information that says it only comes fitted with a US plug. US/UK plug adapter needed.

I read the instructions and plugged in the charging coaster, which already had two green lights and charged it until it was fully charged at three green lights which took a while. The directions were confusing to read. But it wasn’t until I actually used the mug that I was able to understand them. I was also concerned about the length of time I could leave the charging coaster plugged in for charging. I went online and ask customer service whether the charging coaster could be left charging overnight, but never heard back from them. But I figured if the charging coaster could be left on indefinitely according to the instructions when drinking coffee at any temperature, I could charge it overnight. The charging coaster didn’t get hot nor did the plug. The first time I used the mug I had it on warm uncovered, which was the perfect temperature for me. My 1st cup of coffee stayed warm for just under two hours. For what I paid, I was not happy and thought about returning the mug. I chose this type of coffee mug because I need to use it without the charging coaster. So I tried again and followed the directions, using what I learned from my first cup of coffee. Pulsing lights, heating up, pulsing lights cooling down. There are pictures and few words, but I figured it out by just using the mug. For my second cup of coffee I did use the lid. I prefer not using lids, but it made sense not to lose heat. Warm is the perfect temperature for my coffee and it stayed warm for about four hours. Yah! The next test was finding out what would happen if I added coffee to the coffee left in the mug. (I make French press coffee and it doesn’t stay hot for long,). When I added the coffee, the light started pulsing letting me know it was heating the coffee. Okay! And it did and it was perfect and didn’t take long. The final test was a cup of tea. I made the tea in the mug and set the temperature to warm. Pulsing lights again but this time to let the tea cool down!!! One of the reviews I read before purchasing the Nextmug mentioned that the coffee tasted better. For me it’s that first sip of coffee that’s the best. But with the Nextmug all the sips taste like the first sip. It took me by surprise. Same temperature and same wonderful flavor from start to finish. I love this mug and highly recommended it. But it is a little pricey.