Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A popular life hacking site periodically polls its readership for the best products of a particular type. This mug was the second in their top-five list for coffee mugs. The top mug was from Contigo. While I liked the look of the Contigo and the fact that it was less expensive than this model, I actually decided the Zojirushi was better for me personally. I'll explain this a bit more in case you have the same issues. The most-important thing for me in a mug like this is that it keeps the coffee hot. I work in a role where I could be called away on a moment's notice and have to leave my coffee behind for a couple of hours. In an ordinary mug, this means I'll come back to find it room temperature. The Zojirushi will keep it hot for hours on end. I've filled it at 7am and had it still comfortably warm at 1pm the same day. My old stainless steel Thermos mug, which was almost as expensive, did well too. A problem I had with the Thermos mug was related to my preferring cream and/or powdered creamer in my coffee. This tends to cause chunks of sediment to build up inside the mug. The lid on the Thermos mug couldn't be disassembled easily, so the gunk tended to accumulate in it and periodically you'd get "chunks" of the stuff with a sip of coffee. Not terribly appetizing, and probably not very sanitary either. My wife was so concerned about it that she frequently soaked the lid in hot soapy water and banged it on the edge of the sink to release this gunk. (It bugged me, but not enough to bother to do this.) I didn't like seeing her distressing over this so I decided to replace the mug. The Zojirushi lid can be completely broken down and cleaned. The inside of the mug is also relatively easy to clean, though a tad narrow. A bottle brush will take care of that. Because it's made of metal (except for the plastic lid), it's pretty durable. I've dropped it on the concrete garage floor and it suffered only a minor scuff. The Thermos was also quite durable, but the paint on it started flaking off almost from the first wash. Not so with the Zojirushi. It looks as good as it did the day I got it. The lid has a locking mechanism that keeps it from opening accidentally. That means you can risk putting it in a backpack or bag and (unless you really jostle it around or don't seal it properly) won't find a bag full of beverage later. The lid opens easily with the press of the silver button, and clicks shut. Since it remains physically attached to the mug, you don't have to worry that you'll lose it. My biggest complaint is that the lid does sometimes bump into my nose, which is kind of a bummer when the little gray rubber piece has coffee on it (and who really wants their nose to come into contact with their coffee mug?). But this is a very minor annoyance and hasn't detracted much from my appreciation of the mug. My only other complaint, which is also minor, is that you can't put this under the spout of a Keurig coffee maker. Because it's designed to be thin and tall, the height makes it too tall to put underneath the spout of the Keurig. I don't own any other similar single-cup makers so I can't tell you if that will be a problem for you or not. With the lid removed, the mug stands almost eight inches tall. It's also about eight inches in circumference, which is pretty narrow for a travel mug. It fits with room to spare in the smaller cup holder in my car ('02 Mustang) or my wife's ('08 Edge). When I use this mug with the Keurig, I have to put another mug (usually my old Thermos) under the coffee maker to capture the coffee, then transfer it into the Zojirushi. Apart from the lid bumping my nose when I tilt the mug far back and it not fitting under my coffee maker, it's virtually the perfect coffee mug. Light when empty, and keeps the drink warm for hours. You won't go wrong with this one.