How Does Ember Mug Work? (The Perfect Smart Coffee Mug?!)

by Michael Xavierupdated on September 12, 2021September 1, 2020

If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, you know how much of a bummer it is when your cup inevitably runs cold.

Then you have to wait for a break so you can plop it in the microwave it for a 30-second warmup, but it just never tastes quite the same.

Then along came the Ember Mug…

How does Ember Mug work?

Ember Mug works by connecting via Bluetooth to the Ember app on your smartphone. Within the app you can preset your desired temperature (between 120°F – 145°F) and the mug will maintain that temperature for up to 1.5 hours. The base of the mug has a built-in, rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

	Ember Mug	Ember Travel Mug
Size options	10 oz & 14 oz	12 fluid oz
Battery life	1.5 hrs for 10 oz 80 min for 14 oz	3 hours
Price	Check Price on Amazon	Check Price on Amazon

Temperature range

I admit, if you asked me, “Hey Mike, how hot do you like your coffee?”, I’d stare blankly at you.

Who the heck knows the answer to that question off the top of their head? “Not too hot, not too cold?”

Luckily the Ember app actually provides temperature suggestions for you to start, so that you have some sense of what your temperature preference might be.

And the suggestions it offers are different for coffee, tea, hot coco, etc.

The range you can choose from is between 120°F – 145°F (50°C – 62.5 °C).

It will likely take you a handful of cups before you narrow down your ideal temperature, but once you do you’ll never look back.

Unless you chug your coffee or tea like a crazy person, you’ve probably never before experienced what it’s like to drink a liquid over an hour + span that stays at one, constant temperature.

Pretty amazing.

Battery life

As you can imagine, the battery life varies from the 10 to 14 oz Ember mugs and these mugs differ from the larger Travel Mug.

The 10 oz Ember mug has a battery life of 1.5 hours whereas the 14 oz mug tops out at around 80 minutes.

The larger Travel Ember Mug has a total battery life of around 3 hours.

There are a few additional things worth highlighting here.

The first is that you can keep your drink at a constant temperature throughout the entire day if you just continue to place your Ember Mug on its rechargeable coaster.

By doing this you’ll be charging the mug and maintaining your desired temperature.

So if, for example, you use your mug at work, you can just have the charging coaster on your desk. That way, whenever you’re done taking a sip, you can just place the mug back on the coaster.

The second point is that your battery life will depend a lot on the initial temperature of the liquid you’re pouring into the mug.

If that liquid is already hot, great. The mug will likely keep it hot as advertised.

However, if the liquid is cold the battery heater will need to work overtime to get it up to temperature, and therefore the batter life will be shortened.

Auto sleep

The Ember Mug has four temperature and liquid detection sensors built directly into it.

This allows the mug to automatically turn itself off when it senses that it’s empty, preserving whatever batter it has remaining.

It can also automatically turn itself on the moment a liquid is added.

This means you don’t have to do anything additional in your Ember smartphone app after you’ve set your desired temperature during setup.

A truly smart mug.

Smart LED

One of the key features of the Ember mug is the smart LED located on the front of the mug.

This LED light can change many different colors. Here are what the various LED color indicators mean:

Red – the battery is dead
Orange – the battery is charging
Green – the battery is fully charged
blinking Blue – Ember Mug is in Bluetooth pairing mode
blinking White – Ember Mug is warming/cooling to the desired temperature
solid White – your ideal temperature has been reached

In addition to these status indicators, the LED light can be personalized on a mug by mug basis.

This way, if you have more than one Ember smart mug around the house, you can easily tell which one is yours.

Ember phone app pairing

Pairing the Ember Mug to the Ember smartphone app is really easy.

Within the Ember smartphone app you first select which type of Ember mug you have (10 oz, 14oz or Travel Mug).

Then simply hold down the button on the bottom of the mug.

Once you’ve paired your mug, you’ll be prompted to select a personalized LED color like I mentioned earlier.

Automatic updates

Another great feature of the Ember Smart Mug is its ability to get firmware and software updates.

So if the Ember team come up with improvements to the technology powering the Ember Mug, you get the benefits that same day!

Possible concerns

One annoying thing about the Ember Mug is that it often loses connection with your smartphone unless your smartphone is really close by.

The good news is the Ember Mug is smart enough to remember your last set temperature preference, and will continue heating to that temp regardless of Bluetooth connection.

I just wish they had made the Bluetooth range a bit wider so I you don’t always have to have your phone so close by.

Another challenge is the size of the original mug. At 10oz, it’s just not that big.

Luckily the team have now started making a 14oz version and a Travel Mug, 12 oz version, but both cost more.

One last annoyance worth mentioning is to be careful when washing the mug, you don’t want to get the bottom wet.

Water on, or near the charging coaster is a bad idea.

Conclusion

As far as I know, there isn’t another smart mug on the market that even comes close to the the Ember Mug.

If you’re looking for a smart mug that can keep your drink of choice at a constant temperature throughout the day, I’d look no further than Ember.

The overall design, the technology, and the execution, are all top-notch.

Ember is constantly selling out of their products, but you can use the links below to check and see if any are available.

Good luck!