Coffee Mugs - Starbucks Red To Go Mug

Starbucks Red To Go Mug

I don't know about you, but I like to drink my coffee almost everywhere. I also like for it to stay hot, so I have spent my fair share of money on travel mugs.

The majority of travel mugs don't keep coffee warm for long, and are very often, not microwave or dishwasher safe. I am not sure about the reasoning for this. Coffee is a drink that is best served hot or warm, so why do so many of the cup manufacturers make and sell non-microwavable cups? In addition, most homes have a dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher, you most likely want to wash your cup in it to keep it sparkling clean and germ-free. So why are these two criteria ignored? Over the next few months I will review at least one coffee mug a week and give you my good bad and ugly about it. I will give you my unvarnished opinion on each mug and supply you with a link for more information or to a site to purchase the item.

Earlier this week I bought a Starbucks Coffee 12-oz. (STARBUCKS)^RED To Go Mug. This mug cost me eleven dollars, plus tax. It is designed to look like the traditional Starbucks take out cup, but it is not made of paper - it is ceramic and plastic. The ceramic portion of the mug is double-layered with airspace between the layers. This provides a noticeable insulating quality. The lid is made of a heavy plastic with a silicone seal that is held down by a 1/8 turn twist of the lower part of the lid. It seals well and I can state I haven't spilled a drop of coffee from this mug all week.

Because it is a double-layered ceramic container, the Starbucks Red To Go Mug has some weight to it. The only way I knew I was out of coffee was the fact that I tilted it up and had no coffee to drink.

Coffee mugs usually leave a certain amount of coffee in the cup because of poor lid design. This cup lets you get all but about half a tablespoon of coffee out when drinking through the lid. The cup is easy to hold. You do notice a little warmth since the cup's design does have some thermal leakage. The coffee stays warm for an hour or so, making it a better solution than the paper cup, and in the long term, a better choice for the environment. I wish it did keep the coffee hot for a longer period of time, but it is a trade-off. The cup is not dishwasher or microwave safe - although I think a lot of this has to do with the lid an its seal. You might want to contact Starbucks if you REALLY need these features.

One additional nice feature of this mug is that you can use it with the lid off if you wish. It is one nice looking cup.

Overall, I would rate this mug between 6.5 to 7.0 on performance. I really prefer a mug that keeps coffee hot longer and I would prefer for it to be microwave safe. A couple of notes here - I have tried pre-heating the cup by leaving hot water in it for a couple of minutes before filling and have noticed that it does extend the time that the coffee stays warm. I have also "cheated" and microwaved the cup with coffee in it for 30 seconds WITHOUT THE LID with no negative results - do this at your own risk - I don't know if there is a danger of the thing exploding or anything else.

Next week I will give you a review on another coffee mug - be watching for it. If you have a favorite mug or coffee that you want me to review, let me know by posting a comment on the blog.

As always, may your next cup be the best!