I enjoy hot foods and beverages HOT; and I enjoy cold foods and beverages COLD. Warm and cool have no place on the Bill Burch Temperature Scale. Jesus himself said something about spewing the lukewarm out of his mouth. I am proof texting Revelation 3:16, but the point remains.

I like my black coffee piping hot. I use hot water to pre-warm a mug before pouring the life-giving elixir. The java always reaches the dreaded WARM STAGE before complete consumption.

A coworker visited my office one day with an Ember temperature control mug. The “smart” coffee cup uses an internal battery and heater to regulate temperature. Color me intrigued.

An amazon.com visit caused sticker shock. $150 for the mug, accessories, shipping, and taxes left me cold. I explored lesser priced options before settling on the Nextmug. It included all the bells and whistles for a price in the double digits.

The mug sits on a charging station with three temperature settings: WARM (see above), HOT (Goldilocks’ “just right”), or PIPING HOT (prepare to sue McDonalds). It keeps the liquid at the desired temperature for at least an hour, which more than suits my needs.  

I recognize that self-regulating coffee mugs rank midway on a list of first-world conveniences, but a hot cup of joe provides one of life’s minor joys. A social influencer would provide a product hyperlink to generate advertising revenue. This exceeds my IT capabilities, so consider this to be a Public Service Announcement for hot-coffee lovers everywhere.