Ember - Temperature Control Smart Cup - 6 oz - Copper

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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Great product

  • Incentivized
  • My Best Buy® Elite Member
  • Verified Purchaser
  • Owned for 3 weeks

  Great product! Keeps my coffee hot and fresh, and very easy to control with the app!

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  This review is from Ember - Temperature Control Smart Cup - 6 oz - Black

  Posted 2 years ago by TanyaP

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Same Great Features in a New Smaller Size

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  TLDR: (that’s Too Long, Didn’t Read) If the size of this smaller Ember Cup meets your hot-beverage needs, you’ll find all of the awesome features of the larger Ember Mugs but in a smaller handle-less size. Pros: * Attractive design without a handle. * Easy to use. * Comfortable to hold. * Good enough battery life for between-saucer drinking. * Same great features and app as the larger Ember Mugs. Cons: * Same issue as all other Ember Mugs that the bottom should be air-dried before being placed back on the charging saucer. Details - Setup: Plug the charging saucer in with the provided AC adapter. I’m not sure why they didn’t go with a USB-based charger, but everything works, so it’s not really and issue. If the Cup isn’t already on, press center of the bottom to turn it on and put it in pairing mode. Then place the Cup on the saucer to charge up while you set up the app. After installing the Ember app, just open the app and tap “Pair new device.” The app will find and pair with the cup so you don’t need to first pair via Bluetooth (at least on a current iPhone. Every Ember Mug has a status LED on the front and you can choose that light’s color to more easily identify your Mug from someone else’s of the same model. The app will tell you the Cup’s battery level and whether there are any firmware updates (yeah, for your coffee cup!). If you have an Apple Watch, you can also install the free app for that and see your Cup’s current temperature without reaching for your phone. That’s basically it for setup. You can also choose favorite settings for your hot beverages; like 135F for Coffee or 150F for Tea, etc… Details - Typical Usage: While there is added flexibility and customization when connected to the phone or watch app, you can also easily use the Cup without the app. Pour your favorite hot beverage and the Cup will turn on and keep it at 135F by default. Take it off the charging coaster for up to 90 minutes to keep your drink hot while you roam. When you’ve savored your last sip, the Cup turns off the heater. You can buy extra charging coasters to have them available wherever you typically park yourself and drink, but the Cup is completely compatible with the saucers for all other Ember Mugs. When you’ve finished your drink, just hand wash it in the sink. It’s completely waterproof for hand washing but I wouldn’t put it in the dishwasher. One thing to note is that the bottom of the Cup (and the Mugs) has metal contacts for the charging and a rubber non-slip pad. While this all water-safe, there are nooks and crannies that always seem to trap a bit of water no matter how well you dry it. If you put your freshly washed and dried Cup on the charging coaster right away, some of that trapped water will leach out and moisten the charging area leaving a wet ring between the Cup and the Saucer. This won’t cause damage, but I’ve gotten in the habit of placing my washed mug upside-down on the coaster for an hour or so to air-dry before flipping it right-side up to charge again. As you can see from the attached photos, this new Ember Cup is basically a smaller version of their other Mugs. It holds about 6oz whereas the “regular” Mug holds 10oz and the larger Mug holds 14oz. There is no handle on this one, but I like the feeling of grabbing the cup by the sides. Even with freshly-brewed coffee or tea inside, the outside is comfortable to hold, so no worries about the lack of a handle. Conclusion: This Ember Cup has everything that’s great about the larger Mugs but in a smaller size and without a handle. The same great apps, the same great features, and a fresh handle-less design let you savor your favorite smaller hot beverage for as long as you want.

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  This review is from Ember - Temperature Control Smart Cup - 6 oz - Black

  Posted 3 years ago by gadgeTT

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Keeps hot beverages... hot

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  The Ember Smart mugs aim to solve a small inconvenience that many coffee and tea drinkers often encounter -- that the drinks just don’t stay hot enough from the first sip to the last. This latest model, dubbed the Ember Cup, has the smallest capacity in their lineup at 6 oz, but if you’re not a “big mug” coffee or tea drinker, it just might be the perfect size for your needs. The cup itself has a minimalist design: a smooth, matte finish, no handle, and inconspicuous branding with a single status LED at the bottom. The cup sits 3.25” tall with a 3” diameter, and 2” interior depth. The reason why the cup is so much shallower than the overall height is due to the electronics and re-chargeable Li-ion battery packed into the base. So while the cup may look larger from the exterior, it still only holds 6 oz. On the bottom of the cup is a single power button in the center, and around it are two gold metal ring charging contacts. When placed on the accompanying charging saucer/base, two small pins will touch the rings no matter how the cup is oriented, so precise placement is not needed. Since charging is not accomplished through induction, you won’t be able to charge the mug with other wireless charging pads like a Qi charger, however, additional charging bases can be purchased separately and are compatible with all Ember mug models if you want to have multiple places where you can set your mug down to charge. The coaster bases use a standard barrel-style plug with wall adapter and need to be plugged into an outlet. A full charge takes about 2 - 3 hours. The way the device functions is pretty straightforward; power it on, fill it with your hot beverage of choice, and a heating element in the base keeps it at a temperature of your choosing between 120°F to 145°F (or 50°C - 62.5°C). If the drink is hotter than the set temperature, the cup simply allows the drink to cool until it reaches the target temp. When it falls below that temperature, the heating element kicks in, and the LED will pulse white and remains a solid white while holding at the target temperature. It can keep your drink hot for up to 90 minutes on battery power, perfect if you want to take it when you roam, but be cautious of spills as it has no lid/cover. If you set the cup on its charging base, the temperature can be held constant indefinitely, though there is a 2-hour inactivity auto-shutoff feature that can be reset by simply picking up the mug. Note that the battery won’t increase in charge if the mug is actively maintaining temperature on the charging coaster. It’ll only charge when the cup is empty or is powered off by pressing and holding the power button for 3 seconds. Out-of-the-box the default holding temperature is 135°F, which I found to be a pleasantly hot and drinkable temperature for café au lait and cappuccino. The reasoning for not allowing higher temperatures is that this can degrade the flavor of a beverage over time, curdle drinks containing milk, and is a potential scald risk as well. To change the temperature setting, you’ll need to pair the mug to a mobile device via Bluetooth and install the Ember app, which requires you to register for an account. To enter pairing mode, simply press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. In the app you can also customize whether or not to receive push notifications when your beverage has reached the set temperature, change the temperature units to Celsius, and choose a custom color for the status LED. Your LED color will illuminate upon powering on/off and each time you pick up the mug, as it has a built-in accelerometer to detect motion and help multi-mug households identify individual mugs quickly and easily. When the cup is empty, it’ll automatically enter sleep mode and will not actively heat, though it will remain paired with a mobile device. Keep in mind this cup is not designed to “heat up” cold drinks quickly, as the heating element delivers only gentle warming and increases the beverage’s temperature about 1 degree every 10 seconds. In fact, if the temperature of its contents is under 100°F, the heating element will remain off, unless you manually change the holding temperature; changing this value will engage the heating element even if your drink is cold, but not if the mug is empty. Pouring in any drink that is at least luke warm, above 100°F, will automatically start the heating element if the cup is on and below the target temperature. One quirk I found is that if the cup is placed onto the charging base within about 15 seconds of powering it off, it will automatically power on again and connect to the most recently paired mobile device, if it’s in range. While it should still power off after 2 hours of inactivity, I nonetheless found this behavior a bit strange. The mug is neither microwave nor dishwasher safe, so hand washing with a soft sponge is the recommended cleaning method. You should also completely dry the mug before placing it on the charging base as the gold contacts and rings may be corroded by liquid, which can in turn cause charging issues. It seems a bit unexpected that the coaster base would not be waterproof though, since they're usually meant to catch spills and drips. You also won’t want to use metal utensils in the Ember, as this can damage the finish, so you can pre-mix your drinks before pouring into the Ember or use wooden or plastic spoons instead. Overall, the Ember Cup does the job it’s intended to and keeps a small amount of my hot beverages precisely at my desired drinking temperature, whether that’s tea, coffee, espresso, mulled wine, a hot toddy, etc. The battery life is decently long, and the charging base can extend that to last the whole day if need be. Its care requires a little extra mindfulness to keep it pristine, but I suppose that’s the trade-off for a relatively niche, "nice-to-have," luxury gadget.

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  This review is from Ember - Temperature Control Smart Cup - 6 oz - Black

  Posted 3 years ago by ReviewedByPhil