6 Best Heated Mugs, According to Expert Testing

The experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab test heated mugs for heat retention, impact on taste and ease of use. To test heat retention, a thermocouple (a thin, wire-like thermometer) is inserted into each mug. The thermocouple relays the temperature of the coffee in the mug to software that tracks the heat level over a four-hour period. This helps us determine whether users can actually have their drinking time interrupted and then come back to a warm cup of coffee. Some of the self-heating mugs gave a stated battery life of fewer than four hours, which we factored in when making our picks.

To determine how the coffee tasted over a two-hour period, our testers tasted a control cup and then coffee from each mug every 30 minutes, making notes about the bitterness, acidity, mouth feel and temperature sensation. Unsurprisingly, we found the coldest coffee the least appealing. We also felt that — compared with freshly brewed coffee — the mugs kept the coffee warm but negatively affected the taste over time.

When assessing ease of use, our Lab pros considered the helpfulness of the owner's manual, the type and readability of any controls, the feel of the mug, the comfort of drinking from it and the cleanability. They also evaluated the ease of opening and closing the mug and its leak resistance, if applicable.

✔️ Type of heated mug: The biggest consideration is whether you want to warm a regular mug on a heating plate or to use a battery-powered mug that is portable once charged.

• Warming plate: A point in favor of a warming plate is that you may be able to use your own favorite mug. If the warming plate comes with a mug, it is generally a traditional-style ceramic mug (though the Cosori on our list did have a less-common stainless steel mug). The con is that you are tethered to the plate, so you have to come back to it to place the mug down if you want the beverage to stay warm. If you choose a warming plate, be sure to check the cord length; you want it to be long enough for the spot where you'll use the device most.
• Self-heating mug: A self-heating mug gives you the freedom to roam your home or commute to work with coffee that stays hot. Another pro is that you can set your preferred temperature either on the mug or via an app. The downside is that you have to remember to charge the mug between uses.

✔️ Lid: We found that whether you opt for a warming plate or a self-heating style, a lid goes a long way. It helps to trap heat from the start, which helps even weaker mug warmers perform better. It also keeps liquid from evaporating, which can make the coffee taste more concentrated over time.

✔️ Capacity: For warming plates that come with a mug and for self-heating styles, check the capacity of the mug. The largest mug capacities we tested were 17 ounces for a warming plate and 14 ounces for a self-heating mug. If you know you need a big cup in the morning, you might want to be able to use your own mug.

In a word, yes. Many will, indeed, keep your coffee hot — some will even do so for hours. People who prefer a piping hot cup and choose to reheat their coffee may appreciate the more hands-off solution of a heated mug. By and large in our testing, the self-heating mugs performed better than the warming plates, but much of that also came down to whether the mug had a lid.

The caveat of our learnings is that the taste of the coffee can change if it's held at a hot temperature over a long period — this was true across the board, no matter which mug style was used. Each cup tasted more bitter or more acidic (or, in some cases, both!) as it continued to "cook," but we found that for shorter periods, heated mugs did keep coffee hot and that warmer coffee was more palatable than cooler coffee.

Sarah Wharton lead the testing for these heated mugs, helping to develop the testing methodology with Kitchen Appliances Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou, who oversees all testing of kitchen gear for the Good Housekeeping Institute, including products like coffee grinders, coffee makers, espresso machines and Nespresso machines. Sarah and Nicole are both judges for the Good Housekeeping Institute's Coffee Awards.

Becca Miller is the associate food editor in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, where she researches and writes about food all day. She is a coffee connoisseur and appreciates a hot cup of joe at all hours of the day. Becca did extensive research and has knowledge of other self-heating kitchen tools, like hot pots.