How to keep a mug on the desk warm?

Question

Every time when I make a tea or coffee especially in winter time, it's get cold very quickly.

How I can keep my hot beverage warm long enough to enjoy my drink?

Please keep in mind, that I don't want to use any fire on my desk:)

Answer 1

Pour hot/boiling water in the mug and let the mug warm up, that way the drink won't cool down when you pour it into the cup.

You can also use a microwave oven to heat the liquid, but make sure the mug has water in it, an empty mug will not heat and potentially damage your microwave. This will be slightly less effective, since a microwave goes to ~65°C, while boiling water goes to ~100°C.

or

Put something on top of the mug if you aren't drinking it to keep it warm.

Also, thermo cups. Kept my coffee hot for an hour easily.

Answer 2

Cup socks

Now here's not the best solution in terms of heat preservation but it's a hack. What keeps our feet warm in winter can't be too bad for a cup of coffee:

Wrapping a thick winter men's sock around a cup is not too hard as long as it is not yet filled.

For optimum insulation we can get 2 or 3 layers of warm wool by putting the cup base down into a sock, then fold the sock two or three times, always leaving the top of the cup open.

After that we can pour in our hot coffee, which will stay hot much longer than before (also depending on the sock's material of course - thick wool may be best)

Of course we can also knit them for a better fit.

Answer 3

I have found the most efficient method is to use a thermos mug, which has a vacuum barrier between the liquid and the environment. More expensive than regular mugs, but my drink is still warm the next day if I leave it overnight.

Answer 4

You can use something to cover the cup. This way it will decrease losses from evaporation. Technically you can do some other thing but I don't know how suitable these are:

• wrap the cup in aluminium foil to decrease infrared radiation
• wrap it additionally in some isolation material to reduce heat exchange

The most simple trick is to add some of the hot beverage after you drink some of the cup. I make tea in a kettle which I leave on the stove and add some to the cup after I drink some of the tea in the cup.

Answer 5

You have a few options. First, I would recommend getting a thermos, but if you really want to use a mug, there are a few hacks.

Awhile ago, I read this thing about a stick that keeps coffee warm. A good substitute would be to warm something up in the microwave like a spoon or another utensil and then put that in your coffee. It can get very hot, so you can wrap something around the top of the handle like a napkin. I like to wrap thick rubber bands around it.

You can also use a heating pad as a coaster. Just heat up the pad in the microwave, then you can put the mug on it to keep it warm.*

If you work with a computer at your desk, you might be able to use the heat coming from the computer to warm the mug (doesn't work for all computers)

One last thing, you can put a cloth or a towel over the top of the mug when you're not drinking it. Heat rises, so if you can block air from rising out of the top of the mug, then it will stay warmer.

* ^{This is my favorite one}

Answer 6

Why not to use mug warmer?

Keeps a full mug or cup of coffee, tea, soup or any other beverage at the ideal drinking temperature (150-160°F/65-70°C, however it depends on the product). No need to pre-heat, just put your fresh cup of coffee on the black pad and coffee stays the same temp for as long as you like. They're very cheap and convenient.

This solves the problem of having to take the cup back to the kitchen to reheat.

Few hints:

• There are versions which you can connect to your laptop via USB, however some of them aren't heating enough, so it's better to use one with a standard wall outlet.
• Buy one which should have an "auto-off" switch, just like most curling iron have, as a safety feature. Otherwise don't forget to turn it off when you leave house so it won't catch on fire or damage your table underneath.
• Some of them usually won't keep a full cup hot, but it's does a good job of keeping the hot beverage once you're down to about a half a cup.