Labels on coffee bags are confusing. Direct trade, Fair Trade? How many different kinds of trade are there? Organic, shade grown? Which is better for the environment?

This article puts a little bit of meaning back into those labels so that next time you’re shopping for coffee, hopefully things are a less overwhelming.

Bird Friendly

Bird Friendly is the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s certification. It starts with protecting migratory birds and their habitats, but it doesn’t stop there. To earn this certification, the coffee has to be certified organic and meet shade and habitat standards, the highest of any coffee certification. Farmers aren’t guaranteed a set price for Bird Friendly coffee, but generally they receive a premium for their organic certification.

Direct Trade

There’s no official Direct Trade certification, it’s simple a direct purchase by a coffee roaster or company with the farmer, cutting out as many middlemen as possible. Since there’s no certification, there’s no set standards. However, it generally means higher quality coffee and that means higher premiums for the farmers. The drawback is that there’s no exact standards for environmental or labor practices. Many coffee roasters do require certain standards, but when it comes to direct trade you may want to do a little bit of reading and research to find out exactly what you’re buying.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade is probably the most popular and well known label. It’s a certification by the Fairtrade Labeling Organization International and TransFair USA in the United States. To be fair trade, coffee has to meet certain environment and labor standards. The farmers than receive a higher premium for their coffee above the traditional rates. One thing to note is that Fair Trade doesn’t necessarily mean organic.

Organic

The USDA certifies coffee Organic. To earn that label, a farm must not use any banned substances for three years. The list of banned substances includes most synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Plus, there has to be a buffer between organic crops and traditional crops, sustainable agricultural, plans to prevent soil erosion.

Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that developed sustainable certifications for coffee. To earn this certification, coffee must meet a variety of requirements including reducing threats to the environment and human health, protecting wildlife habitat, etc. Think of Rainforest Alliance certification as a big checklist, to be certified a farmer has to get a certain number of requirements checked. Organic isn’t required and shade grown is one of the optional items on the list.

Shade Grown

Both the Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian have standards for shade grown coffee, but what exactly does that mean? Shade grown is coffee from farms grown under a natural canopy of trees. It incorporates natural ecology to promote a healthy environment for animals and plants.

UTZ

UTZ has a baseline standard for “responsible coffee.” This includes good agricultural and business practices like traceability of coffee and record keeping of fertilizers. It also requires certain social standards like access to health care for the farmers, their employees and families, as well as education for the community’s children. As far as environmental requirements, it aims to prevent soil erosion, deforestation and protecting endangered species. There are some complaints about it being too vague and not really doing enough to help the farmers and protect the environment.

Which coffee certification is best?

That’s up to you to decide which one most aligns with your values.

Let us know in the comments if you find certifications useful?

Do they just add to the price or do they provide real value to the consumer?

Have you ever made a purchasing decision based on one of these labels? If so which one?

As always, keep your suggestions coming for future articles.

What They Really Mean: Fair Trade, Organic And All Of The Other Coffee Certifications is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The debate over whether coffee drinkers enjoy less risk of untimely death over those who do not drink coffee has been waged for many years. Studies go back and forth either negating the value of coffee or announcing that there is a correlation to long life and coffee drinking.

The main question asked is whether coffee drinking lowers the risk of death for individuals and what is considered moderate consumption.

What is considered “moderation?”

Doctors and nutritionists both like to tell people to drink coffee in moderation. The key though is figuring out what is moderate? In some studies 1 to 3 cups is moderate, whereas in other studies as many as 6 cups in the norm. This is a rather subjective measurement of moderation that is currently hotly debated.

Is there a direct link between coffee and cancer?

The National Cancer Institute performed a study that found that men and women who drink 2-3 cups per day enjoy a reduction in cancer cases: 10% of men and 15% of women have an increased change of living longer than those who don’t drink coffee. The study also looked at ailments that can be secondary to cancer such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory illnesses.

The study was conducted via observation which based its findings on rates of death between coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers.

Long-term studies find no specific correlation between death rates and coffee drinkers’ life expectancy.

Another study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which consisted of data that was self-reported among 402,260 men and women who were members of the AARP from 1995 to 1996.

Individuals reported that they drank on average 6 cups per day. Data was collected over the next 13 years regarding death rates among the participants in the study. The male coffee drinkers had a death rate 10% lower and women coffee drinkers were at 15% lower death rate.

There does not appear to be a difference in longevity between men and women, yet there is no discernible way to know if pre-existing health issues matter as much as gender differences may such as hormonal differences, physical activity, or other such key differences between genders. Perhaps that will be examined in still another study on coffee.

The study found no correlation between coffee drinking and specific types of illness because the cause of death among the participants was as much due to illnesses as it was to chance (i.e. accidents)

Is there a relation between coffee consumption and strokes?

Yet another study by the European Society of Hypertension examined consumption of 1-3 cups of coffee per day. This study was done via Meta -analysis, which is a cross analysis of similar studies to find if a correlation exists.

The European Society of Hypertension wanted to see if there is any relation between coffee drinking and strokes. The data showed that among participants in the various studies 1-3 cups per day was associated with lower risks of strokes. It should be noted however that the study was conducted on the general population rather than a more narrow focus on people who have cardiovascular disease.

Although there is a difference of opinion of what moderate consumption of coffee actually is, there is an apparent link between coffee and lower risks of death. Coffee contains as many as 100 different components that can vary from bean type, roasting and brewing processes so it is difficult to know what it is in coffee that seems to help people live longer lives.

But, it can be fairly stated that coffee that is consumed in whatever measure of moderation is not actually bad for most people’s health.

Chase Walters is an author and avid, beginning traveler who is still getting his feet wet – he recently took a trip with Body Glove Hawaii, which turned out to be an incredible, eye-opening experience.

Photo by takuya miyamoto*.

Coffee for Longevity: Does Coffee Actually Lower Risk of Death? is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

Photo: Vicchi

Do you remember how old you were when you had your first cup of coffee?

I doubt many pediatricians would suggest that you sit down and have coffee with your toddlers every morning while watching “Sesame Street.”

But, I’ll bet your children would never forget the time they spent with mom and dad over a mug of warm “milk with a splash of coffee.”

Coffee-time can build relationships and memories that last forever. (click to tweet)

It can be okay for children to drink coffee…

I loved taking my daughter to Starbucks when she was about two or three and the Barista would make her a cup of “frothy foam” to enjoy while I enjoyed my big girl cup.

She had her own special coffee mug at home.  It was a small ceramic mug with a bunny on it.  Mostly she drank juice from it –it was a smaller version of mom’s coffee mug.

Because she had asthma, I would give her a cup of black coffee (diluted) when she couldn’t stop coughing and it would open her lungs.

Don’t laugh.  Home remedies can work.

I’ve also read studies where parents have given their children coffee to treat ADHD. I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent many nights up with a pot of coffee when my child was sick.

I consider myself a “Southern Girl,” though I’ve lived on the West Coast since I was a baby.  Summers spent in the south visiting relatives and being raised by an Arkansan and “tar heel” definitely qualify in my book as southern-bred.  Which means, yes, my mama drank her coffee with a splash of Carnation milk.  All of my relatives’ children in Texas start drinking “coffee milk” before they start kindergarten.

I think that in all families, coffee is a common element that can conjure up a lot of memories and is a thread that leads to discussions about other interactions.  Whether it be funerals or births or graduations or whatever, there’s a big pot of coffee brewing somewhere in the background.

After all, someone brought over a lot of pastries, there has to be some coffee.

Moderation is key

As with everything, moderation is the key.  And my opinions are not based on scientific research, just common sense.

I’m not promoting a culture of caffeine-addicted children, but with all the recent research which highlights many of the benefits of coffee, I don’t think letting the little ones have a cup of coffee milk or coffee soy is really a big deal.

In fact, I think it might make for a few happier kids and parents and open up some dialogue about other things that are really important in your child’s life.

Do you give coffee to your kids?

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it’s irresponsible to allow children to have some coffee? In your experience, do kids like it? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Dorothy Stewart is a freelance writer and coffee lover who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She blogs at http://perkdup.blogspot.com. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

Should Children Be Allowed To Drink Coffee? is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

Cartoonist, Michele Johnson, brings us the humorous side of our coffee addiction. Click here for all the Coffee Cartoons and to learn more about Java Juice and the girlfriends.

Don’t miss next week’s Java Juice, enter your email below to receive it directly in your Inbox.

Coffee Cartoon 12 – Though Choices is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

A lot of people around me think that coffee shops haven’t been around for that long. Nothing can be further from the truth. Not only have they been around for centuries, but the original coffee shop in London, Great Britain, can still teach us a thing or two about selling coffee. A fellow coffee blogger from UK, Henry Clifford, tells us all about how that first coffee shop came to be in this guest post.

Coffee was first imported from… THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE!

The London Coffee Scene has undergone a major revival in the last decade, a movement which has led to the refinement of coffee palates across the city. Great Britain is famed for being a tea nation but it is worth noting that it also has a rich coffee history. Coffee was initially brought over to Britain by merchants plying their trade across the Ottoman Empire.

One such merchant, Daniel Edwards was a businessman in Smyrna (modern day Izmir) in Eastern Turkey. He’d become accustomed to the Ottoman coffee culture and was certain that the drink would be popular back at home. And so, whilst in Turkey he employed a young Greek man, Pasqua Rosee, as his servant and when he returned back to Great Britain in 1651, Mr Rosee went too.

Pasqua Rosee had been residing in Smyrna for a number of years and as a result, had become skilled in the art coffee preparation. He had also acquired an expansive knowledge of the local market for coffee beans and with this expertise, he was a valuable asset to Daniel Edwards new business venture.

London’s first coffee house was a huge risk

Back in the UK, Mr Edwards craved the coffee he had grown so fond in Turkey. His first step in bringing across coffee beans to the UK was the opening of a public coffee house with a fellow Merchant Mr Hodges. The pair were preoccupied with a duty to serve their employer, the Levant Company, and as such they were obliged to hold back on the advancement of their new project. These commitments halted the progress of the coffee house’s establishment until Daniel Edwards realized that Pasqua Rosee, with his expertise, served as an ideal candidate for managing the business.

This pioneering outlet was not only the first coffee shop in London, but all of Christendom. (There are sources that claim one was opened in Oxford a few years earlier but the evidence for this is imprecise and inconclusive.)

Are there customers for this?

This was the first time that coffee had entered the UK market leaving Mr Rosee no customer base nor idea as to whether coffee would become as popular as it was in Turkey. It was a virtually untested market and the stakes were high for Mr Rosee. To maximise the potential for success, the two merchants chose to install the shop on St Michael’s Alley by the Royal Exchange in Central London. This location was perfectly positioned to cater for the group of Londoners that would most likely have acquired a penchant for the black gold: the globe-trotting merchants and tradesmen.

St Michael’s Alley

Merchants and traders from all corners of the globe frequented the Royal Exchange to strike up trade deals. Although merchants lived all over the city, the one place that they were all guaranteed to be at some point during the working day was the Royal Exchange.

Mr Rosee was not just a coffee pioneer, he was also an astute marketeer. He used an image of himself dressed in authentic Levantine clothing as the shop’s eye-catching logo and had the sign fixed above his shop. It was iconic and instantly recognizable. A testament to the quality of the sign, Mr Rosee became identified across London as the man from the east who brewed an amazing new drink called coffee.

Alright! Thanks to Henry for this great post. What can be learned from this is the importance of personality. I mean, even back then, having an image of the owner was a way to leverage it’s reputation. If Mr Rosee was a prick that no one trusted, chances are customers would have avoided his shop. Instead, he was known as a respected merchant, and he used this to his advantage.

Today, the same principles apply. Any coffee owner will tell you that if you don’t connect with people in your community, no one will come (or come back) to your place. With Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, it’s never been easier to do so. Yet, it seems real connections are becoming a thing of the past. If you own or work in a coffee shop, follow Mr Rosee’s example and you’ll become iconic too!

Henry Clifford is a manager at Lyndon’s Coffee. It’s a great coffee blog. If you go to Great Britain this summer, check out his cool list of top coffee shops to visit while you are there. Oh! And make sure to stop by St Michael’s Alley and send us pictures!

We are always looking for guest posts so if you feel like sharing a tip, doing a review or just going on a rant, please follow these instructions.

What The First Coffee Shop In London Can Teach Us About Selling Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

Cartoonist, Michele Johnson, brings us the humorous side of our coffee addiction. Click here for all the Coffee Cartoons and to learn more about Java Juice and the girlfriends.

Don’t miss next week’s Java Juice, enter your email below to receive it directly in your Inbox.

Coffee Cartoon 11 – Sexy Husband is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

In line with Daily Shot Of Coffee’s values of honesty and transparency, every month I share a detailed account of earning and expenses so you can see exactly how the site makes money and how it is reinvested to provide better content for free.

On a more personal note, doing so helps me keep track of my goals, see how DSOC revenues evolve over time, share insights about what I learned and, hopefully, earn your trust as well as provide you with some inspiration.

This past two months have been crazy! So let’s get going.

What Went On

• You might have noticed, the site has been hacked. Since mid-March, I have been busy rebuilding the site from scratch, hence the new look. For this, I got tremendous help from Daily Shot Of Coffee’s web host Fresh Roasted Hosting. The owner, Dave, and his team worked day and night to reinstall backups and restore the site. Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of hosting services and I can say without hesitation that Fresh Roasted Hosting has the best customer service. Period. Dave, I can’t thank you enough for all you did. Thank you so much!

• Because of this, March’s Income Report has been lost in one of the sites restore (so has other articles, one by Geoff about his experience at SCAA 2013 in Boston). This is why I present both months earnings and lessons in a single report here.

• Obviously, these events have affected the financial results, but not as hard as I would have imagined.

• Now for the good news, despite of all these problems for more than 5 weeks, profits are up by 38% in March. We’ll get to that in more details a little later.

• Another really cool thing that happened in March is the $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. Congrats to the winner Jeannine Drenchek-Scavo! For the mechanics, readers were invited to share what they would buy if they were given $500 to spend by a generous coffee shop owner. Answers were at both end of the spectrum. Some people would shoot strait for the dream coffee machine, while others were looking for a simple machine that works and is convenient for them. I got to discover a lot of cool equipment through this exercice and I want to thank everyone who entered; it was a lot of fun. And although the giveaway is over, you are more than welcome to add your answer to the list.

• One of the objectives of the Giveaway was to promote the site and get readers to connect on other social platforms. With 457 entries (!), I was overwhelmed with the results. Here is how many people joined DSOC on the different networks.

	Before	After	Difference	Goal	Stay Connected
	1,712 SUBSCRIBERS	1,805 SUBSCRIBERS	+ 93	1,850 SUBSCRIBERS
	2,454 LIKES	2,491 LIKES	+37	2,525 LIKES
	175 IN CIRCLES	188 IN CIRCLES	+ 13	188 IN CIRCLES
	4,243 FOLLOWERS	4,289 FOLLOWERS	+ 36	4,300 FOLLOWERS
	41 FOLLOWERS	54 FOLLOWERS	+ 13	70 FOLLOWERS

For Daily Shot Of Coffee to become a strong community of coffee lovers, I feel social medias will have to play a bigger role. Here is an example of how important this is: I first found out from readers who wrote to me via Twitter and Facebook that the site was hacked. During downtime, I was also able to stay connected with the DSOC community though social media sites. In the future, I hope to organize special events and connect even more…

That’s why I also set goals for May as far as the number of new followers I hope to get. If you want to be part of this community, please take a few minutes to add us to your social networks by clicking on the Stay Connected buttons.

If you do, I can’t thank you enough and I promise to do everything I can to provide you with great content. Do not hesitate to say hi, I love it!

Important Posts

March was a slow month in terms of new posts as I took the first week off to go skiing with my family after our hospital adventure (see February’s Report for the details). Between that and the malware attack, it’s been hard to post as much as I would have liked. It got worse as some of the posts from the first few weeks of Aprils were lost. The backups were infected and we haven’t been able to recover them.

• What Is More Dangerous For Your Health: Coffee or Water?
• Memoria DeNossa Coffee: It’s a Café, it’s a lounge, it’s an – Elephant?
• Must Have Coffee Equipment From SCAA 2013
• Live Coverage Of The Specialty Coffee Event Of The Year In Boston
• Introducing The World’s First Mind Reading Coffee Machine! (April Fool’s)
• Brewing Coffee for Dummies
• Coffee Reviews: George Orwell Montecarlos Bourbon
• What Coffee Equipment Would You Buy If You Were Given $500 To Spend?
• Great Coffee App Review: Coffee Recipes 2.0
• Java Juice : Meet the girlfriends
  • Coffee Cartoon #5 – Getting Older
  • Coffee Cartoon #6 – Triple Shot of Expresso
  • Coffee Cartoon #7 – Pressure
  • Coffee Cartoon #8 – Jitters

Just a quick note: if you sent me an article (or any other mail) in April, it’s also gone. All of my emails have been wiped out. If you read this, and I haven’t come back to you, please send it again. You can reach me using this contact form.

Income Report

As mentioned above, before the site went down, the first two weeks of the month were simply amazing. For March alone, I evaluate the downtime represents about $300 in lost earnings.

With all that happened, I was expecting April to be disastrous, and it was. I don’t even want to know much I lost, on top of added expenses for cleaning and redesigning the blog (shown in Other Expenses). Ouch!

I guess the good news is these are one time expenses. Also, I am disappointed with advertising results, so I will be experimenting with new partners in the coming weeks.

Lessons Learned

1. Water Temperature

I did my first review of a coffee maker this month (it will be published in May) and one thing I learned, which surprised me, is how much water temperature varies when brewing.

Now I haven’t tested other machines yet but to me, if there is one thing that a coffee maker should get right every time, it is that water hits the coffee ground at the right temperature. I discovered it is not a simple thing to accomplish for manufacturers.

This was a revelation to me as it is not something I ever inquired over when buying coffee machines. I took for granted that the temperature was always right. Wrong!  Lesson learned: next time I buy a coffee maker, I’ll worry less about the color of the machine and the various gadgets and more about it’s capability to produce hot water!

2. Backups and Security

It goes without saying that this whole hacker’s attack has affected my morale. I was so enthusiastic at the beginning of the month and felt like things were finally going in the right direction. I always took security seriously (my passwords have anywhere between 20 and over 100 characters) and I do make regular backups.

As a consequence of this, however, I realized that no matter how much security I have in place, I will never be able to prevent every attack, nor will I be able to sleep if I expect nothing to happen.

A few days after finding out about the malware, I made the decision to not let this get to me. This was especially important for my wife and my son, because they did not deserve my bad moods.

3. Giveaways

With the $25 Amazon Giveaway, I wanted to see how readers would engage. However, I didn’t want to simply ask to share for the sake of sharing. Thus the little role play, which was fun. The results exceeded my expectations by far –I was hoping to get maybe 50 to 60 entries–, and I was certainly not expecting to learn so much about coffee gear, such as:

• Technivorm Moccamaster (proposed by Kim) – Some say it’s the best drip coffee maker money can buy!
• Mukka Express pots (by Ada A.) –An espresso maker that steam the milk in the same container.
• Porlex Hand Mill (by Dan Gilbert) – Manual coffee grinders seemed popular among readers. It’s something I never considered before.
• Rancilio Silvia (by Chris) – What a machine! I can see why it’s on Chris’ wishlist.

Take a few minutes to go see all the comments, maybe you will see something you like!

As always, I want to thank you for reading this and I hope to see you on Google+ Facebook and Twitter. If you haven’t done so already, make sure to hop on the email list to receive FREE updates.

Oh! I almost forgot to ask. If you have a minute, please let me know what you think of the new site’s design in the comments below. Your feedback is really appreciated. Thanks again.

My Montly Income Report – March & April 2013 is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The Contigo Tumbler is a travel coffee mug “I’m completely
impressed and absolutely love the cup…”

This article about Travel Coffee Mugs is a guest post by Brian Martinowich. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee. This post was originally published in March, 2012. It has been updated on July 19th, 2013.

If you like to travel with coffee or tea and are tired of cleaning up spills, it’s time to invest in a REAL travel mug.

We have searched all over to bring you what we consider to be the 5 best travel mugs on the market.

But before we share our findings with you, take a look at some options you should take into account when choosing the best mug for you.

Steel or plastic?

Some of the best travel mugs are made from stainless steel and are vacuum insulated. They also feature sealed lids that resist leaks and spills.

Steel mugs resist breakage and maintain beverage temperature for several hours, but one of the drawbacks of steel is that it can’t be microwaved.

If you think you may want to warm your beverage in a microwave, look for a plastic mug. Health experts recommend plastic mugs that are made from BPA-free polypropylene (no. 5) plastic.

How will you carry it?

Before investing in a mug, it pays to do some research. First, consider how you’ll be using it.

If you want to put it in a cup holder in your car, you’ll need to make sure the base of the mug and the handle will fit in your holder (whether or not your mug has a handle is a matter of preference).

If you plan to use your mug for walking or biking, you may want to look for one with a clip that attaches to a belt or backpack.

How to avoid spills

Another important thing to consider is the type of spout: A good spout closes securely to avoid spills but is still easy to open and drink from while you’re on the go.

The 5 Best Travel Mugs

We’ve investigated travel mugs that have been tested and reviewed by Good Housekeeping, Amazon and other websites, and have come up with this list of five of the best travel mugs around.

#1 Thermos Sipp Vacuum-Insulated Travel Tumbler

Thermos is one of the top names in vacuum-insulated containers, so it’s not surprising that they make some of the best travel mugs.

The double-wall design of the Travel Tumbler keeps liquids hot for five hours and cold for up to nine. The BPA-free plastic lid is push-button operated and features a built-in hook for tea bags or a tea infuser.

This travel mug holds 16 ounces and is dishwasher safe. It’s available with or without handle.

By far, our #1 pick… It might just be the last coffee mug you will ever buy!

PRICE $22.49

414 out of 617 rated this mug 5-Star on Amazon (Click for more reviews)

“This Thermos brand promised it would keep liquids hot for 5 hours. I filled this cup with hot coffee at 7:30am and it was still hot after 1:30 pm!”

– Tia (Indian Harbour Beach, Florida)

#2 Contigo AUTOSEAL Stainless Steel 16-Ounce Vacuum Insulated Tumbler

This handle-free tumbler features a double-walled steel body that keeps drinks hot for more than four hours and cold for 12.

It holds 16 ounces and is a good fit for most cup holders.

The BPA-free plastic lid has a leak-proof auto-sealing design that’s opened with the push of a button.

The downside of this mug is a steel body that must be washed by hand.

PRICE $20

68 out of 80 rated this mug 5-Star on Amazon (Click for more reviews)

“I immediately had to see if the claim that you could hold it upside down and it wouldn’t leak was true–and it was! I’m completely impressed and absolutely love the cup…”

– Laurel L. Maloy “Laurel” (Rural OK)

#3 Thermos Nissan 12-Ounce Stainless-Steel Tea Tumbler with Infuser

This Thermos travel mug is customized for tea, with an infuser that allows you to brew loose-leaf tea built into the lid.

In addition to a lid for sipping, the mug comes with a travel lid that prevents leaks and spills.

Drinks are kept warm for up to six hours.

On the negative side, the Tea Tumbler is not dishwasher-safe and must be washed by hand. The infuser is also a bit small, especially for some larger leaf teas and infusions.

Not recommended for coffee drinker, although it could to both if you like tea and the occasional coffee.

The mug holds 12 ounces of liquid.

PRICE $18

225 of of 340 rated this mug 5-Star on Amazon (Click for more reviews)

“Unlike so many poorly designed products, you know this one was designed by designers and engineers who love tea and coffee.”

– Ryuji Suzuki (Boston, MA USA)

#4 OXO Good Grips LiquiSeal Travel Mug, Stainless Steel

OXO is always cited as one of the top brands when it comes to well designed mugs. This double-walled insulated stainless steel tumbler is one of the best rated, as it keeps 14 ounces of liquid hot or cold for up to seven hours.

The lid features three silicone seals to prevent leaks and a push button that opens and closes the drinking seal.

The brushed steel body requires hand washing, and the complex seals make it hard to remove residues. Some may find that its wide shape makes it difficult to hold, especially if you have smaller hands.

PRICE $20

223 out of 430 rated this mug 5-Star on Amazon (Click for more reviews)

“I took this on an extended road trip and used it for both hot and cold drinks, most of the time it ended up rolling back and forth on the passenger compartment floor. At the last stop I filled it with cold water and threw it into the trunk while getting my car cleaned inside and out.

Well, frankly, I forgot about it and it bounced around my car trunk for a couple of months and when I went to salvage it and drain the water out, I observed that not one drop had leaked out.

Not only did the seal hold the liquid in and keep the crud out, but when I was actively using it the beverages stayed hot or cold for most of the day.”

–  Food Prep Fanatic “Foodie” (Port Madison, WA)

#5 Steelworks Metro Mug

This 12 ounce BPA-free thermos plastic mug is light, yet it has all the qualities a coffee mug should have. It doesn’t leak, is dishwasher safe and its insulation will keep the coffee warm for hours. A word of caution though, the manufacturer says it will keep liquids warm for 6 to 8 hours, but if this is a key characteristic for you, aim more for 5 hours instead.

What makes this mug stand out is it’s simple design à la Apple, especially in pearl white or black (it comes in 6 different colors).

It has no handle, it fits well in car cup holders and it holds well even in smaller hands. The main drawback, according to some Baristas, is the plastic interior. They argue that, over time, it affects the taste of coffee. On the other hand, the fact that its made of a single material makes it recyclable.

PRICE $22

This is what you need to do before you buy a travel mug

There are a few things you should do before you make your purchase decision:

1. Make sure you do need a new mug!
   How many mugs do you already own? If you answer more than 3, then ask yourself why you are not satisfied with the mugs you have.If they are crappy, poorly design and cheaply built mugs, then don’t feel guilty: give them away or recycle them and invest in a mug that is both functional and well designed that will last!
2. Try them out!
   If you are to really spend some dough on a mug, make sure it fits your needs. We’ve outlined some of the questions you should ask yourself at the beginning of the post. Don’t hesitate to return it if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
3. Do your research
   We’ve posted only partial reviews here. Go to Amazon and find out for yourself all the pros and cons from other reviewers.

If you’ve enjoyed our travel mug review, sign up below to receive our newsletter filled with more great coffee equipment reviews, coffee reviews, exclusive tips, freebies and more.

We value your trust, so we promise to only send you some of the best content there is about coffee online, all for free.

Before you go, I’d like to know what you think is the best travel coffee mug is? Leave a comment either about a mug we haven’t covered here and you think should be on the list or to let us know what is your feedback about one of the mugs above.

Best Travel Mugs Comparison Guide

Travel Mugs	Leak-Proof	Dishwasher Safe	Usage	Price	Rating
Thermos 16-Ounce Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug	Yes	Yes	Heavy	$$$$	4.5
Contigo Autoseal Stainless Steel 16-Ounce Vacuum Insulated Tumbler	Yes	Yes	Heavy	$$$	4.4
Thermos 16-Ounce Vacuum-Insulated Travel Tumbler Stainless Steel	Yes	Yes	Heavy	$$$$	4.3
Thermos Stainless King 16-Ounce Leak-Proof Travel Mug with Handle	Yes	Yes	Heavy	$$$$	4.6
Thermos Work Series Travel Mug	No	No	Moderate	$$	3.6
Copco 24-Ounce Big Joe Thermal Travel Mug	No	No	Light	$	3.7
Stanley Adventure Clip Grip Coffee Mug	No	Yes	Light	$	2.9
Starbucks Double Wall Ceramic Traveler	No	Yes	Light	$$	4.0
Takeya Double Wall Glass Tea/Coffee Tumbler	No	No	Light	$$$	3.8

Want To See Even More?

Click Here To See Our Full List Of 50 of the Best Travel Mugs

About The Author

Brian Martinowich is a freelance writer for EarnMBADegree.com, a comprehensive resource guide for individuals who are interested in an mba degree. As the Community Manager of the global social good campaign, Tweet Drive, Brian enjoys helping others through his experiences and expertise with social media.

—

Related Posts

• French Press to go? Review of the XPress
• Chemex How To And Review
• More Coffee Equipment Reviews

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. For those who choose to use them, thank you so much for your support and for helping us provide  free content on this blog. Please read our Disclosure Policy for more information.

The 5 Best Travel Coffee Mugs is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

Cartoonist, Michele Johnson, brings us the humorous side of our coffee addiction. Click here for all the Coffee Cartoons and to learn more about Java Juice and the girlfriends.

Don’t miss next week’s Java Juice, enter your email below to receive it directly in your Inbox.

Coffee Cartoon 10 – Pregnancy Test is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

Mother’s Day is always a special moment and I thought I’d share with you some of the best coffee gifts that every mom will love. There is the “Oh! You Shouldn’t Have” category, the “I Love You” category and the “You Are The Sweetest” category.

“Oh! You Shouldn’t Have!” Category

This reaction is guaranteed if you go for a more expensive gift… And coffeemakers certainly qualify.

1. Single-Shot Verismo 580

Even if your mom is not a big fan of Starbucks, she will definitely appreciate the coffee store’s single-shot machine. It’s easy to use, easy to clean and it makes better than average coffee… consistently. Not only will it pull shots, but she will be able to enjoy teas, cappuccinos and regular brews as well.

As a bonus, this is a gift that you will benefit from since you will have access to better coffee every time you visit!

The Verismo is a good value and it is on sale ($50 rebate) through May 15th. It comes to only $149 with the rebate and it includes a box of latte pods and free shipping

2. Cuisinart Brew Central Programmable Coffeemaker

If your mom prefers a more traditional brew, the Cuisinart Brew Central Drip Coffee Maker is a good option. It has programmable features, such as auto-on and auto-off, self-cleaning capabilities and a retro look that will stand out in any kitchen.

This coffee maker is #1 on Amazon most popular coffee maker lists in the 8-12 cups category (and #2 overall). I have tried it for one week last month and, at $70, it is no wonder why so many people buy it.

For more information, check out some of the reviews here.

“I Love You!” Category

3. Mother’s Day Coffee Mugs

Make your mother cry, or at least think of you, every morning with a uniquely designed coffee mug. You can choose from a wide range of mugs, or better yet, you can create your own personalized mug. Here are a few ideas to get you inspired:

• A classic: “You are the best Mom. I love you. John XX“
• Another classic: put your children’s picture on the mug with a message.
• A variation of this is to have you kids hand paint with multiple colors all over the mug.
• Find a picture of you as a kid and shoot the modern version of the same picture. Put both images side by side on a mug.
• If you want your gift to be about spending quality time with your mom, why not invite her to a local pottery DIY coffee shop where you could make your own creations.

There are a number of places on the Web you could use for personalized mugs. I have had good service and professional results with Zazzle.com. Prices start at $14.95, which is pretty reasonable.

“You Are The Sweetest” Category

4. Coffee Caramel Truffles

If your mother is the sweet tooth kind, she will love theses chocolates.

Get 15% Off Select Gifts at Chocolate.com with code GIFT15

5. Flowers

I know, I know! It’s not coffee… But what can I say?

Flowers are an absolute must for you mom, even if you get her a coffee maker!

But wait! Do not show up with flowers at the door. It’s a no-no. The new trend in etiquette is to have them delivered to her 8 to 24 hours before you meet.

I always use Flowers.com for that as they are fast and reliable… and they have a wide selection on their site. However, I find that it can sometimes be cheaper to go through a local flower shop.

In any case, it’s a great last minute gift with which you can’t go wrong.

Please note that some of the links are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting us if you choose to use them. Read our Disclosure Policy for more information.

5 Mother’s Day Coffee Gifts Every Mom Will Love is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog