Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama…
I recently invested a whopping $20 on a new travel coffee mug. It is made by Contigo, and when I think of the name it reminds me of that Beach Boys song.
I have a long, frustrating history with travel coffee mugs. I have a photo mug, I have a hot pink one, I have a pale pink one that has a clicky thing on top. They are all cute, they all leak, and none of them keep my coffee warm for more than an hour. I work primarily at the front desk at Quest and I need coffee to make it through the day. More recently I’ve taken to making coffee at home again to save money. The worst thing about taking the time and spending the money to make coffee at home (ultimately to save time and money that comes along with regular trip to Starbucks or even the gas station around the corner) is when your coffee goes to waste. Every day I would end up reaching for my coffee cup around 8:30 am (we open at 7 am) and taking a sip only to discover my time and effort is now room temperature. Don’t even get me started on how long it took to make the picture “collage” to put into my coffee mug.
So I did some research. I wasn’t willing to shell out $30 for a mug from Starbucks, so I opted to look on Target.com. One thing I like about purchasing things from Target is that their products tend to have customer reviews online. I can search for a product, read the reviews, and drive 5 minutes to Target and actually see it in person before committing to a purchase. When I searched Target for a travel mug the highest rated product was the Contigo West Loop Mug in blue. I read all 11 of the reviews, especially the lowest rated one. The lowest rating given was a 4 out of 5, and this was only because the customer noticed scratches on the outside of the mug after owning it for a short period of time. Kind of a ridiculous complaint, in my opinion. All of the reviewers raved about this mug. Not only is it 100% spill/leak proof, but it keeps your coffee HOT. Most reviews said it keeps hot beverages hot/warm for 4 hours and cold beverages cold for up to 12 hours. It isn’t really cute or girly, there aren’t any funky colors or anywhere for you to place pictures, and there aren’t any pretty designs on the outside. From what I saw on the website you had a choice of metallic blue, graphite or silver. However, at this point, it could have had Twilight characters on the outside of it; I needed a mug to keep my coffee warm.
When I went to Target I only found the blue and graphite colors at the store. The graphite version (Contigo AutoSeal West Loop Mug) has some red accents on the lid and so I decided on that one. The packaging boasts the 4 hours hot/12 hours cold statements I had read on the website and I actually found the graphite color to be perfectly sleek and modern. Now here is where I sound like a freaking infomercial…
This thing keeps my coffee HOT! Like hot, hot! It keeps my tea SO hot that I actually have to leave the lid off for 10-15 minutes to allow it to cool to a consumable temperature. And it does not leak. In the morning I am usually scrambling to get in my car by 6:45 am with my purse, two book bags, whatever I am going to eat for breakfast and my keys, all while trying to be quiet enough not to wake up Robby. I don’t have enough hands to keep my coffee mug upright so that it doesn’t spill. The best thing about this mug is that I can just toss it in my purse and then toss my purse into my car without worrying about it leaking, AT ALL! So yes, I give the Contigo AutoSeal West Loop Mug in graphite 6 out of 5 stars. Not only is does it look nice, but it actually delivers on its claims of maintaining beverage temperature and being leak and spill proof. I was weary at first of spending $20 on a travel mug, and many jaws dropped when I named its price, but now I think it is probably worth twice as much. Definitely recommended for anyone who doesn’t have the luxury of enjoying their coffee on the porch with the paper.
How many ounces in a cup!?
So I made coffee today. And despite working aT Starbucks for maybe a month, if I go more than two days without making coffee I forget how to do it. So I am CONSTANTLY reading the back of the can, or tub, or package. Whatever my coffee of the moment happens to come in. (Currently Café Du Monde that I picked up from Gumbo YaYa’s here in Jax) The instructions on the back of ALL of them instruct you to add ___ tablespoons of coffee for every 6 ounces of water. 6. 6. SIX!!! Why? Did someone just decide that is how much? Who? Why? It certainly can’t be out of convenience! Because a CUP of water is 8 ounces! And the little gauge on the side that shows how much water you’ve added? It’s divided up by 8 ounce cups! It’s kind of like our yard to everyone else’s meter. Like a yard is ALMOST a meter, but not quite. And it fucks all kinds of shit up in sports. Except American football cause we’re the only asshats that play that game. Anywho. I am just grateful that my coffee cups are 12 ounces, because it does make it a bit easier for me. I just get so angry whenever I read the back of the coffee and I see that.
Oh, this game is super fun. Just click your mouse and try and make the ladybugs run into each other. I posted it on twitter, but my account is private there. Not that many other people read this than that! SUPER FUN LADYBUG GAME!!!
