How do you keep your tea or coffee warm?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I will make a piping hot mug of tea, drink about half of it (sipping slowly while doing something like hanging out here) and by the time I'm halfway done it is lukewarm and then I have to go heat it up.  How do you keep it warm/hot?  

[LucyStoner]

I quite often use a thermal/travel mug in the house. Also this is helpful for people with little kids. Fewer spills, zero burns from spilled coffee mugs.

[shukriyya]

Don't you hate that? I haven't come up with a solution other than to microwave it :scared: if it's gotten too cool. This is one of the few things I use the microwave for. Sometimes though I'm so keen for that cuppa that I drink it up before it has a chance to get cool.

[zoobie]

I use a Contigo travel mug. Essential with little ones, but I'm a klutz myself so it's safer. :)

[shukriyya]

See the travel mugs just don't cut it for my tea drinking self. Must.use.fine.bone.china.for.tea :D I even pack a china cup along with my thermos when I'm going to be out and about for the day.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I use a Bubba brand thermos travel cup. The BEST travel mug I've ever had. It keeps things very hot.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Drink it faster? :)

 

What about one of those warming tray things?

[Cammie]

I have a tea mug that I inherited from my mother. It has a pottery lid on it. Sort of like this: 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ashdene-Lavender-China-infuser-11-Ounce/dp/B004NBXPP4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1388020221&sr=8-3&keywords=tea+cup+with+lid

 

Now I must have one of those!!!  One of my Christmas gifts was a brand new tea kettle that whistles!!  (Was so tired of using the microwave to heat my water!)

[FriedClams]

My DD got me something like this for Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EIK7ZW4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1388021425&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

 

We used it today and it was awesome!!!

G

For coffee - I only drink iced. If it gets too warm - more ice. ;-)

[TeachingTwins]

Another vote for a Contigo stainless steel travel thermos.  I love mine, and use it daily.

 

 

[Chris in VA]

MIne gets cold, too. I heat it up again in the mic. 

[happi duck]

This is why my mom always poured a half cup only!

 

I like to use a regular mug so I warm the mug with hot water.

[readinmom]

I have the contour brewing tumbler from Teavana.  It really works well, and I am very picky about my coffee and tea temps.  I have left it on the bedside table overnight, and it is has still been warm in the morning. 

 

 

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

I bought a coffee warmer and love it! Amazon had it for $10....

[AlmiraGulch]

I use one of these.  This brand.  Works like a charm. 

[KrissiK]

I heat mine up in the microwave. Unless my three year old gets to it first. She loves coffee.

[amyco]

I just reheat in the microwave too...sometimes twice because I'll forget it's in there and it gets cold again...

 

 

[regentrude]

Brew tea in a pot and use a teapot warmer with a tea light or a tea cozy.

Pour only half cups. Refill from hot pot.

[Peaceful Isle]

I just reheat in the microwave too...sometimes twice because I'll forget it's in there and it gets cold again...

I so do this too!

[Ripley]

In my old house I had a convection oven, so I'd pre-warm the cup in the oven.  In my new house I have a regular oven, so I pre-warm the cup with hot water. I just let it sit full for a few minutes while the tea is brewing.

 

I usually pour a full cup, but the half-cup idea makes sense!

[Lizzie in Ma]

Wish I knew, I am constantly having to reheat mine.

[Laura Corin]

You could make your tea in a pot and keep it warm with a tea cosy, then just pour out smaller cups.

 

L

[Word Nerd]

I have a couple of Bubba travel mugs that keep things hot for several hours. I use them at home too because nothing else keeps things hot as well as they do.

[Spryte]

Preheat the cup. Our coffee maker has a cup warmer on top - good for espresso. If I'm making tea or coffee, I find that the cup warmer isn't hot enough for me, and I prefer to use very hot water to preheat the cup.

[KungFuPanda]

Can you use a carafe or thermos and a smaller teacup? If you can only finish half of it before it gets cold, then your cup is too big. You'll have to make less tea or finda way to keep more tea hot while you enjoy part of it. I got a tea thermos from Teavana for christmas and it stayed hot for several hours.

[Ellie]

I will make a piping hot mug of tea, drink about half of it (sipping slowly while doing something like hanging out here) and by the time I'm halfway done it is lukewarm and then I have to go heat it up.  How do you keep it warm/hot?  

 

Are you using actual boiling water to make your tea? Or are you nuking it in the microwave? I am convinced that water heated up in the microwave doesn't get hot enough, even if it "boils," and it doesn't *stay* hot.

 

But yeah, otherwise, you need to drink it faster, lol, or just make a smaller amount to begin with. :laugh:

[Dicentra]

I make my tea either in my insulated tea pot or my thermal carafe and then pour small cups throughout the day.  ONLY tea can go in the thermal carafe, though, and DH knows this (he's the coffee drinker).  Tea made in carafes that have had coffee in them - EVEN ONCE - is just nasty. Blech. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Are you using actual boiling water to make your tea? Or are you nuking it in the microwave? I am convinced that water heated up in the microwave doesn't get hot enough, even if it "boils," and it doesn't *stay* hot.

 

But yeah, otherwise, you need to drink it faster, lol, or just make a smaller amount to begin with. :laugh:

I'm nuking it in the microwave.  I guess I'll have to drag my tea kettle out.  

[KungFuPanda]

I'm nuking it in the microwave.  I guess I'll have to drag my tea kettle out.

 

How are we to take your tea concerns seriously if the microwave is involved??? You need to get with the program! If you have tea every day, an electric kettle may be in order.

[Jean in Newcastle]

:lol:   I guess I'd better get serious about my tea (lower case)!

[KungFuPanda]

:lol:   I guess I'd better get serious about my tea (lower case)!

PLEASE do not use an electric kettle for TeA. Maybe I'm just being a prude, but I cannot imagine that ending well.

[shukriyya]

I'm nuking it in the microwave.  I guess I'll have to drag my tea kettle out.  

 

I've found that nuking anything, while it may be fast, means a fast cooling down time as well. Says Shukriyya as she places her 1/2 finished cup of coffee in the microwave... :leaving:

 

[KungFuPanda]

I've found that nuking anything, while it may be fast, means a fast cooling down time as well. Says Shukriyya as she places her 1/2 finished cup of coffee in the microwave... :leaving:

 

Someone will have to explain the science behind this theory to me. I'm not seeing it.

[shukriyya]

Someone will have to explain the science behind this theory to me. I'm not seeing it.

 

I know. It's really strange but my experience has consistently been that reheating tea or coffee in the microwave is wonderfully fast but with the result that it cools off super fast. If I reheat it by boiling it takes longer but also stays hotter longer :confused1: I got no science for you though just my experience :D

[Jean in Newcastle]

I know. It's really strange but my experience has consistently been that reheating tea or coffee in the microwave is wonderfully fast but with the result that it cools off super fast. If I reheat it by boiling it takes longer but also stays hotter longer :confused1: I got no science for you though just my experience :D

That study would be a good candidate for an IgNoble award!  

[Dicentra]

I know. It's really strange but my experience has consistently been that reheating tea or coffee in the microwave is wonderfully fast but with the result that it cools off super fast. If I reheat it by boiling it takes longer but also stays hotter longer :confused1: I got no science for you though just my experience :D

 

Some thoughts from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1834

Here's the pertinent bit:

It could be that a microwave will not heat up the liquid evenly. This is especially noticeable with some microwave ovens without a turn table. Another thing to notice is that when liquids are heated in a sauce pan and then transferred into a bowl, the outermost edge becomes the colder (probably due to convection of the container (bowl). The opposite is true of microwaved liquids which are always hotter around the edge. So while they seem to be the same temperature initially, the microwaved liquid will cool faster than the coffee pot because the centre of the microwaved liquid being colder; will help cool the edge which is what is felt. Many instructions for microwaved food and liquids will always advise for "standing time". This is to allow for equilibrium.

 

:)

[Tita Gidge]

I pre-warm my mug.

 

If the oven is already on, or was recently on, I just stick my mug in there for a few minutes.

 

Otherwise, I boil two pots of hot water. The first I pour into my mug to warm it up - sometimes I pour the extra hot water into a small bowl and indulge in a mini-facial, but other times I pour the excess hot water down the drain. It helps keep it unclogged.  Then while the mug sits with the pre-warming water in it, I boil a second pot of hot water. When it's done, I dump the pre-warming water and fill my mug with fresh, hot water. Then I add my tea. My mug stays hot enough that I can sip to the end without getting cold tea.

 

I hate cold tea, blech.

[shukriyya]

Some thoughts from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1834

Here's the pertinent bit:

It could be that a microwave will not heat up the liquid evenly. This is especially noticeable with some microwave ovens without a turn table. Another thing to notice is that when liquids are heated in a sauce pan and then transferred into a bowl, the outermost edge becomes the colder (probably due to convection of the container (bowl). The opposite is true of microwaved liquids which are always hotter around the edge. So while they seem to be the same temperature initially, the microwaved liquid will cool faster than the coffee pot because the centre of the microwaved liquid being colder; will help cool the edge which is what is felt. Many instructions for microwaved food and liquids will always advise for "standing time". This is to allow for equilibrium.

 

:)

 

Thanks, Connie. It sounds like I need to give my mug a little stir after taking it out of the microwave.

[KungFuPanda]

I know. It's really strange but my experience has consistently been that reheating tea or coffee in the microwave is wonderfully fast but with the result that it cools off super fast. If I reheat it by boiling it takes longer but also stays hotter longer :confused1: I got no science for you though just my experience :D

 

 

 

Some thoughts from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1834

Here's the pertinent bit:

It could be that a microwave will not heat up the liquid evenly. This is especially noticeable with some microwave ovens without a turn table. Another thing to notice is that when liquids are heated in a sauce pan and then transferred into a bowl, the outermost edge becomes the colder (probably due to convection of the container (bowl). The opposite is true of microwaved liquids which are always hotter around the edge. So while they seem to be the same temperature initially, the microwaved liquid will cool faster than the coffee pot because the centre of the microwaved liquid being colder; will help cool the edge which is what is felt. Many instructions for microwaved food and liquids will always advise for "standing time". This is to allow for equilibrium.

 

:)

That could make sense. If only part of the water reached boiling due to uneven heating, then it WOULD cool faster than water that boiled evenly on the stove.

[TeacherZee]

Pre-warm my mug.

 

Tea cozy for my tea pot

 

My Brugo mug

[Word Nerd]

BTW, the last of the coffee I put in my Bubba mug around 7:30 this morning is still warm.

[SKL]

I keep a cup warmer next to me if I'm going to be sitting and sipping for a while.  If I'm moving around, and it gets cold, I put it in the nuker for 30 seconds.

[Jean in Newcastle]

OK - thanks to WTM peer pressure(!) I have dug out my cobalt blue tea kettle (I love that color!) and washed off months of dust.  My kids were so startled at it's whistle since I don't think they've heard it more than twice a year when I remember I have it and bring it out.  I rinsed out my porcelain mug in boiling water and my tea is steeping.  But now it is too hot to drink!   :lol:

[KungFuPanda]

OK - thanks to WTM peer pressure(!) I have dug out my cobalt blue tea kettle (I love that color!) and washed off months of dust. My kids were so startled at it's whistle since I don't think they've heard it more than twice a year when I remember I have it and bring it out. I rinsed out my porcelain mug in boiling water and my tea is steeping. But now it is too hot to drink! :lol:

Well then, this means you can safely skip the Mug-Warming phase of the operation :-). Also, your tea might actually tasted better. Did you notice a difference?

 

When you're emotionally ready we'll discuss water boilers with preset temperatures so the water is the perfect temp for drinking and steeping different types of tea.

 

:-D

[Jean in Newcastle]

What?  That isn't it?  This tea drinking this is complicated!