I'm not one for spending hours in the kitchen, so with the possible exception of the kettle there isn't really much in there I could write a review about. I love to drink coffee and tea though and when I'm home alone and fancy a change from the instant coffee I find this item is particularly ... Read review
Advantages: Keeps your coffee warm, easy to clean. Disadvantages: Girlfriend borrows it :-)
...sale I came across the SmartCafe Hot Mug. I think it cost me about £1.99 at the time and it has proved to be a most valuable purchase. So valuable that I often cannot find it as my girlfriend has taken to using it whenever it is available.
== Features ==
Well, it's a mug. But wait! This is not an ordinary mug. It has one of those plunger things that you find in your everyday cafetiere. So to use, simply put your coffee grounds ... ...before pushing the plunger, brilliant!
The excitement doesn't stop there however, the mug is double walled, so if you like to take your time drinking your coffee then it's not going to get cold quite as fast.
== Does it work? ==
Yes, it does. The plunger has a rubber edge to allow it to glide along the inside wall of the mug whilst maintaining a good seal. The handle part slides into the wall of the mug by the ... more
I'm not one for spending hours in the kitchen, so with the possible exception of the kettle there isn't really much in there I could write a review about. I love to drink coffee and tea though and when I'm home alone and fancy a change from the instant coffee I find this item is particularly handy.
I'm no coffee snob, as I say I can drink the instant too, but I do enjoy a good coffee and I like to buy beans and grind them at home (coffee grinder, I do use more things in the kitchen!) There's enough washing up to do every day without buying some complicated machinery to make coffee with, so I stick with a cafetiere, but that's a bit much when it's just me around.
Quite by chance I wandered into a Whittard's some years ago and browsing the sale I came across the SmartCafe Hot Mug. I think it cost me about £1.99 at the time and it has proved to be a most valuable purchase. So valuable that I often cannot find it as my girlfriend has taken to using it whenever it is available.
Features
Well, it's a mug. But wait! This is not an ordinary mug. It has one of those plunger things that you find in your everyday cafetiere. So to use, simply put your coffee grounds in the bottom, add hot water and allow to brew before pushing the plunger, brilliant!
The excitement doesn't stop there however, the mug is double walled, so if you like to take your time drinking your coffee then it's not going to get cold quite as fast.
Does it work?
Yes, it does. The plunger has a rubber edge to allow it to glide along the inside wall of the mug whilst maintaining a good seal. The handle part slides into the wall of the mug by the handle. The mesh in the plunger is fine enough to keep the coffee grounds in their rightful place. Sometimes I do get some in my drink, but this is often after I've just rinsed it instead of washing it properly and some grounds have found their way to the top edge of the mug.
As far as keeping your drink warm, well it does work well. I do sometimes leave a drink sitting around and wander off somewhere, only to find it 20 minutes later. It's definitely still a drinkable temperature.
Cleaning is simple as it only has two parts, the mug and the plunger. I think it would survive a dishwasher but as I am the dishwasher in our place I take care with everything anyway.
Be careful not to overfill it though. There is an indent in the top of the mug by the handle where the plunger handle goes. If you overfill it then coffee will run down from here. It's not a bad design feature, just something you may not think of the first time you use it.
I must have had mine for 4 years, maybe more. It's built of tough plastic and isn't showing signs of wearing out yet. Definitely a value for money purchase in my opinion.
Where can you get one?
I was forever checking back at Whittard's looking for another one of these and I began to despair that I would never be able to buy another as they never stocked them again. Good news is that they are online if you look hard enough.
Right now Amazon are selling red or platinum coloured ones for £4.86 and £6.50 respectively. I recently bought the red one (cheapest!) for my girlfriend so there is now a chance that mine isn't in use when I want it. I really wanted to get the pink or light blue for her, but couldn't find them. I'll still be keeping an eye open though.
Summary
In conclusion I'd say this was an ideal purchase for a coffee drinker, especially if they are a lone coffee drinker in a house of tea drinkers or even if they just want to reduce the washing up. It's been a great purchase for me and now my girlfriend is enjoying her own too.
(also posted on dooyoo)
Apologies for the poor photo, that's my well used mug still going strong :-)
Advantages: Less washing up, keeps coffee warm Disadvantages: apparently not dishwasher safe
...only by its usefulness. The Smartcafe cafetiere mug pushed all my buttons and has been in constant use since I found it last weekend.
Background
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I drink coffee, my husband drinks tea. It's our only really significant incompatibility. At home, I pretty much only drink cafetiere coffee. Lest you think that's extravagant, I should say I buy cheap ground coffee in Aldi. I have a variety of small cafetieres but I'm always a bit annoyed ... ...and I hate waste. As I make a cup every few hours, I seem to spend my life washing my cafetiere. My other problem is that I get distracted really easily and my coffee often gets cold before I get round to drinking.
so.......................(drum roll)...............this new mug solves all my problems in one go.
What is it?
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It's a thermal cafetiere mug! You make the coffee in the mug - so no dirty cafetiere - and the dual wall construction ...
koshkha 21.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
Advantages: An excellent value for money Disadvantages: Cleaning is a hassle
I bought a Smartcafe hot cafetiere mug a couple years ago at a Waitrose Food & Home store for just under £5, and it is one of of the best things I have ever bought in my life. I have one at home and another at work now. I absolutely love coffee, but I just can't afford to buy coffee from places like Starbucks every day of the week at the moment. That said, I think work coffee machines are never that great. Using this cafetere mug enables me to have ... ...at the same time. Unlike a normal cafetiere, you can also make just the right amount of coffee for yourself. The other good thing about this mug is that as it is insulated, it keeps coffee warm for longer than ordinary mugs/cafetieres.
I once heard that you should use water about one minute after boiling when making filtered coffee, so I do the same when making coffee using this mug. (Be careful not to overfill the mug with hot water and don't push ...
Tamarushka 12.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
Performance
Ease of use
Cleaning & Maintenance
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Value for money
Quick review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
A nice idea, but a flawed implementation - the rubber gasket has a break in it where the plunger fits into the guide rails, and this doesn't seal very well. Unless your coffee is ground ridiculously coarsely, the pressure that builds up under the mesh as the plunger moves down is enough to force grounds and coffee back up through this gap, giving you a mouthful of grit. That said, if you don't mind weak coffee from coarse grounds, it does work tolerably well and the thermal insulation is quite good. ...
tnm24 14.03.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
Quick review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
I often go camping in woods and forests for weeks and months at a time and the Smart Cafe is my perfect and usually only companion. It makes wonderful coffee and is the first thing I pack every time. Sometimes I get so relaxed just sitting in my tent that I could just lie there for the rest of my life.....just not long enough that I get skeletonised though :-)
To summarise, fantastic mug, great coffee, buy one now!
Regards,
Kevin T ...
JuanKerr 26.03.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
Quick review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
I drink a lot of coffee - I mean A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy moly do I ever drink a lot of coffee!!!!!!! This mug is BRILLIANT and has a superb hard outer casing. The designer, Sebastian Conran, is an absolute genius and I have a lot of respect for him (in fact, I'd almost create a mini-shrine to him at my work desk!!!!!!). Whether you're a hard man or a soft man, or a woman, or a child who's old enough to drink filter coffee; this cup is for you!!!!!! Highly recommended. ...
s1212k1212 26.03.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of smartcafe hot cafetiere mug
