Forum: lifehacks.stackexchange.com
Tags: <home><temperature><drinks>
Title: 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:)

Answers:
sents: text: Cup socks
text: Now here's not the best solution in terms of heat preservation
text: but it's a hack.
text: 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.
text: 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.
text: 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)
text: Of course we can also knit them for a better fit .
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/37/Takkat
score: 9
sents: text: 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.
text: You can also use a microwave oven to heat the liquid, but make sure
text: the mug has water in it , an empty mug will not heat and potentially damage your microwave.
text: 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.
text: Also, thermo cups.
text: Kept my coffee hot for an hour easily.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/2503/s3v3ns
score: 7
sents: text: I have found the most efficient method is to use a thermos mug, which has a vacuum barrier between the liquid and the environment.
text: More expensive than regular mugs, but my drink is still warm the next day if I leave it overnight.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/4192/AV Jake
score: 6
sents: text: You can use something to cover the cup.
text: This way it will decrease losses from evaporation.
text: Technically you can do some other thing
text: but I don't know how suitable these are: wrap the cup in aluminium foil to decrease
text: infrared radiation wrap it additionally in some isolation material to reduce heat exchange
text: The most simple trick is to add some of the hot beverage after you drink some of the cup.
text: 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_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/1346/vladiz
score: 5
sents: text: You have a few options.
text: First, I would recommend getting a thermos, but if you really want to use a mug, there are a few hacks.
text: Awhile
text: ago, I read this thing about a stick that keeps coffee warm.
text: 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.
text: It can get very hot, so you can wrap something around the top of the handle like a napkin.
text: I like to wrap thick rubber bands around it.
text: You can also use a heating pad as a coaster.
text: Just heat up the pad in the microwave, then you can put the mug on it to keep it warm.
text: *
text: 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)
text: One last thing, you can put a cloth or a towel over the top of the mug when you're not drinking it.
text: Heat rises, so if you can block air from rising out of the top of the mug, then it will stay warmer.
text: *
text: This is my favorite one
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/20/michaelpri
score: 3
sents: text: Why not to use mug warmer?
text: Keeps a full mug or cup of coffee, tea, soup or any other beverage at the ideal drinking temperature (150-160°F/65-70
text: °C, however it depends on the product).
text: 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.
text: They're very cheap and convenient.
text: This solves the problem of having to take the cup back to the kitchen to reheat.
text: Few hints:
text: 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.
text: Buy one which should have an "auto-off" switch, just like most curling iron have, as a safety feature.
text: Otherwise don't forget to turn it off when you leave house so it won't catch on fire or damage your table underneath.
text: 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.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/2272/kenorb
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
There are a few ways to keep a mug warm on a desk, although the easiest solution would probably be to use a thermo cup or thermos mug. Alteranatively, you could try covering the mug so that the heat doesn't escape, placing it on a mug-warmer or using cup socks. Another interesting idea would be to pre-heat the mug by pouring boiling water into it first.
The solutions are to use cup socks, to heat the mug first with boiling water, to use a thermos mug, to place a cover over the top of the mug, to place a very hot metal object such as a spoon in the mug and to buy a mug heater.