A travel mug only works if you reach for it. Most of them end up in the cupboard because they are too heavy, too fiddly to clean, or they make the coffee taste of the mug. The coffee travel mug you use every day is the one that feels like a proper mug, keeps the drink warm for as long as it takes to drink it, and rinses clean in ten seconds.
Ours are double wall glass, which is why they get used. This guide covers what to look for in a travel mug, how glass compares with steel, ceramic and plastic, the difference between our two shapes, which mug suits which journey, how to keep coffee hot in it, and how to look after it.
What makes a good travel mug
Five things decide whether a travel coffee cup gets used or ignored.
Size
400ml is the size of a coffee-shop regular with room for milk, and it is the size that suits most people. Smaller and you are refilling before the end of the school run; bigger and the mug is heavy, the coffee is cold by the bottom, and it will not fit a cup holder. All of our travel mugs are 400ml.
The lid
A lid is what makes a mug a travel mug. It should go on and come off with one hand, stay put when the mug tips in a bag, and be easy to wash. Soft silicone and rubber lids do this; hard plastic lids with hinges and gaskets are the ones that end up with a smell you cannot wash out.
Insulation
A coffee travel mug needs to keep a drink warm for the length of the journey, not the length of the day. A double wall mug, glass or steel, does that: the air gap between the walls slows the heat leaving the drink, and it keeps the outside cool enough to hold without a sleeve.
How it feels
Handleless, light and the right width for your hand. A travel mug is held, not hung from a finger, so a mug that is comfortable to wrap a hand around matters more than one with a handle. Our handled vs handleless mugs post goes into why.
Cleaning
If it takes more than a rinse and a wipe, it will not get washed, and a travel mug that is not washed every day is a travel mug you stop using. Glass is the easiest material to clean because it does not hold onto coffee oils or smells.
Glass, steel, ceramic or plastic?
Stainless steel thermal mugs
Steel coffee travel mugs with vacuum insulation keep coffee hot for hours, which is what you want on a long drive or a cold morning on a touchline. The trade-offs are weight, a metallic edge to the taste that some people never get used to, and a lid you cannot see into. If you need a drink to stay hot for four hours, buy a steel flask. If you need it warm for forty minutes, you do not.
Ceramic
Ceramic travel mugs taste like a mug from home, which is the point of them, but they are heavy, they chip, and a single wall of ceramic gets too hot to hold without a sleeve.
Plastic and bamboo fibre
Light and cheap, but plastic takes on the taste and smell of whatever was in it last, and bamboo fibre cups are usually bound with a melamine resin that regulators have questioned for hot drinks.
Double wall glass
Glass does not change the taste of the coffee, does not take on smells, lets you see how much is left, and in a double wall design stays cool on the outside with the drink warm inside. It is lighter than steel and ceramic. The limit is the same as any double wall mug without a vacuum: it keeps a drink warm for the journey, not the afternoon. For the daily commute, the school run and the desk, that is the right trade.
Our double wall glass travel mugs
We make two shapes. Both are 400ml, double wall, handleless and hand wash. They differ in width and lid.
The classic travel mug
The classic is 9cm across, 13cm tall and 15cm with its rubber lid on, with a wider body that sits well on a desk and is comfortable in a bigger hand. It is microwave safe once the lid is off, so a coffee that has gone cold at the desk can be rescued. The Double Walled Glass Travel Mug – Plain/White is clear glass with a white rubber lid and the one to start with; the Plain/Black is the same mug in black. The Rippled has a subtle rippled texture in the glass, and the Multi Heart/White, Love Coffee and Love Tea are the printed versions.
For the season, the Autumn Leaves has a leaf detail, the Cosy Bloom has autumn floral artwork in warm tones with a burgundy rubber lid, and the Pumpkin Petal has a pumpkin and floral illustration. Cosy Bloom and Pumpkin Petal are £12.95 each. We wrote about the pumpkin one when it launched in The Perfect Glass Travel Mug.
The slim travel mug
The slim mug is 7cm across and 14cm tall, and at 7cm it is the one that fits a car cup holder and a coat pocket. It is hand wash only and not for the dishwasher. The Nantucket Glass Travel Mug is the blue and white one at £11.95. For winter, the two tree designs are borosilicate glass with a soft-touch silicone lid and a silicone sleeve, which gives a warm drink a bit more grip: the Pretty Trees has a delicate tree design in soft, muted tones, and the Xmas Trees has soft Christmas trees on clear glass. £10.95 each, or both together in the Xmas Duo bundle for £18.95.
Classic or slim?
Slim for the car and the pocket. Classic for the desk, the kitchen and anyone who wants to microwave it. If you are buying one for someone else and do not know, the classic in plain white is the safe choice.
Which travel mug for which journey
The commute
A train or bus commute is thirty to sixty minutes with the mug in a hand or a bag, which is exactly what a double wall glass mug is built for. Lid on, drink it on the way, rinse it at work. The classic suits a bag with a bottle pocket; the slim suits a coat pocket.
The school run and the dog walk
A mug that is held the whole time, often with one hand, in the cold. The slim tree mugs with their silicone sleeves are the ones here, and the printed designs make it easy to tell whose is whose at the gate.
The desk
A travel mug at a desk is really a lidded mug that stops a spill on the keyboard. The classic is the right one: it is wide and stable, it microwaves once the lid is off, and a seasonal design on the desk does the job a candle does at home. Cute travel coffee cups are allowed at work.
The car
Only the 7cm slim mug fits a standard cup holder. Our lids are soft silicone and rubber rather than screw-tops, so treat them as splash-proof rather than sealed: fine in a cup holder or a hand, upright in a bag, not upside down in a rucksack.
How to keep coffee hot in a travel mug
Double wall glass keeps a drink warm for the journey if you give it a fair start:
- Warm the mug first. Fill it with hot water from the kettle while the coffee brews, tip it out, then pour. A cold mug takes the first few degrees out of the drink before you have left the house.
- Fill it. A full mug holds heat longer than a half-full one, because there is more drink and less air.
- Lid on straight away. Most of the heat leaves through the top.
- Drink it within the hour. A double wall mug slows cooling; it does not stop it. For a drink that needs to be hot at lunchtime, use a vacuum flask and pour it into the glass mug when you get there.
- Do not microwave it with the lid on. The classic mug is fine in the microwave with the lid removed; the slim mug is hand wash only and best kept out of the microwave.
The same double wall works the other way in summer: an iced coffee stays cold and the outside of the mug does not sweat onto the desk.
Looking after a glass mug on the move
- Hand wash. All of our travel mugs are hand wash: warm water, washing-up liquid, a soft brush for the lid. The slim mugs are not dishwasher safe; for the classic, hand washing is recommended.
- Wash the lid separately. Take the lid off and wash it on its own so coffee does not sit in the rim.
- Rinse before refilling. A ten-second rinse between drinks is all glass needs, and it is why a glass mug never smells of yesterday’s coffee.
- Warm it gently. Do not pour boiling water into a mug that has just come out of a cold car. Warm it with hot tap water first.
- Store it with the lid off. The lid dries fully and does not take on a smell.
Travel mugs as gifts
A travel mug is a gift that gets used every morning, which is more than most gifts can say. The Xmas Duo bundle is the ready-made travel mug gift set: two slim mugs, Xmas Trees and Pretty Trees, for £18.95, to give as a pair or split between two people. For one person, the Cosy Bloom or Pumpkin Petal with a bag of good coffee tucked inside the mug needs no further wrapping. Our teacher gift ideas post has the travel mug in its under-£10 and under-£20 lists, and the Christmas mugs round-up covers the mugs that stay at home.
Final thoughts
Buy a 400ml double wall glass mug with a lid, the slim one if it is going in the car and the classic if it is going to a desk, warm it before you pour, put the lid on, and drink the coffee within the hour. Rinse it when you are done. That is a travel coffee cup you will still be using next year, which is the only test that matters. For the mugs that stay at home, our how to choose the right mug guide covers sizes and types.
Show us your morning mug on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or TikTok. We share our favourites.
FAQs
What is the best coffee travel mug?
For a commute, a school run or a desk, a 400ml double wall glass travel mug: it does not change the taste, stays cool on the outside, shows how much is left and rinses clean. For keeping coffee hot for several hours, a vacuum-insulated steel flask does a different job.
Are glass travel mugs any good?
Yes, for journeys up to about an hour. Double wall glass keeps a drink warm for the trip and the outside comfortable to hold, and glass never takes on the taste or smell of old coffee. They are lighter than steel or ceramic.
How long does a travel mug keep coffee hot?
A double wall glass mug keeps coffee warm for the length of a journey, around an hour, if the mug is warmed first and the lid goes on straight away. A vacuum steel flask keeps it hot for several hours. Neither keeps a half-full mug warm for long.
What size travel mug should I buy?
400ml. It is the size of a coffee-shop regular with room for milk, light enough to carry and small enough to fit a bag pocket. All of our travel mugs are 400ml.
Do travel mugs fit car cup holders?
Our slim travel mug, at 7cm across, fits a standard car cup holder. The classic mug is 9cm across and suits a desk or a bag rather than the car.
Can you put a travel mug in the dishwasher?
Hand wash ours. The slim mugs are not dishwasher safe, and hand washing is recommended for the classic. Glass rinses clean in seconds, so it is no hardship.
Can you microwave a travel mug?
The classic 9cm travel mug is microwave safe with the lid removed. Never microwave any travel mug with the lid on, and keep the slim silicone-sleeved mug out of the microwave.
Is a double wall glass mug a thermal mug?
It is insulated, but not vacuum-insulated. A double wall glass mug keeps a drink warm for a journey; a steel thermal mug keeps it hot for hours. Choose by how long the coffee needs to last.
Do travel mugs make good gifts?
Yes. A travel mug is used every morning, so it is remembered. The Xmas Duo bundle gives two slim mugs for £18.95, and a single seasonal mug with a bag of coffee inside is a gift for around £15.
