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8 Best Ceramic Lined Travel Mugs: No Metallic Taste

• November 2, 2022
• Best Travel Mugs , Coffee , Travel Mugs

Travel mugs are great for taking tea or coffee with you on the go but no one wants to taste metal in their coffee from stainless steel and plastic and heat are big no-nos health wise.

Ceramic is great as it doesn't transfer any flavor and it's a pleasure to drink from but purely ceramic mugs are fragile, break easily and don't keep your drink warm for very long.

Ceramic lined travel mugs combine the best of an insulating stainless steel mug that can keep drinks hot for hours with the best taste of a ceramic mug. But what are the best ceramic lined travel mugs?

Well there are a few good options out there and the good news is they aren't too expensive either.

The best ceramic lined travel mug is the Contigo Twistseal Glaze . It's leak proof, dishwasher safe and vacuum insulated keeping drinks hot for up to 7 hours. For a premium option the Ember Travel Mug uses battery power to keep drinks at the perfect drinking temperature.

Ember Battery Heated Travel Mug

Price: See at Amazon

Contigo Glaze Twistseal

1. Contigo TWISTSEAL Glaze

While a lot of the vacuum insulated tumblers with ceramic liners on this list are pretty similar with a pretty similar price range I had to rank Contigo as #1 because they are a well known brand and they make a great product for an affordable price.

The Twistseal lid is leakproof which is super convenient so you can throw it in your bag and not have to worry about it spilling.

It's also a pleasant drinking experience as the lid allows your drink to pool as you drink it giving you more of the aromas than other mugs on this list.

Internally it's got a layer of traditional ceramic material to protect your flavor and one amazing thing about this mug is that it's dishwasher safe so you don't have to handwash it if you don't want to.

It's vacuum insulated and can keep drinks hot for 7+ hours or cold for 18+ hours, more than long enough to finish your cup of joe. It's well priced and a great option for your coffee, tea or water.

See the latest price of Contigo Twistseal Glaze Travel Mug at Amazon

• Well known brand
• Ceramic lined
• Dishwasher safe
• Leak proof lid
• Only one size available

2. Bubba HERO Elite Vacuum-Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Mug with TasteGuard

The Bubba Hero has a thin easy grip design that looks great, is easy to hold and thin enough to fit in a cup holder.

It's vacuum insulated to keep drinks hot for up to 6 hours and the lid is leak proof and simple to use.

It's got a non-slid gripping base that prevents sliding around and prevents it knocking over.

The ceramic lining known as “TasteGuard” doesn't impart any flavors into your drinks.

See the latest price of the Bubba HERO Travel Mug at Amazon

• Thick ceramic interior
• Non-slip base
• Only one color option

3. Ember Travel Mug: Battery Powered Heated Mug

If you're looking for the absolute best ceramic lined travel mug that money can buy then look no further than the Ember Mug.

This is SUPER different to other mugs on this list because it's batter powered and has a heating element that allows you to keep your coffee, tea or other drink at the EXACT temperature you want. It's one of the best batter powered heated travel mugs on the market.

It'll keep drinks hot anywhere from 120-145ºF (49-62.5ºC) and it has a built in battery pack that lasts 3 hours on the go or all day when placed on it's easy charging coaster.

It's ceramic coasted stainless steel. It isn't vacuum insulated but the heating element makes up for that.

It's got a beautiful design and a premium build quality. Great for gifts of great for that lover of coffee or tea who wants to drink it at the perfect temperature all day long.

See the latest price of the Ember Travel Mug at Amazon

• Battery powered heated travel mug
• Battery life lasts up to 3 hours or all day on charging coaster
• Ceramic plated so you don't taste the stainless steel
• Keep your drink at the perfect temperature
• Not dishwasher proof

4. Asobu Stainless Steel Ceramic Coating Insulated Mug

The Asobu is the closest thing to a traditional ceramic mug you'll find in this list. It looks just like a regular tea cup or coffee mug except for the fact that the exterior is stainless steel.

It's vacuum insulated so it'll keep your drinks warm much longer than a regular ceramic mug but it's got a good ceramic lining so it won't impart flavors into your drinks.

It's not perfect – the lid is pretty cheap quality and the handle isn't the most comfortable but it insulates well and if you're looking for a ceramic lined insulated mug with a handle then this is your go to.

See the latest price of the Asobu Insulated Mug at Amazon

• Looks like a regular ceramic mug
• Great heat retention
• Ceramic interior works well
• Handle isn't the most comfortable
• Lid is poor quality

5. Ceramivac by Stanley

The Stanley Ceramivac comes in both a tumbler and a bottle design with the bottle being completely leak proof but the tumbler isn't.

While I like the design of this and that the ceramic protrudes above the metal so you aren't putting your lips on the metal this cup does have some problems with it.

It isn't as insulating as some of the other cups in this list and weird things like the lid of the bottle actually has metal on the inside. So your drinks will still be touching metal which seems to defeat the purpose.

I like Stanley as a brand and these are backed by a lifetime warranty but their problems means I couldn't rank them higher.

See the latest price of Stanley Ceramivac at Amazon

• Lifetime warranty
• Ceramic where you put your lips
• Tumbler lid not leak proof
• Bottle lid has metal inside
• Doesn't insulate as well as other brands

6. CeramiSteel Ultimate Insulated Travel Mug

Unfortunately the quality seems to take a bit of a fall from here on out with the CeramiSteel and other ceramic lined cups below receiving more negative reviews related to quality than the mugs above.

I like that this mug has the ceramic layer right up to the top so your lips don't have to touch the metal.

There are a bunch of great reviews but also some poor reviews saying the exterior paint chips easily, the lid isn't the best quality and even the interior ceramic can chip after a few months of use.

It comes in a variety of sizes from the small 9 oz wine tumbler up to the 32 oz large tumbler.

See the latest price of the CeramiSteel Travel Mug at Amazon

• Ceramic all the way up to the top
• Comes in lots of sizes
• Exterior paint chips
• Lid isn't the best quality

7. Kyocera Ceramic Coated Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug

The Kyocera is a thin compact vacuum insulated mug that keeps drink hot for hours and fits easily into the cup holders of your car.

It's got a good ceramic interior that won't impart flavors into your drink.

This bottle works great the only major flaw is the lid design. It's a bizarre design and means your chin hits the closing mechanism whenever you drink.

You're almost better using it without the lid, but obviously then it doesn't insulate as well and isn't leak proof.

See the latest price of the Kyocera Travel Mug at Amazon

• Slimlined design great for fitting into cup holders
• Great at heat retention
• The lid sucks

8. Taste The Earth Ceramic Coated Tumbler

The Taste The Earth ceramic coated looks and feels like a Yeti tumbler.

The ceramic liner is thin and looks more like it's painted in vs something like the Bubba which has a thicker ceramic liner. The lid also isn't the best quality but they did improve it in 2020 so maybe it's gotten better.

It claims to be 100% dishwasher safe but a few people have said it's gotten damaged from the dishwasher. I personally would hand wash it.

But other than those few issues it seems to be really well loved by a lot of people. It keeps drinks hot or cold for hours and is thin enough to fit into most cup holders.

There's a cute little 10 oz size which would be perfect for coffee or you can get the larger 30 oz size for larger coffee/tea drinkers or for drinking water from.

See the price of the Taste The Earth Tumbler at Amazon

BONUS: EWater Glass Liner Vacuum Flask

If ceramic isn't your thing or you're not convinced with any of the options in this list then maybe stainless steel mug with a glass coated interior will suit you.

It's got a high boron glass liner so you don't have to worry about plastics or metal leeching into your drinks. You can also see my list of the best glass lined insulated thermoses .

The glass is still prone to breaking if you drop the bottle so it's not exactly the most robust design but it's an innovative and interesting product.

It's insulated and will keep your drink warm or cold all day which a glass bottle simply won't do.

See the latest price of EWater Glass Liner Mug at Amazon

• Only vacuum insulated bottle with a glass liner
• No metalic taste
• Still fragile and glass can break easily
• Only comes in small sizes

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The 5 Best Ceramic Travel Mugs For All Your Hot Drinks

We only recommend products we love and that we think you will, too. We may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was written by our Commerce team.

Travel mugs make it easy to consume your favorite beverages while on the go, and the best ceramic travel mugs are designed with convenience and functionality in mind. Namely, they all feature secure lids. They range in capacity from 12 to 18 ounces. Some travel mugs are microwavable , just in case you need to reheat your cup of coffee or tea, and some have double-wall designs for extra insulation. Whether you prefer a tumbler-style design or one that looks more like a traditional coffee mug with an easy-to-grip handle, you’ll find a great option below.

If you tend to be particular about the temperature of your beverages and like your drinks to stay hot , consider a travel mug with double-wall construction . As the name suggests, these mugs have two walls, creating an extra buffer to help slow the transfer of heat, keeping your drink hot but the outside of the mug cool. (Just don’t be alarmed if you find a hole in your double-walled mug: Most are equipped with a small drainage hole to allow hot air to escape in the manufacturing process.)

If hours of warmth aren’t as important to you, a single-walled ceramic mug might be a better fit. Single-wall designs tend to be lighter for their size, simply because they incorporate less material. The single-wall mugs below also feature helpful designs such as handles, built-in coasters, and silicone sleeves.

If you plan to use your mug in the car, make sure to opt for one that’s compact enough to fit in a standard cup holder. And if you hate hand-washing, be sure to choose a mug you can clean in the dishwasher.

From an extra-large pick with a sturdy handle to a reusable coffee cup that resembles a disposable paper one, these are some of the best travel mugs made of ceramic. (Plus, I’ve included a ceramic-coated stainless steel option in case you’re in the market for a light cup.)

1. The Fan-Favorite Ceramic Travel Mug With A Handle

Boasting more than 2,300 five-star ratings on Amazon, this large 18-ounce ceramic travel mug from Ello looks and feels like a traditional mug with a handle — with the addition of a built-in silicone coaster and a splash-resistant lid. The entire mug (including the lid) is both dishwasher- and microwave-safe. Its single-wall construction clocks in at 1.1 pounds and keeps coffee “at a great temperature for about maybe 30 minutes,” wrote one reviewer. Some users have also reported that it doesn't fit in their car cup holders, so this one’s probably best left at home or the office. It’s available in four colors.

Promising Amazon review: “Love the ceramic travel mug [...] I did not like drinking my tea from a steel mug. This has the benefits of a ceramic mug for taste and feel with the travel ability of a lidded travel mug. Feels great too.”

2. This Ceramic Travel Mug With A Full Silicone Sleeve

Not only is this W&P Porter ceramic mug entirely dishwasher- and microwave-safe, but it’s also designed to fit in most car cup holders and is available in two sizes: 16 ounces (pictured above) and 12 ounces. While it doesn’t have a handle, the exterior of the tumbler features a full silicone sleeve to help you keep your grip, and the plastic lid seals securely to prevent splashes. It has a single-wall construction, weighs 1 pound, and comes in eight colors and patterns.

The manufacturer notes that the mug is not designed with insulation in mind and that “drinks will cool at a regular pace.” One reviewer described: “I personally don't like when metal mugs keep your coffee burning hot for a super long time. I feel like I have to wait and wait to drink it. This ceramic mug is like the goldielocks mug for me, nothing stays too hot or too cold. It's perfect!”

Promising Amazon review: “Best coffee mug ever! I love how soft to the touch the outer layer is and how substantial the ceramic mug feels. Great purchase! I now have 2 of them! Love!”

3. This Double-Wall Insulated Mug

Mora Ceramics’s ceramic travel mug is designed with double-walled insulation to keep your drink hot but your fingers comfortably cool. One reviewer wrote, “The beverage stays hot longer than a normal cup, and if you close the lid after taking a sip even longer.” The manufacturer specifies that it can keep drinks hot (or cold) for up to two hours. The 14-ounce mug is safe to clean in the dishwasher and heat in the microwave. The splash-resistant plastic lid is dishwasher-safe, too, and equipped with a removable silicone ring that firmly grips the inside of the cup to stay put — just make sure you don’t microwave the lid.

At roughly 1.2 pounds, this ceramic travel tumbler is one of the heavier options on this list by a little. It doesn’t feature a sleeve, but it does fit in most car cup holders. Plus, you can snag it in one of six colors.

Promising Amazon review: “ I like to take my tea with me to work in the morning but I just don’t like the taste of anything out of a metal or plastic travel mug. This one is perfect! Keeps my tea warm for quite some time, it’s easy to clean & is the perfect size too. I’m very happy with this purchase.”

4. A Stylish Travel Mug With A Wooden Handle

The Ello Fulton mug features a sleek handle that’s made from real wood. The plastic friction-fit lid provides a tight seal to prevent splashing. It weighs 1 pound and holds 16 ounces. While it ultimately depends on the size of your car’s cup holders, many reviewers have attested that this mug fits in theirs, with one user writing, “I like this mug because it fits in my car cup holder and the handle hangs over the side.” Since this mug is single-walled, it may not keep your coffee piping hot for a long time — one reviewer confirmed: “They do not keep your coffee hot. They are essentially like a mug that you can take with you.”

While all parts of this mug are safe to run in the dishwasher on the top rack, the manufacturer recommends hand-washing the mug if possible. Unfortunately, the mug is not microwavable. Don’t like this white hue? The mug is also available in gray.

Promising Amazon review: “Great product! Elegant look and sturdy handle. Definitely one of the best traveling ceramic mugs I’ve ever purchased.”

5. A Double-Wall Tumbler That Resembles A Paper Cup

Looking for something with a basic look? This 12-ounce ceramic travel mug resembles a traditional paper coffee cup, and it’s available in white or black. According to one reviewer, the double-wall mug “keeps the liquid super hot for at least 20 minutes and very warm for at least 1 hour.” The silicone lid seals tightly to keep spills at bag, and the optional sleeve can offer more traction and protection for your hand. Reviewers have reported that it’s great to take with you in the car. While this mug has the smallest capacity of the options on the list, it weighs a heavy 1.2 pounds. However, it’s completely dishwasher- and microwave-safe.

Promising Amazon review: “I've been looking for a good, insulated cup that was ceramic only [...] These hold heat very well. I love the design play on a paper cup and I love the fact that these can be microwaved (helps to warm them once we come in from below-freezing weather!). Definitely worth the price.”

Also Great: This Lightweight Ceramic-Coated Stainless Steel Travel Mug

If you’re looking for a lightweight option that’ll keep your drink warm or cold for longer, this ceramic-coated stainless steel tumbler holds 16 ounces of liquid and weighs just half a pound. It also maintains the temperature of your beverage for a long time: According to the manufacturer, the Thermalock double-wall technology helps keep drinks hot or cold for up to seven and 18 hours, respectively. Since it’s so well insulated, you likely won’t need to pop it in the microwave — which is a good thing because it’s not microwave-safe. It fits in most car cup holders and has a soft-grip sleeve.

The dishwasher-safe plastic lid is leak-proof for on-the-go convenience. The mug itself must be hand-washed, and it comes in both silver and black.

Promising Amazon review: “I wanted a travel mug that did not leak, no matter the orientation. I wanted a travel mug that actually keeps the contents warm for a long time. I wanted a travel mug that was easy to keep clean and won't take on the taste of its contents or develop its own taste. Checks all the boxes, especially the ceramic coating inside! The only piece that is a little difficult to clean is the cover. But soaking it once a week does the job.”

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The Best Travel Coffee Mugs, Whether You Walk, Ride, or Drive

By Wilder Davies and Emily Farris

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

We take our recommendation for the best travel coffee mugs very seriously. The working world (ours anyway) runs on caffeine, and for many coffee drinkers, that need has to be satisfied on the go. So a good travel coffee mug—one that’s easy to hold, doesn't leak, and keeps hot coffee hot and iced coffee cold—is a must.

Zojirushi Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Mug

Brumate Nav

Yeti Rambler 10-Ounce Tumbler with Magslide Lid

To find the best travel mugs available right now, we tested more than 20 popular and top-rated options in a variety of shapes and sizes. Below, you’ll find our top picks for commuters of all kinds, followed by the details of how we tested and what we looked for. To learn the pros and cons of all the other mugs we tested, keep reading.

The best travel coffee mug to toss in your bag: Zojirushi

Of all the travel mugs we tested, there are only a few we’d feel comfortable tossing into a bag with our laptop or favorite book, and of them all, this one was the absolute best at keeping our coffee hot. After five hours the hot coffee we poured in was almost too hot to drink.

That excellent heat retention is due to the Zojirushi’s vacuum-insulated, double-walled stainless steel. Though it sounds like a beast, this travel mug is actually relatively lightweight and has a super-slim design that fits perfectly in your hand or bag. It also looks really nice, which is a definite plus for a mug you'll be carting around everywhere.

And you never have to worry about coffee spilling inside your bag or briefcase because the spout cap has a pretty serious sliding lock on the top that, when engaged, makes it impossible to open or spill. Shake, rattle, roll this thing—it's not going to leak any hot drinks on you or whatever else you’re carrying. The lid also comes apart for easy hand washing.

The Zojirushi travel tumbler isn’t dishwasher-safe, which is true of many vacuum-insulated vessels. This was the slimmest travel mug we tested (the opening of all three sizes is just 1⅝ inch) so if you want to clean it with friction, you’ll need a soft bottle bottle brush . That kind of cleaning shouldn’t be necessary often since the inside has a non-stick coating. We weren’t able to find any kind of documentation on what that coating actually is but it probably is nothing to worry about as the issues with nonstick cookware are around exposing it to direct, high heat or scratching it with metal utensils, neither of which are likely in a coffee cup. The super-slim design also means this mug may rattle around in a car cup holder, and the 20-ounce size is too tall to fit under our Nespresso VertuoPlus spout (you’d likely run into the same issue with other single-serve coffee makers ). Finally, sipping from the Zojirushi is slightly more awkward to drink from than many of the other mugs we tried, but it’s a small price to pay for such incredible heat retention and the peace of mind that comes with having a truly leak-free travel mug to use for hot drinks on the go.

Dishwasher safe: No Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes, very Sizes available: 12 ounces , 16 ounces , 20 ounces Warranty: 5 years

This price represents the 12-ounce size. Click through for more options.

The best dishwasher safe travel coffee mug to toss in your bag: Brumate

If you want a spill-proof, leak-proof travel mug that you can also stick in the dishwasher at the end of the day, we recommend the Brumate Nav. This tapered, tumbler-style mug is just as secure as the Zojirushi, though the “BevLock” lid uses a slider to lock a flip-top spout cover into place. And even when it’s not locked, this mug won’t leak; the lock just provides an extra layer of security in case the flip-top were to catch on something strong.

We accidentally turned our testing up to eleven one morning when we dropped this mug—full of piping hot coffee—while trying to shuffle small kids out the door. The lid was closed, but not locked, and we didn’t lose a single drop or burn any toddlers.

The insulated stainless steel body retains heat well (though not as well as the Zojirushi) and we appreciate that the BPA-free clear plastic lid allows us to look inside the cup.

The Brumate doesn’t retain heat nearly as well as the Zojirushi, but if you consume your coffee within an hour or two, it’s more than sufficient. The product description says it will keep hot drinks hot for three hours, but we only experience that kind of heat retention if the mug is full, and stays that way, for the entire three hours. We’d also love to see this mug in a 16-ounce size.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 12 ounces , 22 ounces , and 32 ounces   Warranty: Limited lifetime

This price represents the 22-ounce size. Click through for more options.

The best travel coffee mug for the car: Yeti Rambler with Magslide Lid

If you like to take your coffee in the car, you might not need a truly leak-proof mug. But you still need something to prevent sloshing and splashing when you inevitably encounter a pothole or other rough road. And, of course, a travel mug for the car must be able to keep your coffee hot even on brutally-cold mornings.

Yeti’s tumbler-style Rambler mug meets all of our requirements for a car-friendly coffee mug, and then some. The double-wall vacuum insulation keeps your drink hot for hours, the slim base fits comfortably in a car cup holder, and the Magslide spout cover is really easy to open with one hand while driving (it’s easiest if you slide it open while it’s still in the cup holder).

This mug is also incredibly easy to clean as all three parts are dishwasher safe. The little magnetic slider stays securely put until you pop it off from the underside of the lid.

Aside from the fact that it’s not leak-proof, there’s not much we don’t love about this mug. But some coffee drinkers may find the size options limiting. The 10-ounce is perfect for an 8-ounce pour-over, a small latte, or a couple shots of espresso, but the next size up is 20-ounces and that may feel too big if you just want to commute with a cup of coffee. We’d love to see this mug offered in a 14-ounce or 16-ounce size, too.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: No Sizes available: 10 ounces , 20 ounces , 30 ounces Warranty: 5 years

This price represents the 10-ounce size. Click through for more options.

How we tested travel coffee mugs

For weeks we conducted unofficial testing, adding these mugs to our regular coffee-vessel rotation. When it came time for the official testing, we filled all of the mugs with piping hot water and let them sit on our desks for five hours. We then sipped from each to determine if they had retained heat. Next, we put the containers through a stress test, shaking them and tipping them up and down to see if anything leaked. Finally, we took some brisk walks to mimic the frantic conditions of a morning commute, coffee mug in hand. We did not preheat the mugs by filling them with hot water first—we figured the typical user would not do this and we wanted to see how well each mug retained heat without this step.

The Zojirushi is the only insulated vessel we’ve tested that (just barely) fits into the ridiculously slim side pocket of a standard Fjallraven Kanken backpack.

What we looked for

Obviously, a travel mug needs to be spill-proof, but mugs that will travel in a bag also need to be completely leak proof. To test the seal on each mug, we filled them with hot coffee, closed the lids according to the manufacturer’s directions, and shook them vigorously while turned upside down.

One of the most important considerations was temperature retention, so we looked at how well the mug kept coffee hot over the course of a few hours. We lined up the mugs and tasted them side by side after five hours to see which one was the hottest.

If a mug was marketed as leak-proof, we looked at how hard or easy it was to engage its leak-free function. Mugs that are too hard to seal are more likely to malfunction when you’re running out the door in a hurry.

We didn't want a travel coffee mug that was too heavy or unwieldy, as this would make it more difficult to carry around while commuting. We also considered how much you had to maneuver your mouth while drinking.

If a mug wasn’t listed as dishwasher safe, we looked at how easy it was to get all parts—including the nooks and crannies of the lid—thoroughly clean with hand washing .

Yes, these mugs are utilitarian vessels meant for keeping hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold, but let’s not pretend looks don’t matter. These are accessories as much as they are tools.

Personal preference dictates what size coffee cup you’ll need, and if you make yourself an 8-ounce latte every morning, a 20-ounce travel mug is going to be too big. So we looked for mugs that offered a range of sizes—including mugs big enough for those who do like to chug 24 ounces of coffee on the way to work.

For car commuters, a base that’s too wide is a deal breaker. So we looked at whether or not these mugs were slim enough to fit into standard car cup holders.

Other travel coffee mugs we tested

We love this bigger Yeti Rambler mug for most of the reasons we loved our top pick for the car, and it even has a handle and a more leak-resistant (though not leak-proof) lid. But the smallest size is 20-ounces and it’s just big enough that it’s not guaranteed to fit in every car cup holder. Plus, unless you’re planning to hit the road with an entire French press-worth of coffee, a 20- or 30-ounce capacity is overkill for your morning commute.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Some Leakproof: No Sizes available: 20 ounces , 30 ounces

Yeti Rambler Travel Mug with Stronghold Lid

Yeti's most mug-shaped Rambler mug has the best size selection of all of the Rambler mugs and the two smaller sizes (10 ounces and 14 ounces) are stackable. But because it's mug-shaped, it won't fit in a car cup holder. And because it has the Magslider lid, it's not leak proof, either. While this one is generally good for camping, the handle is pretty basic and not very comfortable to hold—especially if the 24-ounce size is full of hot coffee.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: No Leakproof: No Sizes available: 10 ounces, 14 ounces, 24 ounces

Yeti Rambler 24-Ounce Mug

With the addition of the Hotshot lid, Yeti’s versatile, durable insulated Rambler water bottle becomes a (mostly) leak-proof travel mug for coffee, tea, and other hot or cold drinks. The Hotshot lid, when twisted to the open position, allows you to drink from any spot along the rim. We say it’s “mostly” leak-proof though, because if it’s not closed tightly enough, it is possible to shake some drops out of this mug when turned upside down—and we don’t love that it allows for that kind of user error. You can also buy the Hotshot cap separately , which is a great way to get even more out of a Yeti Rambler bottle you already own. Well, as long as you make sure to close it really well.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Most Leakproof: Mostly Sizes available: 12 ounces , 18 ounces

Yeti Rambler with Hotshot Cap

Brumate haș a series of leak-proof coffee mugs with handles called Toddy and these mugs have nearly all the same features we love about the Nav. But the reasonably-sized option ( 16 ounces ) is too wide to fit into any cupholder. The two larger sizes ( 22 ounces and 32 ounces ) have tapered bottoms and actually do fit into many cup holders, but most coffee drinkers will find they're otherwise just too big, in general.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Some sizes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 6 ounces , 22 ounces , 32 ounces

Brumate Toddy

Klean Kanteen is best known for its lightweight stainless steel reusable water bottles (and for tripping up our spell check every damn time) but the brand also makes a very nice double-wall, vacuum-insulated stainless steel travel tumbler. In fact, it’s so nice it’s almost perfect. This mug has excellent heat retention, and the powder-coated body is durable, dishwasher safe, and covered by Klean Kanteen’s lifetime warranty. The tumbler’s wide mouth (wide for Klean Kanteen, anyway) is big enough to fit most ice cubes, and the bottle itself is slender enough to fit most cup holders. Unfortunately, you need to use two hands to open the leak-proof lid, which isn’t always conducive to drinking hot coffee while on the go.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 12 ounces , 16 ounces , 20 ounces

Klean Kanteen Wide Vacuum Insulated Water Bottle

Klean Kanteen

We’re generally big fans of Oxo gear but the Oxo Good Grips travel mug we previously tested always leaked a little when tipped upside down. In 2023, we tested a newer model, which has what the brand calls a leak-proof “SimplyClean” lid. The mug comes in an array of pretty colors, all of the parts are dishwasher safe, and we found the lid to be truly leak free when properly assembled. However, the engineering required to get such a good seal is… a lot. Disassembling the lid for cleaning and reassembling it are each three-step processes—and the steps are so unintuitive that instructions, arrows, and numbers are actually embossed in various spots all over the three separate lid components (four if you count the removable gasket). After a few tries, it’s pretty easy to get used to how it all goes together, but coming from a brand that makes such user-friendly products, this leak-proof lid is more complicated than it needs to be. It’s also a little too easy to accidentally remove the entire lid when trying to open the spout.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 16 ounces , 20 ounces

OXO Good Grips Travel Coffee Mug With Leakproof SimplyClean Lid

We like that the short Hydro Flask coffee mug feels like a traditional mug, and this is the only “travel” mug we tested that comes in a 6-ounce size. Like all of Hydro Flask’s insulated products, this mug has great temperature retention and it’s also very durable thanks to solid construction. But because it doesn’t have a leak-proof lid or fit into a car cup holder, it’s definitely more of a “coffee on the front porch” mug or “hot toddy around the campfire” mug than an actual commuting mug. Another drawback? Unlike the brand’s powder-coated water bottles, Hydro Flask mugs are not powder-coated and therefore are not dishwasher safe .

Dishwasher safe: No Fits in car cup holder : No  Leakproof: No Sizes available: 6 ounces , 12 ounces , 24 ounces

Hydro Flask Mug

This 16-ounce stainless steel vacuum-insulated travel mug from Thermos is good, and most people would probably be content using it, but there's also nothing remarkable about it. It didn't keep our coffee hot nearly as long as the Zojirushi and though it has a leak-proof lid, it doesn't lock like the Brumate does. It’s also only available in one size (16 ounces). That said, the underside of the lid does have a built-in hook for tea bags and loose-leaf tea infusers, so if you're a tea drinker who likes to take your hot tea on the go, you’ll like that feature.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder : Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 16 ounces

Thermos Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Tumbler

When we first tested the Fellow Carter mug, we tried the Move model —a gorgeous ceramic-lined thermal mug that does a great job of keeping hot drinks hot. Unfortunately, the twist-off lid required the use of both hands, which kept the Fellow Carter from taking a top spot. When we retested travel mugs in 2023, we were thrilled to find that Fellow had recently released a new model of the Carter mug with a slide-lock lid (the lid can also be purchased separately if you already own a Carter mug). The smooth sliding mechanism makes it easy to open and close the angled lid with one hand, and though it doesn’t actually lock like the Zojirushi does, it is leak-proof when closed. But the angle of the new lid means our testers’ noses got smashed up against it every time we took a drink, and because of a lip around the inside of the body, it’s hard to get every last drop of coffee out of this mug. Additionally, the ceramic-coated stainless steel interior is supposed to keep this mug from holding onto smells, but we found that after just one use, it was nearly impossible to get the coffee smell out the lid —so this isn’t a tumbler we’d want to use interchangeably as a coffee cup and a water cup.

Dishwasher safe: No Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 12 ounces, 16 ounces

Fellow Carter Slide Travel Coffee Mug

We wanted to love this beautiful powder-coated stainless steel tumbler from Kinto, a Japanese housewares brand. And for the most part, we did. The carry handle on the smartly-constructed top can be removed, revealing a thin circular opening that ensures controlled sipping. Liquid doesn’t pour out too quickly (no scalded tongue or ice cubes in the face) and when tightly sealed, it doesn’t leak. You can also remove the entire top of the mug, which makes pouring easy and makes the travel mug easy to clean. However, it’s impossible to open this mug one-handed. That, combined with its high price tag, kept it out of our top picks.

Dishwasher safe: No Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 17 ounces

Kinto Day Off Stainless Steel Tumbler

The MiiR Insulated Travel Tumbler got a lot of oohs and aahs during the unboxing phase of our test. It's sleek, bright, and incredibly comfortable to hold. And when you buy a mug, the brand gifts a portion of revenue to a charity project that's trackable via a code on the bottom of the mug. Hot drinks stay piping hot in this mug, thanks to what the brand calls “Thermo 3D Double Wall Vacuum Insulation Technology.” The locking flip lid is super-secure, too. Unfortunately, the way it’s designed makes it impossible to get the lid completely out of the way when drinking, which resulted in little spots of coffee on our testers’ noses with every single sip.

Dishwasher safe: No Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 12 ounces

MiiR Insulated Travel Tumbler

S’well’s water bottles have a cult-like following so we were excited to try the brand’s sleek and simple vacuum-insulated travel tumbler. ​​It did a good job keeping our coffee warm for a couple hours, but it wasn’t noticeably better than most of the other mugs we tried. The stainless-steel and BPA-free plastic lid is actually leak-proof thanks to an airtight flip-top spout cover. However, it flips easily enough we’d be worried about it catching on something in a bag and opening up by accident. Also, as with the Miir above, our testers’ noses got pressed into the piece that flips back while drinking—especially as we got toward the bottom of our hot and cold drinks. This design flaw is less annoying on this mug than it is on the Miir, but it’s annoying nonetheless.

Dishwasher safe: No Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 16 oz

Sip by Swell Stainless Steel Travel Mug

We can't help but love this vintage-inspired Stanley travel tumbler—but definitely not for coffee. It does a good job of keeping hot drinks hot, but after weeks of testing, we will only ever use it for ice water because following every single sip, a significant amount of whatever liquid is inside accumulates on the top of the supposedly leak-proof trigger-activated spout cover. When that liquid is coffee, you risk leaving little coffee stains everywhere you go. The slim design is really nice to hold and this tumbler fits in every cup holder we tried, but it’s kind of annoying to have to hold down the trigger the entire time you’re drinking.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: No Sizes available: 16 ounces , 20 ounces

Stanley Classic One Hand Vacuum Mug

Ace Hardware

This vacuum-insulated stainless steel travel mug from Ello looks like the kind of old-school speckled enamelware you'd find in your grandparents' house (that’s a good thing). More importantly, it holds heat well and doesn’t leak, though we wouldn’t want to toss it into a bag with any electronics or white clothes. It’s slender enough to fit in some (but not all) car cup holders—and unlike most of the insulated travel tumblers we tested, it has a handle. Technically, this mug is dishwasher safe, but the brand recommends hand-washing, and we’d want to do that anyway since the inside of the handle is lined with cork. There’s also no way to clean with friction under the sliding spout cover. Still, for less than $20, this mug is a good budget pick, especially if you want a cute, leak-proof insulated mug with a handle. But price is often indicative of quality, and while we have yet to encounter any problems, customer reviews indicate issues with long-term durability, and upon closer inspection, we realized we could probably snap off the handle with very little effort. (Intentional damage would not be covered by Ello’s limited lifetime warranty , but accidental breakage might be.) If you want something that will hold up to everyday use, consider investing in something that’s more solidly constructed.

Dishwasher safe: Yes (top rack only, hand wash recommended) Fits in car cup holder: Maybe Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 18 ounces

Ello Campy Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug

Like the Ello Campy (above), the Ello Cole is a budget-friendly, vacuum-insulated, stainless steel tumbler with a leak-proof sliding spout cover. It holds heat well and all of the parts are top-rack dishwasher safe, though hand-washing the body is recommended. The Cole also has a cork accent, though on this mug, it’s a “built-in coaster,” which seems rather pointless since a well-insulated mug shouldn’t sweat. While we enjoyed testing this mug, we also worry about long-term durability after reading customer reviews—and the fact that there’s no way to deep clean under the slider lid is concerning, too.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 16 ounces

Ello Cole Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle

The West Loop mug with Contigo’s leak-proof Autoseal lid is very leak-proof, thanks to a lock switch on the top. But even after unlocking the sip lid, you still have to push pretty hard on the autoseal button on the side of the lid to open it enough to get a good swig. In theory, it’s a good system, but when you just want to take a drink of coffee, it’s pretty annoying, especially because the button isn’t very responsive; it often feels like you’re not pushing it hard enough. We also had a really hard time getting the coffee smell out of the lid, even after just one use.

Dishwasher safe: Lid only, top rack Fits in car cup holder: Most Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 16 ounces , 20 ounces , 24 ounces

Contigo Stainless Steel Vacuum-Insulated Travel Mug

The Contigo Autoseal Transit Mug has some nice features that set it apart from the West Loop. There’s a permanently-affixed non-slip silicone textured sleeve and a silicone pad on the bottom, too. But it has Contigo’s Autoseal lid, and though the Transit mug’s push-button mechanism is slightly different from the lid on West Loop (and locks and unlocks by twisting the lid), it’s equally annoying to have to hold down a button as you drink.

Dishwasher safe: Lid only, top rack Fits in car cup holder: Most Leakproof: Yes Sizes available: 16 ounces

Contigo Autoseal Transit Stainless Steel Travel Mug

Our testers were divided on this collapsible silicone travel “mug.” It’s really more of a coffee cup to travel with than an actual travel mug, as it’s not insulated and the flip-top lid is more leak-resistant than leak-proof. But if you want something that takes up very little space when not in use, this is a decent option. Simply push down the cup from the top and it becomes about the size of a can of tuna. It also comes in lots of pretty colors and all of the parts are super easy to clean in the dishwasher. On the other hand, keeping track of all those parts (especially the support ring) can be kind of annoying.

Dishwasher safe: Yes Fits in car cup holder: Yes Leakproof: No Sizes available: 12 ounces , 16 ounces , 24 ounces

Stojo Collapsible Travel Cup With Straw

The takeaway

If you want a travel mug that will keep your coffee piping hot (or your cold brew cold) for hours, the Zojirushi stainless steel mug has the best heat retention capabilities of any mug we tested. It’s also completely leak-proof so you can toss it in your bag without worry. The Brumate Nav , while not as great at retaining heat as the Zojirushi, has an equally-secure lid and the added benefit of being dishwasher-safe. For car commuters, we recommend the tumbler-style Yeti Rambler with the Magslide lid . Though not leak-proof, this dishwasher-safe, vacuum-insulated mug is pretty great at preventing spills while also keeping your morning coffee easily accessible—even while you keep your eyes on the road.

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The Best Leak-Proof Travel Mugs for Taking Hot (and Cold) Drinks on the Go

By Kristi Kellogg and Meaghan Kenny

Whether you're embarking on your morning commute or headed on an East Coast road trip , you should have one of the best travel mugs in hand. Finding one you like means you can skip the routine stop at the coffee shop (or at least say no to the disposable cup), cut back on single-use plastics, and keep your drinks at an ideal temperature (with some, for hours and hours at a time). Ahead, we've rounded up Condé Nast Traveler editors' personal favorites—from brands like Hydro Flask, Yeti, Corksicle, Stanley, and more. With insulated, leak-proof, and easy-to-carry options in the mix, there's a mug in here ready for a spot in your cup holder or tote bag .

This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Hydro Flask All Around Tumbler

The 20-ounce version of Hydro Flask’s All Around Tumbler has been my go-to lately, both at home and on the commute to work. It keeps coffee warm for a few hours, so if I’m sipping slowly I don’t have to bother with reheating it, and does its job in keeping iced coffee cool, too. It has the type of lid that you can push back and forth to open or close, and the opening is wide enough to easily fit a reusable straw. I don’t drive, but the mug's size seems very cupholder-friendly, too! — Madison Flager, senior commerce editor

Stanley Classic Trigger Action travel mug

Stanley makes the best classic mugs (the company has been around since 1913 after all). The brand is known for its iconic insulated steel thermoses, which promise hours-long insulation for hot drinks and durability for wherever you’re taking your beverage— hiking , camping , thrown in the back of your car on a road trip , you name it. The original green color has a delightfully retro vibe as well. — Megan Spurrell, senior editor

Stojo collapsible travel cup, 16-ounce

The main reason I adore my collapsible Stojo cup is its clever design that makes it incredibly easy to carry around. I’m not kidding when I say that when folded down, my 16-ounce cup turns into a disc that fits into my jacket pocket. It’s also light enough to drop into a travel backpack or a sling bag when you go hiking. I use mine for everything from coffees and smoothies, and when dry, for snacks and berries. Don’t expect an insulated mug with this one: It keeps a beverage warm (or cool) for long enough for you to drink it, but isn’t a double-walled metal cup. However, it has helped me cut down on a ton of waste when traveling, and might I add is cute-looking, too. — Arati Menon, global digital director

Read a full review of the Stojo cup.

Stanley Aerolight Transit bottle

The AeroLight Transit bottle has become my new favorite mug to use on my morning commute to work. My tea is still piping hot even after my hour-long train ride. I keep it in my tote bag—along with my laptop and phone—and it never leaks. I've flipped this one completely upside down and nothing spills out, making it a reliable option to travel with. It's one-third lighter than Stanley's typical stainless steel, so it doesn't feel heavy in my bag either. I also appreciate how slim the bottle is—it's so easy to carry around. — Meaghan Kenny, associate commerce editor

Jessica Puckett

Devra Ferst

Melissa Liebling-Goldberg

Olivia Morelli

Yeti Rambler stackable mug

When I'm traveling, the most essential ritual I preserve is my morning coffee. While I love nearly all of the Yeti drinkware options, this mug is perfect for coffee—both for its manageable 10-ounce size, as well as the side handle, which makes this especially easy when I'm on a road trip or a train. (This mug has come with me on camping trips in the Shenandoah Valley and Delaware Water Gap, on a road trip through the Appalachian Highlands, and a long drive between D.C. and New York City .) A fair word of warning though: The airtight lid and insulation work almost too well—coffee stays hot a long time, so I recommend you get it close to your ideal temperature before pouring it in. —Corina Quinn, former city guides director

Snow Peak Milk bottle

This is one of those gifts I have become deeply attached to—it was given to me about a year ago, when I was getting really into camping and the chic outdoor brand Snow Peak, and it’s since become a staple in my house. It has a beautifully minimalist design, is small enough to feel really portable (as in, it’s not a pain to have to tote home once it’s empty), and it never leaks. It’s no bargain, but given how much I use and love it, I think the math sort of works out in the end. — M.S .

Zojirushi stainless steel mug

“This mug is my favorite one ever because the lid has a lock feature that makes it completely leak-free. I can throw this in a travel tote and not worry about coffee dribbling all over. Plus the stainless steel interior keeps coffee extra hot for hours, but it doesn't burn your hands. In addition to my commute on the subway, I've taken this little wonder on train rides to upstate New York , and I've never spilled a drop.” —Jessica Puckett, senior editor, transportation and travel news

Hydro Flask 20 oz Coffee with Flex Sip Lid

Another option from Hydro Flask worth noting is the 20-ounce bottle with a Flex Slip lid. It's large enough that I can bring plenty of iced coffee with me on the go, but it's still cupholder-friendly—very important for road trips. The double-wall vaccum insulation keeps cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours and hot drinks hot for up to 12. The carry-handle makes it easy to hold on long walks and the leak-proof lid is easy to open and close. I love the color options, especially this new purple shade. —M.K.

Martina Thornhill Okay cup

It’s not hyperbole to state that I’ve tried the lion’s share of travel mugs on the market. I drink a ton of coffee and I travel and drive a lot. I hate the way metal mugs make coffee taste—it’s so much better out of a ceramic mug. The Okay Cup from Portland, Oregon –based ceramicist Marina Thornhill is gorgeous, doesn’t leak, and doesn’t make your coffee taste like mud. It’s pricey, but a better long-term deal than always dumping the coffee you put in another mug and don’t actually drink. It’s constantly selling out, so put your name on the pre-order list—it’s worth the wait. —Rebecca Misner, senior features editor

Kinto travel tumbler

If you’re a tea drinker like me or like your travel mugs to keep your hot drinks piping hot, be warned: this insulated mug gets me every time, keeping my teas at steaming, roof-of-mouth-burning temperatures for what feels like an impossibly long time. (And that’s a good thing in my book.) I prefer the matte exterior over the stainless steel for its added grip. I use it to commute with my tea (it doesn’t leak!) and on extra-long winter walks because I know it’ll stay warm the entire time. —Meredith Carey, former travel bookings editor

Yeti Rambler lowball

This mug is a thing in my house. My partner received one as a Christmas gift , only to find it missing every morning—truth be told, after I stole it once to use for hot coffee on my morning subway commute, I couldn’t go back to any other thermos. I personally love that this mug doesn’t have a handle, because it’s so insulated it never burns my hands, yet the coffee inside stays piping hot, and its shape is nice and easy to hold. When I’m done enjoying my hot drink on the go, it takes the least space possible in my bag , where it usually clangs around for the rest of the day until I make my way home (or back to wherever I’m staying). —M.S.

Corkcicle classic tumbler

This Corkcicle tumbler keeps my coffee hot on my subway commute, and is secure enough to sneak a couple of sips while standing on a crowded, moving train. There’s also something joyful about pouring my freshly brewed coffee into a pink vessel—how could I not be cheerful toting this cute mug around the office? Most often this mug has been my subway companion, though I have used it for road trips and early morning flights that require a caffeine boost before boarding. —Katie Henwood, former senior SEO manager

Miir Climate+ Tumbler

Lately when I want a compact option that won't take up much space in my backpack or tote after it's empty, I've been reaching for this sleek stainless steel tumbler from Miir. It's shatter proof, so I don't worry about dropping it or getting any dents. For an extra charge, you can even personalize it, making it a great gift for any traveler in your life. —M.K.

Hydro Flask stainless steel travel mug

This Hydro Flask mug checks all the boxes: It's BPA-free and dishwasher-safe, has a leak-proof lid, carrying handle, and no-sweat matte finish, and comes with a lifetime warranty. You can use it as a thermos, a water bottle , or a coffee cup. Hydro Flask also has matching slings that let you carry your travel tumbler hands-free, helpful when biking, hiking, or just dashing through the airport. — Kristi Kellogg, contributor

OtterBox Elevation wine tumbler

Technically this is a wine tumbler, but more often, I use it for iced coffee. It keeps my caffeine cold, fits the extra-large ice cube I put into the bottom, and doesn’t leave rings on tables when I set it down. Plus, like all things OtterBox, it’s sturdy—I don’t have to worry about dinging or denting it when I inevitably drop or knock it over. Its smaller size means it’s also carry-on and backpack friendly. —M.F.

Hay Sowden travel cup

I don’t think there’s a chicer travel mug than this colorful one from Hay, which comes in pink, green, or gray, all with contrasting, two-toned lids. It puts all other thermoses to shame when it comes to design—but it’s also totally functional, with an insulated stainless steel exterior that keeps drinks hot for up to 12 hours and cold for an impressive 24 hours. —M.C.

W&P Porter mug

This mug hits all the right marks: The silicone sleeve makes it easy to grip and quiet when placed down on a surface; the mouthpiece on the lid is easy to slide open and close; and it’s safe to put in the dishwasher and microwave. Plus, it just looks nicer than the rest of my logo-clad travel mugs. Most often I use it to sip coffee on my morning commute, but I have also brought it on longer train rides to D.C. and on flights as a vessel for oatmeal. —M.F.

Simple Modern travel coffee mug

One of my favorite reusable water bottles is from Simple Modern, so I had high hopes for its travel mug and it certainly did not disappoint. This stainless steel mug keeps my hot beverages hot for four hours and my iced coffee cold for up to 16 hours, so it's great for day trips and using at the office. It's dishwasher safe and the handle makes sipping on the go easy. The under $20 price tag is nice, too. —M.K.

Best travel coffee mugs in 2024 — tested and rated

We’ve tested a range of models to find the best travel coffee mugs

Best overall

Best budget and durable

Best with handle

Best heavy duty

Best color selection

Best smart travel mug

Best for heat retention

Best for sustainability

Most secure

Best mug design

Best ceramic

Whether you want to ensure your coffee stays warm throughout the morning, or your iced tea remains cool in warm conditions, you'll need one of the best travel mugs. 

And while it might seem simple enough, the task of choosing out of tons available, can be tricky. You'll need to find the right travel coffee mug to suit your needs and lifestyle. Consider what material you'd prefer? Durable materials range from steel, aluminum and plastic, to even ceramic. Other things to think about include how heavy it is to carry, heat retention, and overall style. 

Finally, how much are you willing to spend? The best coffee travel mugs range from $15 to $35, though there are more advanced types with their own battery that cost $185.

To help you decide, we’ve found a great selection of the best travel mugs to suit any lifestyle and budget right now.

1. MiiR Flip Traveler

Capacity: 16 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 2.75 x 7.25 inches | Weight: 10.2 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 9

The MiiR Flip Traveler is one of the best travel coffee mugs we’ve tested, offering a compact cup that will keep your liquids hot or cold for hours. Coming in 9 different colors, the double wall vacuum-insulated stainless steel body holds 16 fluid ounces of liquid. Although there are 12 and 20 fluid ounce capacities available too. The cup itself is very light, coming in it at 10.2 ounces.

The unique lid on top flips out when you need to drink and is secure when you need it locked in. But right after you drink, a small amount of liquid can gather on the lid, leaking to tiny droplets getting in places they shouldn’t. Also, if you don’t lock the lid firmly in place, it can spill. There’s nothing worse than having hot tea on your electronics because you didn’t make sure the lid was completely down.

It was one of the best we tested at keeping liquids consistently hot. Our testing started at 203 degrees Fahrenheit, only to drop to 178 after two hours, 154 after five hours, and 126 after 10 hours. Other cups paled in comparison, with the MiiR outclassing them in the category that is, literally and figuratively, the hottest.

Washing the cup is super simple and the lid doesn’t need to be taken apart to be put in the dishwasher. The whole cup is fairly durable and comfortable to hold. Overall, MiiR offers a fantastic travel mug with few downsides, keeping everything cool and on the inside. Give it a try if you are looking for a mug that offers everything you’d need. 

2. Stanley Classic Trigger Action Travel Mug

Best budget and best durable

Capacity: 16 fluid ounces | Dimensions: ‎2.9 x 8.9 inches | Weight: 8 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 18

Stanley is a brand built for rugged adventures and their Trigger Action Travel Mug is no exception. The strong, durable exterior claims that it has survived a bullet so it should be able to handle whatever you can throw at it. Made of stainless steel, the double-wall vacuum insulation creates a sturdy mug that weighs 12.8 ounces and holds 16 ounces, making it one of the heaviest we reviewed. A 20 ounce capacity is available too, which will no doubt weigh even more — we tested the 16 ounce capacity. 

The lid is also built to last, having a unique trigger system that lets you take a sip by just pressing the button. Though the lid is useful, it does tend to leave a bit of water in the mouthpiece if you close it too quickly. But other than the occasional dribble, it won’t leak even when turned upside down and severely shaken. The whole cup is dishwasher safe, but you might want to think twice about taking apart the lid. It's a bit difficult to reassemble, especially when you haven’t rebuilt it before. 

It kept the heat in fairly well, starting at 204 degrees Fahrenheit, dropping to 176 at two hours, 152 at five, and 125 hours at 10. But when it does have a hot liquid in it, the heat only breaks through a bit allowing you to hold even scolding beverages without a problem. 

While the MSRP is $25, it can often be found for $17.50, so you are getting one of the best travel coffee mugs out there for a great price. Even if you aren’t the adventurous type and just need something to shove in your cup holder that won’t tip over, then Stanley is your guy.

3. Hydro Flask Coffee with Flex Sip Lid

Capacity: 20 fluid ounces | Dimensions: ‎2.9 x 9.3 inches | Weight: 13.2 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 14

Hydro Flask is one of the most popular brands for travel mugs and cups for a very good reason. Available in multiple sizes, from 12 to 40 ounces, and in 11 colors, this travel mug features double-wall vacuum insulation to keep your drinks at the right temperature for hours. The stainless steel bottle is durable, with paint that won’t chip from use.

What really makes this mug different from the competition is its unique lid. The top handle is great for taking it on the go, but when you unscrew it you see the real magic. To take a sip, just turn the lid counterclockwise to open the seal. When you want to take the whole lid apart to clean, just unscrew it in the opposite direction, revealing the intricate mechanism beneath. Keep in mind that getting it put back together can be a bit of a hassle or might take practice. 

The cup is incredibly durable and lightweight, coming in at 11.6 ounces for the 20 ounce capacity. Though it lacks a rubber bottom, the cup is still comfortable to hold and stable. It's also great at keeping your drinks hot, falling from 202 degrees Fahrenheit to 172 after two hours, 145 after five, and 116 after 10. It's definitely one of the more unique-looking cups we’ve tested, but that doesn’t make it any less spectacular. Expert engineering and craftsmanship put it at the top of our list. This is why it’s one of the best travel coffee mugs. 

4. THERMOS Stainless King Vacuum-Insulated Travel Mug

Capacity: 16 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 3.3 x 7.6 inches | Weight: 15.7 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 8

Thermos is a brand that has become synonymous with quality travel mugs, and the Stainless King is truly a wonderful option. Made of stainless steel, this vacuum-insulated cup is dishwasher safe and should fit in most cup holders. The handle on the side makes holding the cup easy and the outside stays cool even when hot liquids are inside. It is available in four different colors and holds 16 fluid ounces of liquid.

The lid is expertly crafted and won’t leak no matter how many times it's turned over or shaken. But it does have to be completely closed to work, just a little bit of an opening and the cup will spill out whatever is inside. 

To open the lid, just turn the nozzle counter-clockwise revealing the “open” label on the lid. When it's closed, the lid creates a vacuum seal that keeps everything nice and hot. There’s even a small hook on the bottom of the lid to hold your tea bag and make sure it doesn’t fall in. The lid doesn’t even need to be taken apart to clean.

The Thermos excels at keeping beverages hot, outperforming everything else we tested. Starting at 203 degrees Fahrenheit, it only dropped to 181 at two hours, 159 at five, and 131 at 10 hours, which we found was still too hot to drink. It earns a spot on our list as one of the best travel coffee mugs for this reason alone. 

It is one of the heaviest cups we tested, coming in at a whopping 15.6 ounces. The only heavier mug was the Ello Jane Ceramic Travel Mug. 

5. Yeti Rambler

Capacity: 20 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 3.5 x 7 inches | Weight: 12.8 ounches | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 34

Available in 10, 20 or 30 ounces (we tested the 20 oz capacity), the Yeti Rambler is unique in its design, offering a much stouter mug with enough room for your liquid inside. Cupholder-friendly and dishwasher safe, this double-wall vacuum-insulated mug is great for taking your cold or hot drinks on the go. Plus it’s available in a whopping 34 colors, so you can find whatever tone you want. 

Because of its more round shape, it's better than some we’ve reviewed at not getting knocked over, though it doesn’t have a rubber bottom for grip. But even the mightiest wind should allow the Yeti to stay upright. 

The lid is simple but effective when kept upright. You can slide it up to take a sip and then slide it back down to seal it. The slide requires a bit of pressure for it to get opened, so it shouldn’t just flop open and spill what's inside. But you shouldn’t just place this cup in your bag because it is possible for it to spill. The lid does not screw on and only has a rubber circle keeping it in place. With enough shaking or momentum, the lid will pop off and won’t have an airtight seal when turned upside down. 

It's also a bit dangerous to drink while hot. We found that while testing the outer ring on the lid retains heat a bit too well and was too hot to touch. The cup itself retains heat well enough, starting at 204 degrees Fahrenheit and going to 166 after two hours, 136 after five, and 108 after ten. 

But if you aren’t going on any backpack adventures and just want a drink to keep warm, then the Yeti is a great option. 

6. Ember Temperature Control Travel Mug

Capacity: 12 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 3 x 8 inches | Weight: 38.4 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: No | Colors available: 2

Having an electronic travel mug that costs $185 might seem a bit extra, but the Ember makes it seem absolutely reasonable. The mug has an internal battery and can keep a drink at the same consistent temperature for three hours on a single charge. All you have to do is tap the center to reveal icons and set it to your desired temperature. 

It's packed full of smart features, which is why it’s one of the best travel coffee mugs, like Bluetooth that connects it to your phone to set the temperature and light that tells you when the cup needs charging. It also has an app, which is simple to use and works flawlessly, showing the battery level and temperature of the beverage (but it does need to be reconnected after every use). To charge it, all you have to do is place the cup on the included stand and it should be ready to go in just a few hours. We set the temperature to 136 degrees Fahrenheit after starting at 199, it managed to stay the same for the whole 10-hour period. 

The lid is also a marvel of engineering- all you have to do is press down whenever you want to drink to create a small circle of liquid to flow through. Even when shaken, the liquid didn’t escape and stayed inside the remarkable metal cylinder. Some liquid might stay around the lid after you take a sip, so keep that in mind. 

It’s also very durable and has a rubber-coated bottom to keep it from spilling over. It might be a great travel mug, but other options can do what it does without the hefty price tag. There’s no need to over-engineer a cup that’s worked fine before. It’s fairly lightweight,  coming in at 12 ounces and holding 12 fluid ounces. Being hand wash only is a drawback to boot as well.

7. Teabloom

Capacity: 16 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 2.5 x 9 inches | Weight: 15.2 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 5

The Teabloom tumbler allows you to make teas on the go with everything inside the bottle. Unlike a lot of other travel mugs, this long but elegant bottle comes with a metal diffuser with its own handle that you can throw your favorite tea blend or coffee right inside. Holding 16 fluid ounces, it's made of stainless steel and brushed with a metallic exterior that stood up to the wear and tear of everyday use and weighs 15.2 ounces.

The tumbler is very thin and can be a bit wobbly. It doesn’t have a rubber grip and it's tall but the thin facade can cause it to get knocked down with just a little bit of force. But it will fit in almost every cup holder snugly, without any worry of it flying out. 

The lid is a simple screw-on top with a rubber ring that easily stops it from leaking even when shaken upside down. We found that even with the lid not screwed on completely all the way, the cup did not spill any water.

It also retained heat very well. When you put it in high-temperature beverages you can feel the heat on the side but it is definitely not too hot to touch. Out of all the travel mugs we tested without its own battery, the Teabloom held heat the longest, starting at 203 degrees Fahrenheit, and falling to 179 at two hours, 154 at five hours, and 126 at ten hours. It's by far one of the best travel coffee mugs to store hot liquid in, the fact it can make tea, coffee, or infused fruit water is just a plus. 

8. bioGo 16 oz Reusable Coffee Cups

Capacity: 16 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 3.6 x 7 inches | Weight: 6.4 ounces | Material: Rice husk | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 8

The bioGo Reusable Coffee Cup is simplistic but offers everything you’d need in a travel mug. Available in eight colors, it's made of recycled rice husks making them better for the environment. They also fit in cup holders and have a padded bottom to stop the cup from falling over.

It's also remarkably light; the model we tested weighs 6.2 ounces while still holding 16 fluid ounces. Although a 13 ounce capacity is also available. That light nature does make it feel a bit flimsy, but it held up to being knocked around just as well as other stainless steel mugs we tested. The cup is dishwasher safe and won’t break apart after multiple uses. 

The screw-on lid is simple but effective. The hole on top has a plastic stopper that can be flipped in or out, which effectively keeps liquids inside. No matter how shaken or flipped upside down, the cup did not leak. The lid closer did not move once it was locked in place, but when the piece came out of the hole it did flop around. 

Though it's a very pretty and stylish cup, it didn’t retain heat as well as a lot of the other mugs we tested. Starting at 202 degrees, it dropped quickly to 118 by two hours, 90 by five, and room temperature by 10. The whole cup became extremely warm on the outside, starting out at 125 degrees making it too hot to touch. If you need a mug that's safe for the environment and that you don’t need to hold hot beverages for long periods, then give this bioGo a shot. The environmentally friendly aspects make it one of the best travel coffee mugs.   

9. Contigo West Loop Stainless Steel Vacuum-Insulated Travel Mug

Capacity: 16 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 3.56 x 7.75 inches | Weight: 6.9 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: No | Colors available: 13

The Contigo West Loop Travel Mug has a gorgeous and unique shape that is durable enough to last. Made of stainless steel and its own patented Thermalock insulation, drinks stay hot or cold for hours inside. The shape makes it stand out from other travel mugs out there while still being slim enough to fit in most car cup holders. It holds 16 ounces of fluid and weighs 6.9 ounces. A 20 ounce capacity is also available, but we tested the smaller model. 

The lid opens with a button press on the side, allowing any liquid to flow without issue. Even when shaken and held upside down, nothing escaped. To make sure nothing escapes, there’s a fantastic locking feature where all you have to do is press down on a button on top to make sure the lid can’t open. So when you place the mug in your bag, the button won’t accidentally get pressed and spill everywhere.

The odd shape does have it wobble a bit when tapped and it lacks rubber grips on the bottom, so it can fall. But it is still quite durable so even a tumble shouldn’t crack the exterior. The whole cup is dishwasher safe and the locking lid does not require disassembly to clean. 

When filled with hot liquid, we found that the plastic lid coated in rubber got very hot and couldn’t be touched at max heat. But it did hold heat tolerably, starting at 204 degrees Fahrenheit and failing to 166 at two hours, 137 at five, and 111 at 10. Other travel mugs insulated a bit more consistently, but the Contigo still earned a recommendation, which is why it makes the list as one of the best travel coffee mugs. 

10. Ello Campy Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug

Capacity: 18 fluid ounces | Dimensions: 4.4 x 6.9 inches | Weight: 5.3 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 9

The Ello Campy Travel Mug is a simple, yet truly effective, liquid container. Its sleek metallic exterior hides a vacuum-insulated interior that keeps beverages cold or hot hours after use. That hard body makes it incredibly durable, though the plastic lid may not be able to handle the most aggressive of use. 

The handle is coated in cork inside, helping you keep your grip and not burn yourself when going for a drink. The large handle makes it impossible for it to fit firmly in most car cup holders, especially any that are very deep. But it does make the cup look aesthetically pleasing and simple to use if you’d rather grasp a handle. 

The screw-on lid is a bit more than just a simple piece of plastic, using a unique flipping mechanism to look the cup in place. Hot liquids made the lid too hot to touch and drink. It's also just a simple push button that can easily be knocked open without you noticing. This cup can’t be placed in a bag because it will spill everywhere. But it won’t leak when turned upside down as long as the lid is positioned correctly. 

The whole cup is fairly good at keeping liquids hot, starting at 203 degrees Fahrenheit it fell to 171 at two hours, 142 at five, and 113 at 10. That puts it alongside a lot of the other cups we tested with vacuum insulation. Overall, it's great as long as you don’t try to drink scolding hot beverages. The model tested holds 18 ounces and weighs 5.3 ounces, but a smaller 11 ounce design is also available. 

11. Ello Jane Ceramic Travel Mug

Capacity: 18 fluid ounces | Dimensions: ‎3.5 x 6.5 inches | Weight: 24.7 ounces | Material: Ceramic | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Colors available: 5

The Ello Jane Ceramic Travel Mug is elegant with a timeless look, capturing the vibe of a cozy summer cottage somewhere in the wilderness. With a thick rubber bottom, the mug stays firmly planted when placed down and won't jiggle too much unless you try to knock it over. Being made of ceramic, we imagine that it's not as durable as other steel options (though we didn’t intentionally try to break it). 

The handle on the side makes it comfortable to hold, though it is a fairly wide mug that won’t fit in most cup car holders. You can fill it with 18 fluid ounces of liquid and clean it in the dishwasher. 

The top lid is a thin piece of plastic that you can shift up and down to take a drink. The lid is most certainly not leakproof and does not offer an airtight seal. If you just flip it over, the liquid will come gushing out, potentially with the lid as well. The lid is not screwed on and has no rubber gasket and is only held in place by a thin rubber bit around the lid.

It’s also not very good at retaining heat. It started at 199 degrees Fahrenheit and went down to 115 in just two hours. Like the Tupkee Glass Tumbler, the cup reached room temperature in just five hours. It's a much better indoor mug than a travel one, offering a unique option that just isn’t as stable as others on this list. The mug is also quite heavy, coming in at 22 ounces.

How we test

We put these travel mugs through rigorous testing for durability, heat retention, and comfort. First, we gave a score to every mug based on holding capacity, comfort to hold, stability, ease of opening, ease of cleaning, weight, and quality. 

Then we performed a test to see if it could hold liquid while turned upside down, without spilling a drop. We filled each cup to its maximum amount and held it upside down for five seconds. Then we noted which cups leaked and spilled onto the countertop. Most mugs managed to stay tight-lipped, while others leaked their insides everywhere. After a quick wipe-down of each mug, we moved on to the next step.

Then we tested each mug's ability to retain heat. We filled each cup at the same time with boiling water and checked its temperature with a digital instant-read thermometer at two, five, and 10 hours. To check the inside temperature, we opened the top and placed a thermometer with a rod inside just long enough to get the recording without leaking much heat. Then, we closed the lid as quickly as possible before moving onto the next one.

How to choose the best travel mug

Material A travel mug can be made of stainless steel, plastic, ceramic, or glass. If you need a more durable mug, you should find one made of a tougher material like steel or plastic. These tougher mugs are also much better at retaining heat, with some having a vacuum insulation that keeps heat from escaping.  

Durability Steel and plastic mugs are incredibly durable, able to withstand rigorous outdoor activity or time spent knocking around in a backpack. Mugs with rubber bottoms are also better at staying upright and not just falling over. If you are looking for a mug you can take on the road, it needs to be both durable and practical to use. 

Size Most travel mugs are between 12 and 20 ounces, with 16 and 18 being the sweet spot. Most are slim enough to fit inside your average car coffee cup holder, while being snug enough to not just bounce around inside. If you are looking for a good sized mug, then aim for one that's around eight to ten inches in height. 

How easy is to clean Ideally, you should wash or rinse out your travel mugs straight after use, to prevent any grimy build-up inside. If you want to remove odors, one tip is to add  ½ cup of vinegar before adding 1tbsp baking soda into the travel mug. Allow it to soak in the solution overnight, and then rinse it with warm water. Make sure you rinse it well so that there are no traces of the solution/vinegar. This should have removed lingering smells. 

How do you keep your beverage hot or cold? Whether you want to maximize the heat or chill factor of your drink, there are a few tips. For hot beverages, it's recommended to pour hot water into the mug, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then empty the mug, before adding your hot drink, and this should retain the temperature. The same applies for cold drinks, but you use ice cubes in the cold water instead.  

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Steven Asarch is a writer and editor who lives on Twitch and YouTube. After graduating from Baruch College, he wrote for IBT Media,  Newsweek and Insider. In 2021, he executive produced the docu-series "Onision in Real Life" on Discovery +. As someone always looking to have the best smelling apartment possible, he's made it his mission to find the best air purifiers out there. His home has since become an air purifier haven, having stored and tested ten models for over three months. You could say he now knows everything there is to know about air purifiers, and what separates the good from the best.

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The Best Travel Mugs to Keep Drinks Hot or Cold

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Best Overall Hydro Flask Coffee Mug With Flex Sip Lid (16 Ounce) Read more

A Good Wide-Mouth Bottle Klean Kanteen TKWide Insulated Mug (16 Ounce) Read more

A Classy Paper Cup Replacement KeepCup Brew Cork (12 Ounce) Read more

An Eco-Friendly Option Miir Climate+ Read more

Staying hydrated can be a battle, especially if you're toting around a bottle of lukewarm water, coffee, or tea. Whether you drink cold drinks or hot ones, a vacuum-insulated beverage holder can keep it at your preferred temperature so that every sip is a joy. There are tons of vacuum-insulated bottles, mugs, and tumblers on the market these days. Most of them are perfectly capable at keeping beverages colder or warmer than room temperature for much longer than a non-insulated bottle, too.

I tested each bottle with both ice water and cold water, sat outside on a patio in indirect sunlight, and then with hot coffee left indoors, where the ambient temperature was 70 degrees. During testing so far, none of the bottles failed to roughly match up to their claims of how long they'd keep cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot. It's rare to run across an insulated bottle that's a total failure at doing that these days, but it's also rare to find one that truly stands out. Rather, I've noticed the features that tend to make or break a bottle are their leak-proofing, exterior coating, and cap. Here are the best travel mugs that impressed us, and some of the rest.

Note that my colleague, Medea Giordano, wrote a piece about the use of lead soldering in the construction of some reusable bottles. Be sure to check out our guides to the Best Reusable Water Bottles , Best Coffee Subscriptions , Best Coffee Grinders , Best Espresso Machines , Best Portable Coffee Makers , Best AeroPress Coffee Makers , and How to Make Better Coffee at Home and Joe Ray's rave on how he learned to love pour-over coffee .

Updated March 2024: We've added the Yeti Rambler Vacuum Bottle With Chug Cap, Stanley IceFlow Straw Tumbler, REI Co-op Camp Mug, and GSI Outdoors MicroLite 500 Flip. We've also added information about the use of lead in some bottles' manufacturing, as well as updated pricing and availability throughout.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off) . This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com , full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Best Overall

Hydro Flask’s powder coating is one of the toughest I have come across on a beverage container. Whenever I can foresee some serious abuse happening to a coffee mug on a trip, I take a Hydro Flask. I’ve yet to dent or scratch one through routine carelessness over the past four years. Without a cupholder in my car, my Hydro Flask lived on the floorboards, rolling and crashing around with every maneuver, and it still held up. The pebbled texture is grippy, so you're less likely to fumble it if your hands get wet or greasy.

A Good Wide-Mouth Bottle

Narrow openings are fine for water, in my opinion, but for hot beverages, I like having a wider gap so I can take a big gulp. I'm less likely to burn my mouth on hot drinks when I can let them cool off through a bigger opening, too. The TKWide’s Cafe Cap is more like drinking from a regular to-go coffee cup, rather than a water bottle.

All the colors have matte powder-coated finishes, which are more scratch-resistant than the brand’s smooth powder-coated finishes. That said, I haven’t found them to be as tough as Hydro Flask’s powder coating, and the uncoated stainless-steel ring on the bottom of the mug is pretty easy to scuff up.

A Classy Paper Cup Replacement

The Brew Cork is greater than the sum of its parts. This double-walled, insulated mug is meant to replicate and replace paper coffee shop cups. It’s fun to drink out of. Many other tumblers’ lid openings are blocky or mash your nose, but the KeepCup is ergonomically on point. It’s not the best for road trips, nor the best for keeping a ton of coffee hot for hours, but I highly recommend the LongPlay if all you want is a reusable cup to cut down on single-use waste and keep your drink warm long enough for you to actually drink it. That said, the lid is a bit dribbly. While the interior and lip are glass—no metallic off-tastes here—the exterior shell below the rubber grip is plastic.

An Eco-Friendly Option

It doesn't fit a typical car’s cup holder, but if you like an insulated mug that resembles a cup more than a bottle or beer glass, the Climate+ is for you. It has the solid build quality and tough powder-coated finish we’ve come to expect from Miir, in a package that has less of an impact on the environment. Miir says that the Climate+ uses no new plastic (the lid is 100 percent recycled and recyclable), and its insulation uses 25 percent less stainless steel than traditional insulated mugs. It’s also completely BPA-free.

Nena Farrell

Julian Chokkattu

Camp Classic

This camp cup is awfully charming, harkening back to the classic blue, enameled camp cups that ooze 20th-century Americana. Like all the tumblers on this list, it’s vacuum-insulated to keep hot drinks hot and cold ones cold. Its screw-on plastic lid, with a sliding lever for sipping, is leak-proof enough. If you leave it upside down for more than a few seconds or shake it, it’ll drip, but I couldn’t get it to leak by knocking it onto its side. The handle is plastic to avoid conducting heat from hot contents, and the inner part of the handle is lined in cork. The Campy isn’t enameled—it’s just painted to look like it—but it pulls off the effect well.

For Coffee Purists

Instead of a tiny sippy hole, the Carter’s screw-on cap reveals a wide tumbler that lets you breathe in your coffee’s aromas as you drink. The opening is 69 millimeters wide, so you can use most manual coffee brewers, such as an AeroPress or Hario pour-over, directly on it. That’s too wide for many cars’ cup holders, but it’s plenty stable, and you won’t have to worry about tipping it over on a desk. My average-size hands had no issues, but some buyers with smaller hands might find it difficult or uncomfortable to hold.

The interior is ceramic-coated, so you don’t get any metallic flavors, and the thin metal lip is curved like a cabernet glass. Its textured matte exterior coating is tough and held up as well as the mighty Hydro Flask’s coating. It's been completely leak-proof too. You should have no concerns throwing it into your laptop bag completely full.

For Camping

When traveling, I want to pack light. Snow Peak’s gorgeous insulated titanium camp mug is less than 4 inches tall, weighs only 4.2 ounces, and has foldaway handles to make it even smaller. Its 450-ml capacity equates to slightly more than 15 fluid ounces. As someone who finds washing mugs to be an interminable hassle, this is the easiest one to travel with—just refill, rinse, and carabiner it to the outside of your bag. I've carried mine up glaciated mountains and down desert trails for six years now, and although the lettering has worn away, the mug itself works as well as it did when new. You can also buy a Snow Peak lid for $14 separately, which is splash-proof and kept my coffee warmer for longer.

Tumblers and travel mugs are generally designed for you to pour your chosen beverage into, but what if you just want to put a can in there? These kinds of insulated drink holders are particularly useful when I'm out and about, drinking a canned soda or beer, and want it to stay cool in the summer heat.

Not only can you put the can directly into the drink holder, but you can also pour it into the Hydro Flask and drink directly out of it, if you wish. Just remove the collar, and now you've got a handsome, stainless steel rim to sip from. The collar fits over the bottom of the can to stabilize it too, so you won't lose it. This is the 12-fluid-ounce version that fits a standard beer, soda, juice, or wine can. There's also a 16-fluid-ounce Tallboy Cooler Cup for $28 if you're feeling particularly thirsty.

Honorable Mentions

We've run through many travel mugs, and not all of them are winners. These are a few we like, just not as much as the ones above.

Miir Flip Traveler for $28 : The Miir has a tough powder coating with a flip-top lid that is absolutely leak-proof. I couldn’t get one drop of liquid to escape, no matter what I did to this tumbler. It’s narrow enough to fit any cup holder or backpack bottle holder, and it feels tough enough to survive years of abuse. Personally, I also find it quite aesthetically attractive, with its sharp lines and angular cap, compared to its competition. Miir has stated that some of its bottles use lead, and its website states : “MiiR drinkware is frequently tested at a 3rd party accredited lab by COE Resolution CM/RES(2013)9. When MiiR drinkware is tested, lead is not detected. The limit of detection is < 0.002 mg/kg (ppm).” Representatives at Miir declined to clarify if the Flip Traveler is one of its bottles that use lead.

Yeti Rambler Bottle With Chug Cap for $50 : The star of this bottle is what Yeti calls the chug cap, a threaded spout that's between a wide-mouth opening and a more typical sipping hole in size. I enjoyed it quite a lot. When gulping water, it flowed more smoothly and quickly than a sipping hole, but it didn't spill over my face, as a wide-mouth opening can sometimes do when in a hurry. A cap with a plastic handle screws on over it to close up the bottle. The handle is wide and robust. I'd use a carabiner to clip it to a backpack often and never worried about it breaking (36 fluid ounces of water is heavy). If you're a frequent sipper like me, you'll appreciate that it only takes a half turn of the cap to expose the chug cap. Yeti cautions that the chug cap (which can be unscrewed and removed) is unsuitable for hot beverages. Just to make sure I didn't burn my mouth on that initial, exploratory sip of hot coffee, I'd take it off when drinking something hot, which negated some of the bottle's convenience. Like most Yeti bottles, the exterior coating was durable and didn't scratch or dent during testing—we've often got a code to customize it for free on the WIRED coupons site. Yeti uses lead in its manufacturing .

Stanley IceFlow Tumbler for $30 : Rather than a long straw, the IceFlow has a stubby, flip-open straw about an inch long that's built into the cap. It was easy to manipulate with my thumb to flip it out, which I appreciated when I was hot and sweaty after a workout and didn't want to fumble with a hard-to-use cap. Its small diameter meant that I couldn't gulp water, though, only sip a steady trickle. The carry handle was big enough to use while wearing puffy gloves this past winter, and it flips down and out of the way when you don't need it. Both are a very nice touch that outshine most other bottles' handles. Like Stanley's other bottles, its exterior coating is tough enough that I noticed no scratches or wear. Stanley uses lead in its manufacturing process .

Contigo Luxe Autoseal for $36 : What makes the Contigo “automatic” is a button on the side of the lid that opens the sipping hole. There’s a lock to prevent the button from opening the hole, too. With or without the lock activated, the Contigo never leaked a single drop. Some buyers have complained that the metal lid gets too hot, but I filled up the Luxe Autoseal with scorching, molten coffee, and the lid barely even got lukewarm. Contigo is also among the manufacturers that uses a lead solder bead in its construction. When reached for comment, a company representative said, “The bead is covered and insulated by multiple layers—it never comes in contact with users or liquids in the bottle—and cannot be accessed unless the bottle is fully deconstructed. No traces of lead are found on or in the bottle that would be exposed to the consumer or the beverages in the bottle.”

KeepCup Thermal for $26 : This is the answer to those who like the KeepCup LongPlay's ergonomic shape and paper-cup-imitating feel but long for a cup that can keep their coffee warmer for longer. The Thermal is, like most of the vessels in this guide, vacuum-insulated stainless steel that insulates against heat loss or, in the case of cold beverages, heat gain. It shares the Brew Cork's slightly dribbly lid, although it loses some of the novelty of the Brew Cork's glass.

REI Co-op Camp Mug for $23 : There are getting to be an awful lot of insulated camp mugs in this basic style on the market, and REI's own is a perfectly fine option that doesn't particularly stand out. REI didn't attempt any gimmicks with its lid, which is a durable piece of thick plastic with an open hole for sipping and a smaller hole for airflow (so that sipping is smooth). You can't just toss it in a backpack or on the floor of your car without it leaking, but for a camp mug, that's fine. They're better suited for use in camp, a motorhome, or on a desk anyway, in my opinion. The exterior coating was tough enough to show no scratches, even after knocking it over a few times outside, and the REI graphics were tasteful and attractive, in my opinion.

Miir Camp Cup for $28: Miir's insulated coffee mug doesn't leak, it insulates hot and cold drinks just fine, and the coating is as tough as any Miir. But it's up against tough competition, and for the same money the Hydro Flask Mug is a bit nicer. The Miir lacks the Hydro Flask's stainless steel rim, and the transparent plastic lid feels a little cheap. The sliding opening on the lid felt like just an extra step to operate each time I wanted a sip.

Hydro Flask All Around Travel Tumbler for $35 : The rounded handle is comfortable to hold, which is important in an 18.4-ounce mug loaded with up to 32 fluid ounces of drink. Like most Hydro Flask products, it comes with the same bomb-proof powder coating (in optional soft, pastel colors) that resists scratches and chips very well, plus the addition of a straw poking through its lid. There's also a 40-fluid-ounce version for $40 .

GSI Outdoors Glacier 15-Fluid-Ounce Camp Cup for $20 : It's not too easy to find at retailers, and when you do, they tend to be available in just a few colors and go in and out of stock. This cup is awfully simple, particularly the incredibly basic lid, but it's more than a little endearing. There's a brushed stainless steel version and, my favorite, a "blue speckle" that imitates the classic enameled blue camp cups of past generations, although both of these colors are plain steel. Other colors come in a more durable-seeming pebbled coating.

Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug for $29 : The stainless-steel interior is BPA-free and has a wide-mouth opening. The lid locks to avoid accidental spillage, and I once accidentally left hot tea in it for 18 hours and found it still hot when I opened it again. It’s also small enough to fit in my jacket pocket on chilly morning walks. It’s not my preferred mug for daily use, simply because the lid has three separate parts—a mouthpiece, a gasket, and a lid—that are deeply ridged and hard to clean.

Rambler Stackable Cup for $30 : This insulated cup holds 16 fluid ounces, which is the capacity of a typical tall drinking glass. The best aspect of this is that you can stack several of them, so you can keep a bunch in your pantry without taking up much room. It comes with Yeti's durable powder coating, too, making them among the toughest options out there.

Hydro Flask Mug for $28: The Hydro Flask Mug merges a durable powder-coated, vacuum-insulated construction with the traditional, handle-sporting shape of a diner or camp mug. Hydro Flask does it better than most. The stainless steel rim makes it nicer to sip from than competitors' mugs, and it comes with Hydro Flask's usual drip-proof lid and bomber-tough powder coating that is nearly impossible to scratch. But it is more at home on a desk than at a campsite or in a car's cup holder, which it can't fit into.

GSI Outdoors MicroLite 500 Flip for $30 : Under the button-activated, flip-up lid there's a contoured bowl that you drink from, as if somebody cut the top half off a plastic cup. It felt gimmicky and unnecessary. It didn't do anything that just drinking from an open bottle couldn't do, and it tended to collect stray water droplets after I was done drinking. The overly complex cap was harder to hand wash than most caps, although the dishwasher could clean the cap without issue. What saves the MicroLite 500 is the stainless steel rim, which felt nice to drink from when the cap was removed, plus the array of available colors in durable, non-scratch coatings. Minus the cap, the bottle was fairly nice, if not particularly a standout among the competition. There's a MicroLite 500 With Twist Lid for $30 that does away with the gimmicky cap and has a simpler lid, although the carry strap is narrow and not as robust as I'd have liked.

Owala FreeSip for $28 : Product reviewer Medea Giordano loved the FreeSip ( 9/10, WIRED Recommends ) for its dual drink spouts: one open hole, plus a built-in straw. If you've got mobility or pain issues that make tilting your head a hassle, this mug is a solid performer. It's easy to grip too, with its flattened sides, which can come in handy for those with reduced hand dexterity.

OtterBox Elevation for $30 : At 8.5 inches tall, the Elevation 20 looks a lot bigger than it is. It has a copper lining that the company says helps better maintain your beverage’s perfect temperature, although I saw no noticeable difference in the Elevation's temperature-holding abilities. The clear press-on lid has a locking mechanism that you can switch it out for a straw lid or a French press lid if you’re in a hurry. It comes in a variety of stunning hues. OfferBox uses lead in its construction. When reached for comment, a company representative said, “ The seal is not open or accessible to the end user, and at no time, under intended use, could it come into contact with the end user. The OtterBox Elevation tumbler meets all applicable US regulatory requirements.”

Purist Mover for $48 : Ever empty a stainless-steel bottle of one beverage and fill it up with a different one, only to notice that the taste of the first drink lingers? The Purist has applied a thin layer of glass over the interior of the Mover, which keeps this taste transfer from happening. You can down a mug full of coffee and then fill it with herbal tea without risking a coffee aftertaste. I didn’t experience leaks from the Element top, but a high number of customers have reported their Purist lids leaking over time. I’ll keep using the Purist and update this page with information on how it performs.

S'well Traveler Tumbler for $30 : S’well boasts that its tumblers are triple-walled, but I'm not convinced that has much real-world benefit over a normal double-walled tumbler. It didn't keep beverages remarkably colder or hotter than its competitors, for example. What really sets the S’well apart are its designs. There are 12 finishes, from plain colors and bare stainless steel to elaborate patterns, such as blue marble and faux wood, and a slide-open lid so you don’t have to pop it off every time you want a swig of coffee.

Stanley Classic Vacuum Pint for $26 : Stanley’s vacuum pint includes a press-on lid with a deeply pebbled exterior that’s reminiscent of classic flasks. Although it’s billed as a 16-ounce pint, Stanley has added a few extra ounces to accommodate foam (or splashing hot coffee), and the lid comes with a slide-in metal bottle opener if you like to go immediately from work to happy hour. Stanley uses lead in its manufacturing process .

Avoid These Travel Mugs

We’ve tested a great many tumblers, and not all are winners. These aren't anywhere near as good as our picks above.

Greens Steel Beast 20-Ounce Insulated Tumbler for $18 : Greens Steel’s Beast tumbler has more than 67,000 positive reviews on Amazon and is, at least for me, one of the top hits when I search Amazon for an insulated tumbler. But the rubber seal around the lid is thin and easily comes out of place. I was ready to write the Beast off when it was leaking like a sieve, but after I adjusted the seal, it was reasonably leak-proof. Sometimes it dribbles, sometimes it doesn’t, depending on whether the seal stays put when you’re attaching the lid. The exterior color coating is not as durable as the Klean, Hydro Flask, Yeti, or Fellow. It did come with a regular metal straw, a thick metal milkshake straw, and a cleaner brush.

Snow Peak Kanpai 500-ml Bottle for $98 : Unlike most of Snow Peak’s line of camping and backpacking gear, the Kanpai is stainless steel, not titanium, and it’s not made in Japan. It’s a double-walled, insulated stainless-steel tumbler with a glossy finish, and it comes with three lids, for some unnecessary reason. There’s a white screw-on lid that needs to be removed every time you want a drink, and a black version of the same lid. The third lid—one with a sipping hole that can be closed with a sliding latch—leaks if the Kanpai tips over. It took damage in a mere 3-foot drop when it was empty, landing on its rim, which flattened. A steel bottle, especially one with no liquid in it, should be able to survive that without battle scars.

Toaks Titanium Double Wall 450ML Cup for $40: More often than not, I champion Toaks gear as an affordable source of titanium camp cookware compared to Snow Peak and Evernew and MSR, which tend to be more expensive. But this mug is only $10 less than the Snow Peak mug we recommend above, and its finishing is rougher.

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Our Favorite Mugs

By Jackie Reeve

Jackie Reeve is a writer covering all things bedding. She has also reported on towels, rugs, and chicken coops (with help from her 20 backyard pets).

Mugs live in our cupboards year-round. But as the weather turns crisp and chilly, and hot chocolate and cozy drinks beckon, they become essential staples.

From classic diner styles to beautiful glass vessels to handmade stoneware cups, these are the mugs that elevate our morning cuppa into an experience.

If you prefer matching mugs and plates, you can peruse the mugs in our guide to the best dinnerware sets . We also have more practical guides to the best heated mugs , travel mugs , and tumblers .

Everyday favorites

Kinto Unitea Cup - 15 oz

A delicate glass mug, buying options.

In seventh grade I decided my entire personality would be based on drinking tea out of oversize, clear glass mugs. (I must’ve seen this in a movie or something.) For weeks I begged my mom to drive me around hunting for one, and then we finally found some at Pier 1 Imports. Thirty years later I still love a big glass mug, but now it’s one of these delicate beauties from the Japanese brand Kinto. They’re thin, stunning, simple, and affordable enough to replace if they break (trust me, glass mugs break often). They’re also available in a 12-ounce and 17-ounce size, and Kinto’s shipping was lightning-quick. One version even comes with a matching glass strainer , for a true tea-lover nirvana.

IKEA Dinera Mug - 10 oz

A modern diner mug.

Everything about IKEA’s Dinera mug works for us—the Scandinavian take on a diner mug (more on those below), the bargain price, and the muted color choices. We even have them in our Wirecutter kitchen. Michael Hession, Wirecutter’s head of photography and video, also loves them. “I am very picky about my mugs,” he said. After lengthy searches for the perfect mug, he found the Dinera while browsing at IKEA. “It has beautiful proportions, looks modern without making a fuss about it, [and] it’s the perfect size for me, at 10 ounces.” And since they’re so inexpensive, if you break one, it’s not a big deal.

Heath Ceramics Stack Mug

A refined stoneware mug.

The Heath Ceramics Stack Mug is part of Heath Ceramics’ classic Rim Line , which we recommend in our dinnerware guide . The 8-ounce Stack Mug isn’t huge, but we think it holds just the right amount of liquid, keeping your coffee warm until the last sip. Made by a small team in Sausalito, California, this handcrafted stoneware has an unglazed rim and base, which adds to its earthy yet refined look. One tester in our dinnerware testing panel said, “Each piece feels like an object of art.” Nearly all of our testers gushed over the colors and both the matte and shiny glazes of the Rim Line. Of the various Heath pieces that we’ve in the Wirecutter test kitchen since 2019, none of them have chipped or broken. Heath also offers a one-year warranty on its dinnerware if you find any defects.

Classic diner mugs

Highwave Cafe Classic Mug

A classic diner mug.

First made by the company Victor to survive rough seas on U.S. Navy ships during World War II, the original classic diner mugs are pretty indestructible. Diner mugs have evolved over time, from new companies and with new designs. Yet the basics we love are the same—a weighty mug that holds 8 to 12 ounces of liquid and is made with thick ceramic (originally porcelain) to help insulate drinks. If you like the feel of a heavy, sturdy diner mug, we love the stoneware Highwave Classic Cafe Mug. It weighs a little over 19 ounces when empty and holds 10 ounces of liquid, and it’s a slightly updated version of the diner classic. My Highwave has survived several drops onto my kitchen floor, with just a loud, ringing thud. It’s the last mug in my cabinet I’m worried about breaking. I tend to nurse my hot drinks all day, long after they’ve gone cold, and this one keeps liquids hot for a surprisingly long time.

Bubby’s Pie for Breakfast Doodle Mug

What’s more fun than a diner mug from a pie shop? Bubby’s in New York City offers three designs from doodles sketched by owner Ron Silver, but the Pie for Breakfast mug is our favorite. We also can’t get enough of the bowl-shaped coffee mug from Junior’s in New York (even though it doesn’t have the classic diner-mug shape). This one is making us crave the diner’s famous cheesecake and a cup of joe.

Vintage Victor Diner Mug

A vintage diner mug.

“I’m a fan of the super-heavy vintage diner mugs you can find on eBay,” said senior staff writer Tim Heffernan. (Members of our home team here at Wirecutter are also fans.) Victor , Shenango , Ventura , and Rego are the most common makers. And if you prefer vintage mugs, it’s not too hard to find sets, mostly in brown or off-white. “My Venturas weigh 19.5 ounces empty and 26.5 when as full as you’d ever dare,” Tim said. Why does he love them? “Because on cold mornings, if you fill them with boiling water for a few minutes before dumping it and adding your beverage, they absorb the heat and keep the beverage—and your hands—warm for a good hour,” he said. “Also you can drop them onto hard tile and they won’t break.”

Collectible mugs to give as gifts (or to keep for yourself)

Emma Bridgewater Flowers Snowdrop 1/2 Pint Mug

A mug for every occasion.

In the midst of the pandemic, when supervising editor Daniela Gorny and I both discovered The Great Pottery Throw Down on HBO Max, we fell in love with Emma Bridgewater’s pottery . Many of the mugs (and bowls, plates, jugs, and other assorted lovely things) are limited-edition models, so you have to get them when you can. The half-pint mug is great for morning coffee, but the company also has larger cocoa mugs . My daughter also has a small personalized mug , perfectly sized for kids, and it has become her favorite for hot chocolate. The pottery is easy to mix and match for a casual, English-cottage-style collection in your cupboards.

Vietri Maccarello Mug

A large, hand-painted mug.

May be out of stock

Vietri was founded in the 1980s by an American family inspired by a trip to Italy. The company is woman-owned, the pieces are still made by Italian artisans, and they’re absolutely delightful. “I treated myself to the Maccarello Mug ,” said editor Gabriella Gershenson. “It’s big and beautiful. The painted mackerel pattern is soothing to look at, and the glaze has a nice, slick finish.” (Supervising editor Daniela Gorny also owns this one.) The generous, 14-ounce mug is big and cozy enough to cradle between both hands. “My only complaint is that the fish are painted on just one side, so I have to angle the mug in a certain direction to enjoy them,” Gabriella added.

Le Creuset Mug

A forever classic.

Le Creuset may be known for its enamel-coated cast-iron Dutch ovens (and I love mine deeply). Yet the surprise star of my Le Creuset life is this stoneware mug . Even after years of use, the ones I own still don’t have a scratch on them. (I also have a set of the company’s ramekins , made from the same stoneware, which someone gave me in 2007; they have been an indestructible presence ever since, retaining heat perfectly when melting butter or warming up pancake syrup.) These mugs come in more than a dozen colors, and at a hefty 14 ounces, they are large yet really nice to hold. I can see myself collecting the full rainbow over time or giving one as a bright, happy gift to friends, my daughter’s teachers, or even in a gift swap here at work.

Taylor & Ng Elephants - Blue Daytime Animates Mug

A whimsical doodle.

“When I was a little kid, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house, and I never understood why my grandma would laugh when I requested to drink from these mugs,” said home/decor staff writer Dorie Chevlen. “Years later I took a closer look and finally got it.” She said her grandmother bought the mugs when she started a job as a sex educator. “No small feat for a mother of three kids in the 1960s!” Dorie said. She and her sister bought a set identical to their grandmother’s when they moved into an apartment together in New York. The mugs are still made by the same company. “Just like her, we delight in offering cups of coffee to guests in these slyly sexual vessels, awaiting their delighted—or horrified—responses.”

Franca Finca Mug - Tatas Pattern

A cheeky mug.

At first glance, these matte-finish mugs by Jazmin de la Guardia and Sierra Yip-Bannicq appear to have a simple abstract design. But keep looking, and suddenly it’s clear—tatas everywhere. The cups are handcrafted and hand painted at design studio and ceramics store Franca in Brooklyn, New York. The white porcelain mugs have a matte exterior finish and glossy interior. Franca also makes a similar penis mug if you want to mix-and-match the cheeky designs.

District of Clothing Cup of Ambition

A motivational mug.

This Cup of Ambition vessel—inspired by icon and national treasure Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5”—is the cup I reach for when I’m tackling a giant to-do list, when I’m on a tough deadline, or when I just need a reminder that I’ve got this. District of Clothing —founded by Dionna Dorsey, the creator of the Trust Black Women T-shirt —also makes several other mugs with empowering messages to choose from.

Handmade, one-of-a-kind mugs

Mt. Washington Pottery Facet Carved Mug

A sculptural mug.

The Column Carved Mug from Mt. Washington Pottery is a favorite with supervising editor Daniela Gorny. “I got a pair of these as a housewarming gift, and they’ve become some of my favorite mugs,” she said. The size and shape of the handle works with how she drinks coffee. “I usually just grab the mug like a cup instead of from the handle, and the small loop is perfect for a couple of fingers to wedge through.” Even though these mugs are dishwasher-safe, Daniela hand-washes them. And that’s probably a good rule of thumb for most handmade mugs, if you want them to last for years and years. You can usually check the site to see if there are any mugs for sale; the shop also sells its mugs through various stockists and at local craft fairs, if you’re in the Los Angeles area.

Gray Lane Ceramics In Nature Mugs

An earthy and modern mug.

Canadian potter Erin Seeley’s tree mugs are the favorite handmade mugs in my house right now. I bought a pair of them in fall 2021, during one of her very popular shop updates. Her online shop usually appears “closed,” which just means you have to wait until the next update to buy anything; she suggests following on Instagram or signing up for email updates. The mugs are understated and earthy, they hold a generous, 16-ounce cup of coffee, and they fit in perfectly in our woodsy farmhouse. Shipping is not cheap, but if you’re starting a collection and want something modern and special that works for everyday use, set your alarm for her next update.

Sublime Pottery Mugs

A unique glazed mug.

I recently bought a stein-sized mug from Sublime Pottery (mine holds 27 ounces, but each mug is slightly different), and I cannot stop looking at it. The color and details in the glossy, rainbow-hued surface are so pretty that I can’t decide whether to drink tea from it or display it on a shelf. The company releases new items every few weeks, and they sell out fast—so fast, in fact, that the website has an entire page of instructions for how to navigate restocks. These mugs are a splurge, especially for the larger sizes, but the glazes are too gorgeous to pass up.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Christine Ryan.

Meet your guide

Jackie Reeve

Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since 2015. Previously she was a school librarian, and she’s been a quilter for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. She moderates Wirecutter’s staff book club and makes her bed every morning.

Mentioned above

• We tested 50 dinnerware sets in a wide range of designs and prices. We found 11 favorites to suit any lifestyle and budget. The Best Dinnerware Sets  
• If you rarely get to enjoy your coffee or tea before it gets cold, we can relate. Here are a few great ways to make sure every sip is a warm one. The 3 Mug Warmers We Love for Keeping Our Coffee (and Tea) Hot  
• After testing travel mugs for over 10 years, we’re still confident that the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug is the best mug to keep drinks hot for hours. The Best Travel Mug  
• The affordable, leak-resistant Simple Modern Classic Tumbler keeps drinks cold (or warm) for hours, and it comes with both a straw lid and a flip-top lid. The Best Tumbler  
• Our top pick Dutch oven has remained the same since 2015 for its ability to braise, sear, and bake as well as more expensive pots. The Best Dutch Oven  

Further reading

Wirecutter’s Best Picks for Coffee and Tea Lovers

by Wirecutter Staff

Give your caffeine routine a jolt with these Wirecutter-recommended electric kettles, coffee makers, tea steepers, mug warmers, and more.

The Best Coffee Makers

We think the easiest way to make good coffee is with the Bonavita Enthusiast 8-Cup Coffee Brewer . We also have picks for a budget option, an espresso machine, and more.

Why the OXO 9-Cup Has Been Our Favorite Coffee Maker Since 2016

by Nick Guy

The OXO Brew coffee maker delivers coffee that tastes like the result of an intricate, precise process. Yet it actually requires only the push of a button.

I Love Coffee, but I Gave It Up for MudWtr. Don’t Make My Mistake.

by Ben Keough

Wirecutter’s resident coffee nerd grudgingly set it aside for a week to try MudWtr, a mix of tea, cacao, spices, and powdered mushrooms. Here’s what he found.

17 Best Travel Coffee Mugs for Hot and Cold Drinks

Commute with your coffee under control.

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

For many of us, coffee is a constant companion — and that means you'll want a trusty travel mug as you head out the door. Whether you prefer a piping hot cup from your drip coffee maker or single-serve coffeemaker , a refill at Starbucks or a dose of joe from your cold brew coffee maker , your travel coffee mug should handle it all without leaking. Fortunately, there's tons of options out there, including stainless steel coffee thermoses to keep your beverages cool and ones with straws for easy sipping.

Over the years, the pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab have tested 45 different travel mugs for hot and cold temperature retention, durability, resistance to leakage, ease of use and more. In our most recent tests, we called in samples of the latest travel mugs and used them both in the office and on our commutes to see how well they held up. We noted how they felt, how they traveled and, unavoidably, how they held up when dropped. Ahead, we rounded up the best travel coffee mugs based on picks that performed well during testing or come from brands that we trust.

Our top picks:

Best Overall Travel Coffee Mug

Zojirushi 16-ounce stainless steel mug.

Best Value Travel Coffee Mug

Juro stainless steel vacuum insulated tumbler.

Best No-Spill Travel Coffee Mug

Stanley classic trigger action travel mug.

Best Travel Coffee Mug for Espresso Drinks

Avana sedona stainless steel thermal tumbler.

Easiest to Clean Leak-Resistant Travel Coffee Mug

Oxo good grips 16-oz travel coffee mug with leakproof simplyclean lid.

Best Travel Coffee Mug with Carrying Strap

Hydro flask flex sip lid coffee flask.

Best Self-Heating Travel Coffee Mug

Smrtmugg heated coffee mug.

Best Wide-Mouthed Travel Coffee Mug

S'well stainless steel traveler.

Best Locking-Lid Travel Coffee Mug

Contigo luxe autoseal vacuum-insulated mug.

Best Travel Coffee Mug with Handle

Yeti rambler mug with lid.

Read on for more information on our testing process as well as for tips on what to look for when shopping for a travel coffee mug. For more ideas on what to fill your cup with, check out these coffee recipes to make at home .

Zojirushi's travel mug with a locking lid opens with the push of a button but won't leak or spill (even in a backpack). It will keep hot coffee hot — in fact, the brand is so confident that it offers a five-year warranty on heat retention. Iced coffee fans will appreciate that the mouth is large enough to handle big ice cubes for that extra chill.

Our tester noted that the vacuum-sealed lid keeps water cold all day: "I always grab it from my backpack and think, 'There's no way this could still possibly be cool anymore,' and I'm always pleasantly surprised." We also like the slim design, which is easy to grip and fits nicely into backpacks or totes. It comes in several colors and a 12-ounce version.

This stainless steel mug is a great affordable option, especially considering its large 20-ounce size. What's more, it claims to retain the temperature of your coffee for up to six hours. Online reviewers like that it fits easily into car holders and won't sweat when filled with ice. The tumbler includes two lids: The featured slider lid as well as a flip-style lid , so you can choose which you prefer for the beverage you're drinking. It also comes with a reusable straw and a straw cleaner, though we found the straw was short and inconvenient to use.

Stanley has been in the thermal carafe game since 1913. This travel coffee mug delivers the company's insulated design and also includes a push-button "trigger action" lid that keeps the mug sealed unless pushed. We liked that it means the spout stays closed when you're not hands-on . Our pros did note that it requires some level of strength and dexterity to hold the button while sipping. This mug is available in several colors (even camo!) and in a 20-ounce size.

This 10-ounce travel mug from Avana is perfectly sized for espresso-based drinks, but it's also available in 20-ounce and 30-ounce versions. Kitchen Appliances & Innovation Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou likes that the simple two-piece design is easy to clean because the lid is just one solid piece, unlike many other lids. This is particularly helpful if you like coffee drinks with foam, like latte beverages , that can gunk up lids over time. The contoured mouthpiece makes sipping easy, but it doesn't seal closed, so watch out for leaks. The double-walled insulated construction keeps drinks hot or cold and helps prevent condensation from collecting on the outside.

We love when kitchen gear comes apart for a thorough cleaning, but would rather skip the guesswork that can follow when it's time to reassemble. The OXO travel coffee mug with SimplyClean lid solves this pain point: The four-piece lid is color-coded, numbered and etched with assembly instructions . It's easy to take apart and clean by hand (or in the dishwasher), and simple to put back together for your next cup. Never mind, it's also comfortable to hold. The mug comes in four other colors as well as a 20-ounce size.

Hydro Flask has a huge following when it comes to water bottles — in fact, we named the brand our best stainless steel water bottle — and we're fans of its coffee mugs (called coffee flasks), too . GH Lab tests found that its stainless steel, vacuum-insulated body kept drinks hot and cold for hours, and it was quite leakproof. Hydro Flask also offers a separate wide-mouth lid , which can be handy for cold beverages. (The included lid twists to open and close.) But, be careful drinking hot beverages with a wide mouth as it can spill easily. It's available in a range of colors as well as 16- and 20-ounce sizes , and the little handle helps make it easier to transport.

This SmrtMugg travel mug — rated our best self-heating travel mug — has built-in heat technology to keep coffee hot. Its large battery on the bottom — the manufacturer claims a 10-hour battery life — kept coffee hot (above the target temp of 135˚F) for the full four hours of our Lab tests . Once you get the hang of the controls at the bottom of the mug, the clear digital readout is helpful in setting the temperature and turning off the mug. This travel mug also aced our leak tests. Our tester noted that while the push-button lid is easy to use, the edge of the button can bump your lip while drinking.

This sleek 16-ounce bottle has been redesigned to fit more comfortably in your hand. Though we have not tested this model in the Lab, our pros appreciate that i ts large size and wide mouth can easily fit ice cubes , which makes it a great choice for frequent iced coffee drinkers. We have also found other S'well products to be good at maintaining temperatures. It seals shut and is leakproof; plus, it will keep your drinks cold (or hot!) all day. The S'well comes in a ton of color options as well as 12-ounce and 20-ounce sizes.

This coffee mug from Contigo is super comfortable in your hands, and it has a unique locking feature that makes it leak- and spill-proof. When you want to sip (or chug) your coffee, just press the button to release the seal. During your commute, you can lock the button so you don't accidentally press it while on the go . It's also completely dishwasher-safe, even the lid. One tester did note that with hot beverages, the lid can feel too hot to handle.

This popular Yeti mug looks just like a traditional coffee mug, but it's designed to keep your drinks hot or cold and comes with a lid to prevent unnecessary spills. The sturdy and comfortable handle is large enough for even wide hands. It's available in a dozen different colors as well as sizes from 10- to 30 ounces. Another bonus is that when you buy from the Yeti site, you can customize your product with a short text, a monogram or a logo. Our tester found that the lid slides open easily but noted that it's not leakproof. The brand has also introduced the Rambler Stronghold lid , which screws on (rather than presses in), which we're actively testing in the Lab.

Fellow Carter Everywhere Travel Mug

This little cylinder makes a statement, with testers loving how compact it was. The sleek stainless steel shell contains a ceramic liner intended to keep your coffee free of metallic flavors. The screw top reveals a wide mouth that you can sip from any angle and is large enough for adding ice . It comes in seven additional colors as well as a smaller, 12-ounce size.

W&P Porter Ceramic Mug with Protective Silicone Sleeve

Papantoniou likes that the inside of this travel mug is easy-to-clean porcelain, which generally helps to prevent buildup over time that can negatively impart flavors . She also noted that it keeps coffee "nice and hot right off the bat." It includes a simple shape and a silicone sleeve for a comfortable non-slip grip. It comes in several colors and a couple of terrazzo prints . It's also available in a 16-ounce size.

Starbucks Classic Green & White Traveler Tumbler Coffee Mug

Starbucks fans will appreciate that they can purchase this mug online rather than solely in the stores. The ceramic mug is easy to use — the lid just pops into place and is surrounded by a rubber seal to help keep it (and the coffee) in place — and easy to clean . "It keeps coffee warm like a standard ceramic mug would, and the lid helps to keep things a little warmer for longer," our tester says. "I like that it's not scalding hot like in a metal mug, so I can enjoy my coffee without burning my mouth." The 12-oz size is perfect for refills of Starbucks tall drinks.

STOJO Collapsible Travel Cup with Straw

Stojo's collapsible coffee cup makes it possible to travel light while avoiding single-use plastics. The brand impressed our pros with its other collapsible offerings — the Collapsible Bowl won a 2021 Kitchen Gear Award . Similarly, this travel cup is well designed: The cup includes a heat sleeve that provides a structured grip for the squishy silicone cup, and the 16-ounce size includes a straw (which is great for iced coffee or if you prefer to bring your own cup to fountain machines). The collapsed cup is just two inches in size. It's both microwave and dishwasher safe, with 8-ounce , 12-ounce and 24-ounce sizes.

MiiR Flip Traveler

With a 4.8-rating on Amazon, this stainless steel thermos comes in a slim design and an easy-to-open lid. Though we have not tested this pick in the Lab, we like its focus on giving back: T he bottom of each travel mug is printed with a "Give Code" that you can enter at Mirr's website for details on the brand's corporate giving , which is funded through every purchase. The Flip Traveler is available in several colors and 12-ounce and 16-ounce sizes .

JOCO Glass Reusable Coffee Cup

This glass bodied Joco mug has a colorful silicone lid and a matching thermal sleeve. It's microwave (and dishwasher!) safe, which makes it a great option if you like to reheat your coffee throughout the day. Since the glass is clear, it's easy to see how much coffee you have left — and hit your preferred shade when you add your creamer. Take note that the lid does not seal shut, so while it might be handy for car commuting, this isn't one that's great for tossing in your bag.

Zoku Instant Iced Coffee Maker

For iced coffee fiends, this mug is for you. Get your cuppa in flash: Simply store the inner core of the mug in the freezer, then slip the frozen cup into the protective plastic sleeve and pour in hot coffee. Our tester found that the travel mug will chill your coffee rapidly without watering it down with ice cubes. (The brand actually uses the same concept for its ice cream maker .) Slide in the lid with the provided straw, and you're ready for undiluted iced coffee — though you can add ice if you prefer. One caveat is that the freezable core holds only 11 ounces, which some might find too small.

How we test travel coffee mugs

When the experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab test travel coffee mugs, they use thermocouples to track the temperature of the liquid inside the mug over time. Many of the mugs on this list were tested at home over months (even over commutes) to assess their durability, ease of use and temperature retention.

Our pros also evaluate the mugs for stability, cleanability and comfort of both holding and drinking. They test whether the mug is easy to open and close, and they drop each mug to assess its durability. To test for leaking, our pros roll the mug around on its side as well as turn it upside down and shake it vigorously.

How to find the best travel coffee mug for you

✔️ Material : Many travel coffee mugs are stainless steel, though our list also includes porcelain, glass and silicone options. Double-walled construction is common with stainless steel mugs, and that can help keep your beverage hot or cold longer. Other materials may not be insulated. If you opt for a glass mug, consider borosilicate glass, which is tempered to prevent shattering with hot liquids and can be more durable if dropped. Porcelain mugs are generally easy to clean, and because the material is nonporous, the mug is unlikely to develop odd flavors. Silicone is a great lightweight option, but it can get warm if it does not have a heat sleeve.

✔️ Lid : Some lids are more spill-proof than others. Our Lab experts particularly love the locking feature on the Contigo Luxe Autoseal Vacuum-Insulated Travel Coffee Mug , which adds a level of safety if you plan to toss your mug in your bag. Lids that screw on are also often leak-resistant. Those who prefer a more traditional-style mug with a handle may find that slider lids are common; evaluate those for leaking, as some are prone to dribbles (or worse). Note that spill-proof lids often require more care to clean.

✔️ Washability : Check to see if the mug is dishwasher-safe. If it needs to be washed by hand, make sure you can thoroughly clean it with a sponge or bottle brush .

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Sarah Wharton is the Senior Editor and Analyst for the Good Housekeeping Institute. She tested several of the newest additions to this list as well as led the recent test of heated mugs. She's written about all kinds of kitchen gear as well as coffee advice like how to make a cappuccino and how to make an iced latte .

Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou oversees all testing of kitchen gear, including products like coffee grinders , coffee makers , espresso machines and Nespresso machines . She has tested almost all of these travel mugs and is constantly rotating through an assortment in her daily travel mug use. She is also the lead judge in the Good Housekeeping Institute's forthcoming Coffee Awards .

Sarah (she/her) is a deputy editor in the Good Housekeeping Institute , where she tests products and covers the best picks across kitchen, tech, health and food. She has been cooking professionally since 2017 and has tested kitchen appliances and gear for Family Circle as well as developed recipes and food content for Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Oxo and Food52. She holds a certificate in professional culinary arts from the International Culinary Center (now the Institute of Culinary Education).

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The 8 best travel mugs: Does anything beat Yeti?

If you're a coffee drinker, then you know it's important to have the right coffee mug. And for people who are regularly on the go, a dependable travel mug is an eco-friendly, money-saving necessity. Luckily for you, we've researched dozens of the top travel mugs on the market to find our favorites. Keep reading to see the eight best travel mugs, what we like about them, and how you can choose the right one for you.

YETI Rambler

Best travel mug overall.

Features : 20 ounces | 35 color options | 18/8 stainless steel body

YETI is one of the most recognizable names in the world of travel mugs, and for good reason. Their products are known for their durability, which you can see as soon as you hold this product in your hand. This 20-ounce tumbler has excellent double-wall vacuum insulation to keep your drinks hot or cold. The lid includes a MagSlider, which is designed to further insulate the mug and prevent leaking. You can also trade out the magnetic slider for a straw and enjoy your beverages that way. 

This mug has nearly 140,000 reviews on Amazon, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. Customers say that it's easy to drink from, easy to clean, and durable. It's no surprise it ranks first. 

• Double-wall vacuum insulation
• Durable design
• Versatile -- use with magnetic sliding closure or a straw for hot and cold drinks
• Dishwasher safe
• Pricier than some competitors
• Lid may not be leak-proof

Hydro Flask Water Bottle

Best on-the-go travel mug.

Features: 15 color options | 20-64 ounces | Keeps beverages cold up to 24 hours and hot up to 12 hours

If you want a travel mug that's easy to take with you on the go, check out the Hydro Flask. The handle makes this bottle easy to carry, and it has an attractive design. With its wide flex sip lid, this mug is still leak-proof according to Hydro Flask, and will keep your coffee hot for hours. As an added bonus, the company supports more than 100 environmental non-profit organizations and has donated $1.9 billion and more than 55,000 bottles.

When it comes to reviews, customers have plenty of good things to say. The product has more than 21,000 reviews on Amazon and an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. Customers like that it makes a great gift, is easy to drink from, and is leak-proof.

• A portion of proceeds goes to charity
• Easy to take with you on the go
• Compatible with other Hydro Flask lids
• Some reviews complain of leaks
• Difficult to disassemble to clean

Zojirushi Stainless Mug

Best travel mug for heat retention.

Features: 8 color options | Vacuum insulated | BPA-free plastic

If you're looking for a travel mug that's going to keep your coffee hot, look no further than the Zojirushi Stainless Mug. It consistently ranks among the best mugs for heat retention, thanks to vacuum insulation. The company promises this mug will keep your beverages hot or cold for six hours. Additionally, it has a sleek design that fits in cup holders and can accommodate full-size ice cubes.

This product comes highly-rated by customers. With more than 19,000 reviews on Amazon, the mug has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. Customers like that it's leak-proof, easy to drink from, and made of quality material.

• Leak-proof lid
• Excellent heat retention
• Sleek, lightweight design
• Sized for cupholders and ice cubes
• Not dishwasher safe
• Stains and scratches easily

Miir Travel Tumbler

Best travel mug for commuters.

Features: 12-20 ounces | 6 color options | Insulated Travel Lid

Anytime you have a conversation about the best travel mugs, MiiR will be one of the first names to come up. The MiiR Travel Tumbler keeps your drinks either hot or cold with double-wall vacuum insulation technology. It comes with a leak-free design, meaning you don't have to worry about spills when you're on the go. People also love the design of this travel tumbler, and it's compatible with your standard cup holder and regular ice cubes.

As far as customer reviews go, MiiR is a fan favorite. It has more than 300 reviews on the company's website, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

• Double-wall insulation keeps your drinks hot and cold
• Attractive design
• Spill-proof lid
• A portion of your purchase goes to charity
• Lid can be difficult to open
• Exterior scratches easily

Contigo West Loop Travel Mug with Autoseal® Lid

Best leakproof travel mug.

Features: 38 color options | 10-24 ounces | Push button for drinking

Contigo is practically a household name when it comes to travel mugs. This mug in particular is famous for its Autoseal® lid, which keeps your coffee hot for hours and ensures the lid is leak- and spill-proof. Pair the auto-seal with the vacuum insulation, and you can trust that your coffee will stay hot. It's designed to fit in your car's cup holder and under your home's single-serve brewer.

If we judge this mug simply by its reviews, then it's easy to see why Contigo is a household name. The mug has more than 110,000 reviews on Amazon, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. Customers like that it's leak-proof, easy to drink from, and durable.

• Affordable price
• Leak- and spill-proof lid
• Auto-seal lid
• Keeps drinks hot for 5 hours and cold for 12
• Difficult to clean, according to reviews

Ello Campy Water Bottle with Slider Lid

Best travel mug for camping.

Features: 8 color options | 18 ounces | Leak-proof slider lid

The Ello Campy Water Bottle is perfect for anyone who prefers a camp-style travel mug. It has a long handle, which makes it easy to carry no matter your hand size. It claims to keep drinks hot for 5 hours and cold for 10 hours. Its patented sealing slider is designed to prevent leaks and to make it easy to open or close one-handed.

This mug has more than 5,000 reviews on Amazon and an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Customers liked its lock feature, its easy-to-hold design, and its leak-proof lid.

• Keeps drinks hot for 5 hours or cold for 10 hours
• Handle makes it easy to carry
• Attractive and classic camp aesthetic
• Less convenient to cart around

KeepCup Reusable Coffee Cup

Best for replacing paper cups.

Features: 12 ounces | Tempered glass | BPA-free

Anyone looking for a glass travel mug will love the aesthetic of the KeepCup Reusable Coffee Cup. It's made of toughened glass and has a natural cork band. However, this mug won't keep your drink hot as long as many of the other products on this list. After all, it's designed to replace disposable cups you'd find at coffee shops (and for people who like the glass mug look). KeepCup is an environmentally-friendly mug, and the company donates revenue each year to help the environment.

This mug has over 2,000 reviews on Amazon, earning it a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Customers like its beautiful design and the fact that it's the same size as coffee shop paper cups.

• Aesthetically-pleasing design
• A portion of proceeds go to environmental causes
• Excellent disposable cup replacement
• Not leak-proof
• Doesn't keep drinks hot for long

Fellow Carter Move Travel Mug

Best travel mug for preventing spills.

Features: 8 color options | 12-16 ounces | Ceramic interior coating

The Fellow Carter Move Travel Mug has an eye-catching design. It will definitely keep your drinks hot or cold thanks to its vacuum insulation; Fellow claims the mug will retain heat for up to 12 hours and retain cold for up to 24 hours. Its unique design is made to prevent spills and leaks. In fact, it even has a snap-in splash guard for that very purpose, and its lid design does the rest.

This product has roughly 2,100 reviews on Amazon, earning an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. While it hasn't proven itself to as many people as the other brands on our list, customers love its sturdiness, the fact that it's leak-proof, and that it makes a great gift.

• Great for using while on the go
• Leak-proof lid and splash guard
• Retains heat for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours
• More expensive than other competitors
• Inconvenient to open on the go

What is the best travel mug?

The YETI Rambler is the best travel mug based on durability, design, insulation, and versatility.

Which travel mug is right for you?

Even though we've narrowed down the field, you still may have a challenging time choosing a mug. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you weigh your options:

• What sort of heat retention do you need? You might be someone who drinks your coffee first thing in the morning, and heat retention isn't as important to you. On the other hand, you may travel in the cold weather or drink your coffee later in the day, and then you might want a mug that has excellent heat retention.
• Where will you be bringing your coffee mug? Some people have their coffee mugs sitting safely in a cup holder or on their desk, while others like to throw it in their backpack to drink later. If you're going to be bringing your mug on the go, you'll want one that's leak-proof.
• Are you okay with hand washing your mug? Several mugs on our list aren't dishwasher-safe, meaning you'll be hand washing them after each use. If you can't stand the idea of hand washing your coffee mug, be sure to choose one that can go in the dishwasher.
• How important is design? Some people are only concerned with function, while others want something that's also nice to look at. There's no right answer, but knowing which is important to you can help you narrow down your choices even more.

How did we choose these travel mugs?

With so many travel mugs on the market, you may be wondering how we narrowed our list down to these options. First, we started by rounding up the most frequently purchased travel mugs on the market. 

From there, we compared them based on factors like heat retention, design, whether they leak, and more. We also aimed to find products that brought something new to an already-crowded market. Did they have a unique selling point, or were they simply a knock-off of another popular brand?

Ultimately, we aimed to find products that provide excellent quality with few downsides at a price point that's accessible to everyone.

Are travel mugs dishwasher safe?

Some of the travel mugs on our list can go in the dishwasher, but some must be hand washed in order to maintain their heat retention or leak-proof features.

Do ceramic travel mugs keep coffee hot?

Travel mugs that are made of ceramic material are excellent at heat retention and keeping your coffee hotter for longer.

Are there alternative travel mugs worth considering?

There are hundreds of travel mugs on the market, so the right mug for you may not be on this list. Here are a few alternatives to consider:

Ello Magnet Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Mug

Thermos stainless king vacuum-insulated travel tumbler, contigo snapseal byron stainless steel travel mug, zdnet recommends, hiking this weekend don't forget to pack these gadgets, the best windows laptops you can buy: expert tested, the best smartwatches you can buy: expert tested.

Best Reviews | The best ceramic travel mug

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Best Reviews

There are many factors that come into play when looking for your perfect ceramic travel mug, including the quality of materials, how it looks and how big it may be. The Fellow Carter Move Travel Mug embodies the best ceramic travel mug and is the perfect blend of all of these factors.

What to know before you buy a ceramic travel mug

There’s nothing worse than hitting the bottom of your morning coffee too soon. Ceramic travel mugs come in a variety of sizes, usually between 12-36 ounces, and finding the perfect size for you could make you more likely to drink more water or get your daily dose of caffeine. However, the larger you get, the less portable your mug will be; there is an ideal middle between size and convenience for every buyer.

While most people wouldn’t think color plays such a large role in your ceramic travel mug decision, you’ll want to have a mug that fits your style and you’ll love to be seen with. Your ceramic travel mug should be able to put your personality and style on display. Darker color mugs will retain heat better and lighter mugs will keep your drink cooler, so if you have a preference on using this mug for hot or cold drinks, you can pick your color accordingly.

Quality of materials

Quality materials lead to the longevity of your mug as well as the touch, feel and appreciation you have for your drinkware. Quality of materials is especially important when looking at the lid of your mug. A cheap ceramic travel mug with poor materials is much more likely to break and leak, turning your morning commute into a huge mess.

Ceramic travel mug features

If you are serious about taking your ceramic travel mug on the road with you, having a handle will help you tremendously. Especially if you are carrying hot drinks, sometimes the outside of your mug can get extremely hot. Having a ceramic travel mug with a handle not only makes drinking easier, but it also protects your hands from getting too hot.

If you plan to travel with your ceramic mug, you’ll want a lid that has easy access to drinking. Find a ceramic travel mug that has a lid with a slider on top, allowing you to safely drink a hot coffee or tea on the go without any spills. Quality of materials is a huge consideration when looking at a lid slider — one leak in a faulty O-ring or loose lid and this amazing feature could become your biggest liability.

Temperature control

Some ceramic travel mugs offer electronic temperature control. You can connect the mug to an app on your phone over Bluetooth and set the temperature you would like the mug to keep your drink at. This feature typically comes at a cost though, with ceramic temperature-controlled mugs usually coming in at well over $100. The other downside to this great feature is that the mug is heavier and can run out of battery often, making it just a normal mug.

Ceramic travel mug cost

You can expect to pay $10-$50 for a traditional ceramic travel mug. Most are about $30 and the price generally depends on brand name, quality of materials and color options.

Ceramic travel mug FAQ

Do ceramic travel mugs fit in a car cup holder?

A. Most ceramic travel mugs do fit in a car cup holder. You can look at the specific dimensions of your mug as well as your car cup holder though to find out if it will fit.

Do ceramic travel mugs work for hot drinks as well as cold drinks?

A. Ceramic travel mugs work with both hot and cold drinks. If you are using this mug for hot drinks, though, remember to check if any of the interior of the mug is plastic, as this could be unsafe.

Which ceramic travel mug should I get?

Best of the best ceramic travel mug

Fellow Carter Move Travel Mug: available at Amazon

Our take: This ceramic travel mug is perfect for those looking for a good-looking, dependable mug that allows you to naturally flavor your drinks.

What we like: The tea and coffee tumbler that is built into this ceramic travel mug makes brewing tea or even flavoring your cold water with fresh fruit a breeze.

What we dislike: This is one of the smaller mugs on our list, so you may not be able to fit as much drink inside, but it won’t take up as much space in your bag, either.

Best bang for your buck ceramic travel mug

Ello Ogden Ceramic Travel Mug with Friction-Fit Lid: available at Amazon

Our take: This is a great ceramic travel mug for those looking to keep their drinks hot or cold on a budget. This durable mug will be able to stand up to anything you throw at it on your commute.

What we like: In addition to the cool grippy texture on the outside of this mug, everything is dishwasher safe so you’ll have no problem keeping it clean.

What we dislike: The plastic lid makes it so keeping your hot coffee in this mug could lead to an off taste in defective models.

Honorable mention ceramic travel mug

CeramiSteel Ultimate Insulated Travel Mug: available at Amazon

Our take: This is one of the larger ceramic travel mugs on our list, so you’ll be able to carry enough coffee or tea on the road with you for any occasion.

What we like: This mug comes in a variety of colors and styles, so you’ll have no problem finding the perfect aesthetic to fit your style.

What we dislike: Since there is no rubber on the outside of this mug, the exterior can get hot. Make sure you let your hot coffee cool down a bit before handling your mug for extended periods of time. Daisy Kelly is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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• Coffee & Tea

The Best Coffee Mugs (That Can Actually Make Coffee Taste Better)

These mugs will elevate your daily cup with style and comfort.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more .

Serious Eats / Alli Waataja

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Coffee Mug

The best updated classic mugs, the best design-forward coffee mugs.

• The Best Coffee Cups & Saucers

The Best Handleless Coffee Mugs

The best travel coffee mugs.

• Why We're the Experts

Coffee mug preferences are very personal. Style, sentimental value, and routine all play a part in selecting a favorite. At the same time, coffee is a complex sensory experience: There are more than 800 identified flavor and aroma compounds in brewed coffee, and the vessel we drink from can have an impact on how these are conveyed. The thinness of the lip, material, size, and shape can all affect our sensory perception of coffee, but we also want a mug that is comfortable to hold and looks stylish—one that makes every cup of coffee stand out.  

“Fresh-roasted, well-brewed coffee requires so many steps to go right, and the final piece is the vessel you’re enjoying it in. If you haven’t thoughtfully chosen your mug, it can turn something that is thoughtfully prepared into a sub-par experience,” says Xavier Alexander, owner of the Chicago café and roastery Metric Coffee .

This means it might be time to ditch your old, oversized mug. Giant mugs keep coffee too hot due to their large thermal mass when full, but as soon as the volume drops below the halfway mark, the coffee cools off too quickly and becomes sour ( coffee tastes best around 130ºF when your palate can detect more subtlety and sweetness). We spoke to roasters, baristas, and other coffee experts to build a list of the best, reasonably-sized (6- to 14-ounce) coffee mugs that will improve the flavor of your coffee while remaining stylish, comfortable, and easy to drink from. 

Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez

Here's what, we think, can impact the sensory experience and comfort of a coffee mug:

• Lip thickness:  A thin lip is easier to drink from without dribbling, and it allows you to delicately sip the same way  a wine glass  does to take in more of the aroma of your brew.
• Opening width:  A wider opening will allow your nose to take in more aroma, but also for the coffee to lose heat faster. Narrower cups create more thermal mass but might block your nose. “Aroma, and the psychology around it, is very important to me when drinking coffee,” says Sarah Nguyen, founder of the specialty Vietnamese coffee company Nguyen Coffee Supply , “so I don’t use one with a small diameter where I couldn’t adchieve the aroma’s effect.”
• Size:  Our sensory receptors detect more nuance in coffee from 120-140ºF, and smaller mugs help coffee cool to drinking temperature quicker while allowing you to finish your mug before it becomes cold and sour. “I like to see how the coffee changes as it changes temperature,” says Chrisena Ricci, lead production specialist in Buffalo, New York’s Tipico Coffee Roasters . For this reason, she chooses mugs at the larger end of the size range we’re suggesting. To avoid the off flavors that come with cold coffee, she only fills her mug halfway and then goes for a couple of refills.
• Base/wall thickness:  Adding mass to the walls or the mug's base will increase thermal insulation, which can help keep coffee hotter even as the volume drops.   That’s not always an advantage, though. Some prefer the elegance of a thinner wall. Alexander likes short pours of coffee. “Because I drink less, I’m not looking for thick-walled insulation. I want to drink my coffee at a safe temperature,” he says.
• Material:  Ceramic and porcelain are better heat conductors and add insulation while glass helps coffee cool quickly; good for people who are eager to sip. Stainless steel and silicone are durable materials for travel mugs , which might come with ceramic inserts to avoid off flavors.
• Texture: When you’re dealing with a hot liquid and going for maximum enjoyment, the feel of the cup on your lips is important. “I don’t like the rough ceramic that feels sandy or brushed. I don’t want to put that in my mouth,” says Kim Westerman, owner of the terroir-driven roastery Hedonic Coffee . She prefers glass or a more refined ceramic, such as porcelain. “They’re smooth, silky, and create no friction between you and your coffee.”

Serious Eats / Will Dickey

• Handle:  Round handles can rotate and slip but handles with a flat top give your thumb a better leverage point and are more comfortable to hold. Size and position matter as well for stability. “For good support, you should be able to fit two fingers in,” says Nyugen, “and make sure the handle is not too close to the base. A handle that’s balanced on the side or higher to the rim allows more control when holding it.”   
• Handleless options:  Sometimes a handleless cup can feel more natural to pick up than those with a handle, and they tend to be more stylish and sleek. For this style, insulation or thick walls prevent you from burning your hand.
• Cup & saucer:  A well-designed saucer allows your thumb to pinch the lip, making it easy to carry your coffee from room to room (and catching any spills if you stumble). It’s also a good look for company. “It’s not my everyday go-to,” Nyugen says, “but it’s very sweet for an occasion when you’re trying to create an experience.” 
• Double-duty:  Though some of the mugs below were originally intended for espresso drinks , we included them because they're also favorites of coffee pros for brewed coffee. These multi-talented options include the  Fellow 11oz Monty Double Wall Ceramic Cup and  notNeutral 6oz Vero Glass .

A Mug with True Grip

Created co. angle drip.

Created Co.

“I like a square handle because it gives me better control,” Ricci says. Also Alexander’s pick for the mug with the best handle, this update on the traditional diner version lets you wrap three fingers around it, resting them on the flat inner edge so you can navigate through sipping without wobbles or slippage.

An Updated Diner Mug

Notneutral lino 10-ounce coffee mug.

Seattle Coffee Gear

Working with baristas at Intelligentsia Coffee, notNeutral designed their Lino series with specialty coffee in mind. With a flat handle for your thumb to rest on, a thick base that keeps coffee hot, and a thin lip that’s easy to sip from, it’s a stylish update to the classic diner mug—and it comes in a variety of colors. You may also notice that your favorite local coffee shop has its own version of the Lino mug—notNeutral produces custom designs wholesale, so keep your eye out for fun patterns and colors.

A Coffee Mug with a Modern Vintage Touch

Manual 11oz amber glass mug.

These straight-sided mugs from Manual are easy to drink from, and their exaggerated handles add modern flair to their vintage amber glass design. Glass allows coffee to cool more quickly than ceramic, so these mugs are perfect for impatient sippers with a sense of style.

A Heated Mug for Slow Drinkers

Ember temperature control smart mug.

The Ember mug has a built-in heater that keeps coffee hot for 80 minutes and allows you to set the temperature between 120 and 145ºF. Keeping the coffee warm prevents organic acids from breaking down into bitter and sour flavors that you normally find in room-temperature brews. While we preferred the travel option in our tests of  temperature-control mugs , we also like the handled mug version for drinking at home.

A Lidded Ceramic Coffee Mug

Hasami 13.5oz natural mug with saucer.

Blue Bottle Coffee

We’re fans of the striking angles of Hasami cups, but we particularly like this lidded option. It’s slightly larger than we would normally recommend, but with an included stackable ceramic coaster/lid this mug can keep your coffee temperature regulated before you need a refill. It’s made from a combination of porcelain and clay, however, so it does have a rougher texture that could be off-putting to some.

A Lightly Tapered Coffee Mug

Kinto 9oz fog mug.

Mugs that taper towards the lip can help hold temperature, though they’re usually harder to drink from. This mug from Kinto features a flared lip but keeps all of the heat retention of a squat base without the downsides. We like the squared-off handle, which allows two fingers to nestle nicely with a solid thumb rest.

A Design-World Classic Coffee Mug

Marimekko 7oz oiva/siirtolapuutarha coffee cup.

Finnish design firm marimekko is known for its eye-catching patterns and colors. Its 7-ounce coffee mug is a great size and shape for sipping your coffee at the ideal temperature. Like most options on this list, it has a flat handle and a thin lip, but it also comes in an array of classic marimekko designs (including  colorful and  monochrome flowers ).

A Stylish, Squat Coffee Mug

Haand 10oz short mug.

Wide-mouth mugs are perfect for taking in the full aroma of coffee as you sip. Since half of coffee’s sensory experience is in its aromatics, these shorter, wider mugs help you take it all in. Haand offers this design in a variety of colors and patterns, too, allowing you to build a set or just pick out a single mug.

A Cute, Colorful Coffee Mug

Felt+fat 8oz cappuccino cup.

Though it’s called a cappuccino cup, this option is great for drip coffee . The smaller, squat mug has a wide opening and straight sides, making it easy to sip your coffee at the perfect temp. We like the confetti colorway, but it comes in a handful of attractive solid colors, too.

A Stackable Classic Coffee Mug

Heath 8oz stack mug.

Heath Ceramics

Heath has been making ceramics for Bay Area coffee roasters for decades, and this smaller, stackable mug is great for people with limited cabinet space. We love the flattened handle for an easy thumb rest, and the stoneware body offers great heat retention.

A Mid-Century Mug

Kinto cast amber.

Alexander’s favorite glass is small, lightweight, and translucent, offering an elegant sip. The thin glass lip feels smooth in the mouth, and the handle, though thin, is flat-topped with sturdy corners for a sure grip. Plus, he says, “The amber color makes the hues of the coffee that much more beautiful.”

Serious Eats / Jesse Raub

An Everyday Mug That’s Fun to Look at

Ank studios copper bloom mug.

ANK Ceramics

For “daily drip drinking,” Westerman grabs this tie-dyed, hand-fired mug. “It’s visually pleasing with a good medium weight and thickness.” Though the low, round handle is “probably an aesthetic choice,” she likes its size and girth; it’s not too wide that holding it is awkward, and it feels balanced in hand.   

The Best Coffee Cups & Saucers 

A coffee mug that’s also perfect for a latte or cappuccino, notneutral lino 3-ounce espresso gift set.

Westerman declares this mug “beautifully designed.” Sturdy without being heavy, it features an “ergonomic and functional” handle that’s rounded at the side to hug the curve of your fingers and flat on top for maximum support. “It’s good for any hand size,” she says, “which matters because I have small ones.” It also features a shape designed to hold steaming milk or a fluffy head of foam if you’re going for a specialty coffee.

A Traditional Italian Coffee Cup

D’ancap 6.1oz verona cappuccino cup and saucer.

Prima Coffee Equipment

Designed for a cappuccino, the d’Ancap 6-ounce cup and saucer is a favorite among coffee pros for drip coffee as well. It features high-quality porcelain with a thicker base that tapers to the lip, offering superior heat retention without sacrificing sippability. Its small capacity makes it easy to drink your coffee at the perfect temperature, and the wide mouth lets you take in the full aroma.

A French Porcelain Set

Pilivuyt coupe porcelain cup & saucer.

Williams Sonoma

A larger cup-and-saucer combo, this high-quality porcelain set from Pilivuyt is elegant and sturdy. Porcelain holds temperature better than regular ceramic, but it’s also non-porous and easier to keep clean of coffee stains. Pilivuyt has been making porcelain since 1818, and these cups are considered commercial-grade.

A Handless Art-Piece Coffee Mug

Wilcoxson brooklyn ceramics 8oz small cup leaf.

Wilcoxson Brooklyn Ceramics

With its soft curves and folded walls, this piece from Wilcoxson Brooklyn Ceramics creates a shape that fits nicely in your hand. Its thin walls help coffee cool to drinking temperature while letting the heat warm your hands. It comes in a variety of colors and patterns and serves as a beautiful art piece as much as it does a coffee vessel.

A Sleek, Double-Walled Tumbler

Fellow 11oz monty double wall ceramic cup.

The Monty ceramics line from Fellow has a double-walled design for better heat retention while keeping the outside cool to the touch. This is a great option for people who like drinking coffee from handleless tumblers but don’t want to grab a hot cup. The insides are slightly sloped to assist in latte art pouring, so this mug is well-suited for espresso drinks.

A Set of Stackable Tasting Glasses

Notneutral vero cortado glass.

Clive Coffee

The Vero line from notNeutral has a thick, glass base and a thin lip, keeping it eminently sippable and heat-proof enough to handle. It’s a great vessel for coffee tasting, too. If you’re looking to brew up an expensive, limited-edition coffee to share with a friend, a set of Vero glasses lets you sip small volumes lightly without feeling like you’re holding an empty cup.

Serious Eats / Nick Simpson

A Pair of Mugs Made for Light and Dark Roasts

Kruve eq glass set.

This double-walled duo is scientifically designed to enhance coffee’s flavor and aroma. The squat interior of the Excite mug softens acidity in darker roasts, while the narrower insides of the Inspire mug focus acidity in fruitier coffees. Westerman likes their look and feel. “They’re really smooth in the hand, very symmetrical, proportional, and balanced,” she says, “and the coffee follows through to a long finish because of the focused shape.”

A Tea Cup for Pour-Over Coffee

Ling baobao 200 ml gaiwan.

The Gaiwan is a Chinese lidded cup-and-saucer designed for loose-leaf tea, but Alexander uses it as a stylish vessel for pour-overs . “When I brew on a Chemex, the temperature drops 15 to 20 degrees automatically on pour, so the coffee is ready to drink,” he says. The brew has cooled enough to allow him to grip the thin-walled cup. “I really like the delicate nature of it. Similar to the perfect wine glass, it feels almost as if it has no weight.”

A Spill-Proof Travel Mug

Fellow carter move mug.

Some of the most popular travel mugs are monster-sized, but coffee drinkers looking for flavor rather than just a big caffeine boost will appreciate the reasonable size of this mug in addition to its durability. Stainless steel with a ceramic coating inside ensures proper flavor. The Carter's lid seals up tightly. “I put it in my backpack, and it doesn’t matter how I turn it,” says Westerman. “I could leave it upside down, and that thing will never leak.” Ricci marvels, “One of my bosses drove over hers, and it still worked.” We named the Carter Move Mug as one of the top picks in our travel mugs review .

Serious Eats / Irvin Lin

A Collapsible, Eco-Friendly To-Go Cup

Stojo 12 oz cup.

A silicone cup with a heat sleeve and tabbed lid, this lightweight, travel-ready mug collapses to save room in your bag before and after use. Ricci is a fan of its sustainability; rather than using a disposable cup, she can tote this around and present it to the barista when she stops at a café. Silicone can impart flavor over time, so she suggests scrubbing it with a paste made of equal parts baking soda and water before washing it with soap and water.

An Insulated Travel Mug

Miir camp cup.

This camp mug-inspired cup from Miir checks the right boxes: a thin lip for sipping, a thumb rest on the handle, and the added bonus of vacuum insulation. Its lid lets you take it on the go, and its sturdy handle can be clipped to a backpack for hiking and camping.

What mug shape keeps coffee the hottest?

While a coffee mug with a heavy base that tapers upwards to the lip might keep your coffee slightly hotter, mug temperature is more of a measure of thermal mass. Larger mugs, around 16 ounces or more, will have a large thermal mass when they’re full and keep coffee hotter the longest—as long as they stay full. As soon as you start to sip coffee, the thermal mass drops significantly and the coffee will cool down quicker. Smaller mugs, between six and 10 ounces, will keep coffee warm until you finish your last sip and go for a refill. 

Is glass or ceramic better for coffee? 

Materials that are non-porous, like porcelain or glass, are the best vessels to drink coffee from because they don’t impart any flavor and don’t retain coffee oils. Smooth-glazed ceramics are also great options, but natural glazes and rough surfaces can impart flavor to  brewed coffee . Plus, it’s harder to clean coffee oils from their surface. 

Why are diner mugs so thick? 

Diner mugs are designed with thick, ceramic walls so they’re sturdy and won’t break in busy kitchens and dish pits. They also retain heat better. The thick walls can hold higher temperatures than thin ceramics, but they are also harder to drink from, heavy, and awkward to hold.

How do you keep coffee mugs clean? 

To keep ceramic and glass mugs nice and clean so that coffee tastes fresh, Ricci soaks them in a solution of baking soda and vinegar and then washes them out with soap and very hot water. It's the same chemical reaction needed to get baked goods to rise properly, so it's food-safe. She’s also a fan of Cafiza , a cleanser used in coffee shops to eat away the coffee proteins and oils that build up on equipment. You can buy it in easy-to-use tablet form.

Why We're the Experts

• Jesse Raub was the commerce writer for Serious Eats. He worked in the specialty coffee industry for more than 15 years.
• Betsy Andrews is a freelance writer at Serious Eats.
• She is a James Beard- and IACP-nominated food and drink journalist who was previously the executive editor of Saveur magazine and a dining critic for The New York Times.
• For this article, Betsy interviewed coffee experts about the essential qualities of coffee mugs.

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