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Comment by llimllib | Hacker News Reader

I didn't quit caffeine, but I cut down massively by keeping it in a Zojirushi mug that keeps it hot all morning instead of drinking from a regular mug. Because it stays hot, I just sip it, and that way I only drink one mug in the morning and occasionally one in the afternoon, instead of the 3 or 4 mugs I would drink previously.

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Similarly, I use a really skinny mug that keeps coffee hot longer than usual, and I make sure it stays hot by going back to the microwave and reheating it as needed. The heat keeps me from chugging it.

I also brew half-caf and mix it with half water before heating it. I know I sound like a crazy person.

Wait, why would a really skinny mug keep coffee hot longer than usual? Wouldn't that mean more surface area to cool a given volume. Ideally, you want a spherical coffee cup (impracticalities of that aside)

Edit: Nevermind, its the cooling surface of the top of the coffee directly exposed to air. I'm just over here thinking about spherical chickens in a vacuum...

This is an interesting technique. When I first started working in a place that had lots of free/good food, I was worried I'd gorge. Instead what I found was that knowing I'd always have access to good/free food meant I didn't feel the need to overeat ever.

hah! when I worked at a place that had free food I would be good until about 3pm, when I'd gorge on terrible snacks because I'd used up all my willpower coding during the day

+1 for Zojirushi. I do wish they made something shaped more like a traditional mug than a travel mug. I've tried various brands of insulated mugs, and at most they let me stretch out my cup of coffee to 45 minutes. With a Zojirushi I can make a cup last hours.

I used to think the concept of a mug warmer or a heated mug was quite silly. My wife and I received Ember mugs a few months ago, and they're a lot less silly than I thought--they just keep your cup warm to exactly the temperature you prefer. If anyone is still on the fence, I highly recommend some kind of mug warmer or heated mug. There is something quite freeing about not worrying if you're drinking your coffee/tea/etc fast enough to avoid it getting cold.

Have to say I disagree about the Ember mug. It's a little bit like the warmer setting on a diner coffee pot, the coffee will stay warm a long time but won't necessarily stay fresh. And if you drink your coffee with milk the Ember mug starts to develop a film along the sides of the cup after about 30 minutes which is kind of unappetizing. You also have to keep it charged on the stand in between uses so you can't put the mug away in the cupboard (unless you have an outlet in your cupboard).

I stopped using it and now just use a Yeti tumbler. It keeps my coffee hot for at least 2-3 hours which is long enough for me, without any of the downsides of the heated cup.

I know the Zojirushi is recommended a lot, but I'm not a fan. It certainly does a great job keeping stuff hot, but the silicon(?) parts pretty quickly takes on a strong smell of stale coffee that ruins it for me, at least when trying to drink from it directly. Pouring it out into a mug helps, but kind of defeats the purpose of it.

I've tried everything to get rid of the smell but have not been successful.

Zojirushi keeps the drink too scalding unless you pour it out into a different vessel. Try an Ember mug. A little annoying to keep it on the charging coaster but keeps it at a drinkable temp indefinitely.

How does it compare to a Yeti?

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