As with everything, I went on a search of all mug warmers in the universe before buying this one. I found a universal complaint of ALL mug warmer reviewers (of any brand) was "doesn't get hot enough" (especially the USB models). I think the manufacturers walk a thin line between "doesn't get hot enough" and setting the house on fire.
Initially, I tried putting a cold cup of coffee upon my new Mr. Coffee and was disappointed in the warmer's ability to heat up an already cold cup of coffee. (tried both metal and ceramic mug)
The good news is that if you put a fresh hot cup of coffee right from the coffee maker onto the "burner" that it does a pretty good job in keeping it hot from that point. I review this as satisfactory performance and give extra credit for its slim and sleek design.
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I bought my Mr. Coffee mug warmer locally at a store. I wasn't expecting much out of it because of the reviews about it here on Amazon, but hey it was really cheap, under ten bucks. I was pleasantly surprised at how it kept my cup of tea consistently very warm throughout the day while I'm at work. This is how hot the heating plate can get: put a drop or two of water on it, and the drops will sizzle and evaporate quickly. The key to getting the best experience out of using the Mr. Coffee mug warmer is to use with a cup of HOT tea/coffee/soup/whatever. It won't make your cold beverage hot again (use a microwave for that).
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I've had it for several months now, using it daily, and it's performed very well! Here is the deal with temperatures. If you place a hot cup of tea/coffee on it, it keeps it hot! Not the burn your tongue hot. As you drink, the cup becomes less full, and actually heats the contents more. Also, I've placed a half full cup of cold coffee on it, and it heated it up to a nice warm temperature within a few minutes. The heating plate will accommodate larger coffee mugs. The only disadvantage I've noticed with it is the counter gets rather warm were it is placed, so keep flammables and paper away to be safe. Also it does not have a auto shutoff that I'm aware of, however I have it plugged into a power box with motion control, so if I leave my desk for a long period it will shut off. I also try to make sure the bottom of my mug is dry before setting the cup down on it, to keep the heating plate clean. So if your like me and like sipping on tea or coffee at the office, with out going to refill for a hot cup every time your liquids get cold, then you'll be happy with this warmer.
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A lot of reviewers have stated that this hot plate does not get warm enough to keep your coffee hot. I disagree, but also think I know why they are having that experience. How well this warmer works is extremely sensitive to the shape of your coffee mug, in particular the way that the bottom is. I did some controlled experiments to determine how much heat this warmer puts into a liquid in a cup and found as much as 30 degrees of variation between different mugs of the same or similar material.
The bottom line, is that any hotplate style coffee warmer depends on maximum surface area contact with the bottom of your mug. If you have a mug that is broad and flat at the bottom, filling the heating surface of the warmer, it will work great. If you mug is very narrow at the bottom or arches up so that only the edge is touching, the heater cannot be as effective.
You should either buy a different mug, or forego this energy wasting method altogether, in favor of a well insulated stainless steel vacuum mug like the ones from Contigo. Personally, I like the taste of coffee best out of a real mug, so I continue to use this warmer, just with a broad based mug.
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I don't know why so many people have trouble with this item. My mother-in-law gave this to me well over a month ago and I think it's the greatest thing since TIVO. The key is to use a regular size cup with a flat bottom (not the ginormous ceramic cups that are more like SOUP bowls and only have a tiny bottom), and to put it on the warmer as soon as you pour the coffee into the cup. It WILL keep it not just warm, but HOT. It is 3:30 in the afternoon right now and I am still sipping on a HOT cup of coffee that I poured at 8:00 this morning. The lower the liquid gets, the hotter it gets, so be careful. I've also found that putting a piece of paper over the cup (like a piece of junk mail or an old CD case--without the CD inside, of course) will infinitely increase the heat factor, though it's not too safe and really isn't necessary (I've done it a few times when the dogs were shedding and my husband wanted the ceiling fans on didn't want dog hair in my cup, so I covered it...and it was so hot I burned my tongue.) Regardless, this item (the Mr. Coffee Mug *WARMER*) is not meant to heat up cold liquids; that's what microwaves were invented for. This is a great product when used properly and at the very least, it does what it was intended to do: keep beverages warm.
