Planet Zak Coffee Mug

I don't know about you but I love taking my coffee with me. Don't get me wrong, I love to sit and quietly enjoy my coffee, book in hand or with my husband during a quiet moment at home. But we have two kids under two, a dog, chickens, three cats and we are currently pet sitting an accidentally adopted racing pigeon. So those quiet, uninterrupted moments are... rare. Usually mornings consist of nursing L1, my husband getting L1 up, then we all go downstairs, get breakfast, make lunch and coffee, nurse some more, get L1 ready for a nap and bam it is 10 am and my coffee is cold on the counter. (It is important to note that we use an espresso machine - one of the best purchases we have EVER splurged on - so there is no warming up of the coffee. Once it is cold, it is cold.)

For my husband's birthday this past summer, we got him a travel coffee mug. It is ok. Over the years we have been trying to find a good one that is 1. keeps the coffee hot 2. is leak proof and spill proof 3. isn't plastic (They tend to absorb smells, good and bad.) We got him one that was rated well but it wasn't very good. It was plastic on the inside and even though he would wash it, it would sit in his car all day , so started to smell funny. In the past, we have had a pretty good Starbucks one but again, it was plastic, the top wasn't easily washable and it only fit a small coffee. I also had a specialty one from Mr. Toad's Coffeehouse from down in NC but it wasn't spill proof or leak proof. The best one I have found was a cup from when I worked at Borders and they gave us each one. But it is plastic and every now and then I need to do a good baking soda soak. No tea though because they always taste a bit like coffee.

Every month I get Good Housekeeping. I usually trust their product reviews, with guarentees, so when they reviewed Planet Zak's Stainless Steel Thermal Water Bottle - 16 oz Tatau with Pop Lid as keeping coffee hot and being able to be dropped without denting, I was sold. At $27.99 on the Planet Zak website though, I did some comparison shopping. I found it for $20.99 at The Green Cupboards. I ordered a couple of other things to get the free shipping.

 

The result: I LOVE IT! It is solid. It is stainless steel so no smells. I used it for the first 2 weeks without a single spill. I finally had to order a second one as my husband kept wanting to take it to work. The part of the story that says it all? I took it to Boston with me and at 2 p.m., I got a Starbucks latte. Then with the kids, I forgot about it. At 6:27 p.m. I popped the top and the coffee was still hot. Not warm, hot. Awesome. Of course it only keeps it as warm as the liquid that goes in.

Recently it started to leak and I have been extremely upset. Today, after spilling coffee down my shirt while driving, I called the company. Turns out there is a line inside that you shouldn't fill the cup past otherwise it will leak like mine did. Hmmm, perhaps I should have read the instructions? Maybe this is a good lesson for me. Either way, the woman I spoke to - yes I was put right through to a person, no automated system. Another point in the company's favor - explained about the line and then said that should it still leak (which was very doubtful) she would ship me out a replacement top immediately. Talk about service! Of course, I dumped some out into a mug and found the line and MAGIC! no more leak.

If I had read the instructions, it never would have leaked... Anyway, I love this cup and am thinking about getting ordering a few more so that when my mom friends come over we can use them - no chance of spills and their coffee will be hot for the entire time they are here.