It really is a smart way to drink coffee (Smartcafe Hot Cafetiere Mug)

Member Name: non_sense

Product:	Smartcafe Hot Cafetiere Mug
Date:	25/02/09 (254 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Keeps your coffee warm, easy to clean

Disadvantages: Girlfriend borrows it :-)

I'm not one for spending hours in the kitchen, so with the possible exception of the kettle there isn't really much in there I could write a review about. I love to drink coffee and tea though and when I'm home alone and fancy a change from the instant coffee I find this item is particularly handy.

I'm no coffee snob, as I say I can drink the instant too, but I do enjoy a good coffee and I like to buy beans and grind them at home (coffee grinder, I do use more things in the kitchen!) There's enough washing up to do every day without buying some complicated machinery to make coffee with, so I stick with a cafetiere, but that's a bit much when it's just me around.

Quite by chance I wandered into a Whittard's some years ago and browsing the sale I came across the SmartCafe Hot Mug. I think it cost me about £1.99 at the time and it has proved to be a most valuable purchase. So valuable that I often cannot find it as my girlfriend has taken to using it whenever it is available.

Features
=======
Well, it's a mug. But wait! This is not an ordinary mug. It has one of those plunger things that you find in your everyday cafetiere. So to use, simply put your coffee grounds in the bottom, add hot water and allow to brew before pushing the plunger, brilliant!

The excitement doesn't stop there however, the mug is double walled, so if you like to take your time drinking your coffee then it's not going to get cold quite as fast.

Does it work?
==========
Yes, it does. The plunger has a rubber edge to allow it to glide along the inside wall of the mug whilst maintaining a good seal. The handle part slides into the wall of the mug by the handle. The mesh in the plunger is fine enough to keep the coffee grounds in their rightful place. Sometimes I do get some in my drink, but this is often after I've just rinsed it instead of washing it properly and some grounds have found their way to the top edge of the mug.

As far as keeping your drink warm, well it does work well. I do sometimes leave a drink sitting around and wander off somewhere, only to find it 20 minutes later. It's definitely still a drinkable temperature.

Cleaning is simple as it only has two parts, the mug and the plunger. I think it would survive a dishwasher but as I am the dishwasher in our place I take care with everything anyway.

Be careful not to overfill it though. There is an indent in the top of the mug by the handle where the plunger handle goes. If you overfill it then coffee will run down from here. It's not a bad design feature, just something you may not think of the first time you use it.

I must have had mine for 4 years, maybe more. It's built of tough plastic and isn't showing signs of wearing out yet. Definitely a value for money purchase in my opinion.

Where can you get one?
==================
I was forever checking back at Whittard's looking for another one of these and I began to despair that I would never be able to buy another as they never stocked them again. Good news is that they are online if you look hard enough.

Right now Amazon are selling red or platinum coloured ones for £4.86 and £6.50 respectively. I recently bought the red one (cheapest!) for my girlfriend so there is now a chance that mine isn't in use when I want it. I really wanted to get the pink or light blue for her, but couldn't find them. I'll still be keeping an eye open though.

Summary
=======
In conclusion I'd say this was an ideal purchase for a coffee drinker, especially if they are a lone coffee drinker in a house of tea drinkers or even if they just want to reduce the washing up. It's been a great purchase for me and now my girlfriend is enjoying her own too.

(also posted on ciao)

Summary: Great for making a single mug of coffee