In our series Making Ends Meet: Holiday Gifts, we’re sharing budget-friendly gift ideas with you all week on The Morning Show -- all products that Consumer Reports’ experts have tried, tested, and now recommend.
So far, we’ve shared kitchen and tech gifts, but if you have a coffee lover to shop for, you’ll want to read this one too.
Making Ends Meet: Kitchen gifts | Tech gifts | Thrifty gifts | Returns
Along with machines, Consumer Reports just tested insulated mugs, but you might be surprised that some popular brands for coffee on-the-go did NOT make the winners list.
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Insulated mugs
Let’s get started with insulated travel mugs. Consumer Reports experts put them to the test to find out which ones keep your favorite brew hot the longest.
“One of the most interesting findings in our testing was that some of the really well-known brands, including Yeti and Starbucks, fell short of the competition. In certain cases, we’d find that the mug would be beautifully designed and styled but would have something like a flimsy plastic lid that would allow the heat to escape, or liquid to spill,” explained Molly Bradley with Consumer Reports.
The Thermos Stainless King for about $20 did well in tests and keeps drinks hot for 7 and a half hours. Consumer Reports says there’s a bonus! It has a handy tea hook on the underside of the lid which allows you to suspend a tea bag in water without losing it inside.
Coffee makers
No doubt people save money by making their pots of coffee at home. For those who like to brew a pot in the morning and then go back for a second or third cup later in the day, they’ll want a coffee maker with a carafe that can keep the java hot for hours.
In Consumer Reports’ tests, the top spot for coffee makers with a glass carafe goes to Cuisinart DCC-T20 Touchscreen 14-Cup Programmable. Starting at $89, this model receives top-notch ratings for brew performance and convenience.
For those who prefer a thermal carafe, Consumer Reports recommends the Technivrom Moccamaster KBT for $339. It garnered superb reliability and owner satisfaction ratings in Consumer Reports’ member surveys.
Testers found hotplates keep coffee hot by cycling power on and off, which means, on average, glass carafes on hotplates can vary the temperature of coffee by about 2 and a half degrees in either direction after one hour. Thermal carafes lose about 4 degrees after an hour.
Friday on The Morning Show
We’ll also have expert advice to help you navigate those post-holiday returns, refunds and exchanges.