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Zojirushi Makes the Best Travel Coffee Mug You'll Ever Own

Coffee ought to be hot. Even when you made the batch you're currently sipping two hours ago. Even after you've commuted miles away from the coffee maker. That coffee should till be hot. And although you likely have plenty of travel coffee mugs stashed in your kitchen cupboards or in the back seat of the car, none of them are all that good. They're either too flimsy, they imbue the drink with a metallic-y flavor, or they splash hot liquid all over every time you open the cap. Zojirushi doesn't make mugs like that. It makes mugs that retain heat, stop spillage, and defy all expectations. Its SM-TA vacuum-insulated mug is a mug worth buying, and it won't cost you all that much it do it.

This mug comes in nine colors and three sizes.

Photo by TIM MULCARE . It keeps coffee hot for hours. Zojirushi's mug keeps your beverage steaming for an astonishingly long time—long enough to survive terrible commutes and early-morning meetings. Technically speaking, the midsize, 16-ounce model preserves drinks at 189 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour, and at 160 degrees for six hours. Its cold retention is just as good, should you prefer cold brew or iced tea. This is all thanks to the construction of the stainless steel bottle itself, with a double-layered interior, and the lid, which keeps it all locked down. You won't be sipping tepid, lukewarm coffee from this thing.

The locking system keeps the mouthpiece from dripping beverage everywhere.

Photo by TIM MULCARE . It locks tightly and flips open for easy drinking. Spills are not an issue with this Zojirushi mug, even when you're flipping the lid open to drink. If its lid is locked up tightly, you won't get coffee everywhere should you drop the mug or drive over a big bump in the road; that lock means business. And when you've unlocked it and hit the big button to open the lid, you won't have to duck out of a splash zone—unlike a lot of cheaply constructed mugs that spit coffee when the vacuum seal is broken. Zojirushi also built in an air vent into the lip if the lid, so the liquid inside flows out steadily. You'd think that'd be a no-brainer for all travel coffee mugs. It's not.

These four pieces come apart and go back together with ease.

Photo by TIM MULCARE . It's very easy to clean. Cleaning a mug is the worst part of owning a mug. You put it off for one day. Then another. Next thing you know, it's been a week since it's seen soap, and there's a scum building along the spout. Just me? Anyway. Zojirushi engineered a cap system that not only does the stuff I talked about before—locks tightly, stops spillage, prevents heat escaping—but also comes apart into four pieces that you can clean. Sure, it's not as simple as your standard reusable, two-piece plastic mug. But all the pieces are necessary for making this mug what it is: the best travel coffee mug you can get for cheap.

You can buy it for only $30 at amazon.com

This story originally appeared on Esquire.com . Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.