The team behind the Joeveo Temperfect Mug had quite a story in bringing this product to market: tree through roof, hurricane, bad factories, scheduling, design issues, and production issues. The concept is that through a special thermal layer in the mug, heat from over-hot drinks (180ºF) will be absorbed into a special liner, quickly cooling the drink to a specific desired temperature (~145ºF) in a few minutes. The real magic happens as the mug then leeches heat back into the beverage as it cools, to keep it between 120ºF and 145ºF for up to 3 hours! Compare this to a standard vacuum-sealed mug that keeps the beverage ABOVE 145ºF for close to an hour (too hot to drink) and then keeps the beverage above 120ºF for about 2 hours. So, the first hour you're drinking it, it's too hot.

Rating

★★★★☆

Kickstarter Info

  • Kickstarter Site: The Temperfect Mug: Coffee and Tea at The Perfect Temp
  • Date Funded:  2014 January 1
  • Total Backers:  4,903
  • Total Raised:  $269,271 vs. Goal:  $23,500
  • Date Backed:  2013 December 13
  • Backer Level:  Get a Mug, Pink or Blue
  • Backer Price:  $96.00 (two mugs)
  • Estimated Delivery: Jul 2014
  • Item Received:  Aug 2016 (2 years late!)
  • Item Current Whereabouts:  Both are in the Kitchen cabinet

Retail Info

  • Where to buy:  http://joeveo.com
  • Retail Price:  $40.00
  • Would I Pay Retail?  Maybe.

Physical Design

The physical design of the Temperfect Mug is solid. It's larger than most travel mugs you're probably used to, and heavier too. The rubberized sleeve feels good in the hand. There is a metal shutter that closes the lid and it is easily operated with one hand. Sipping coffee through the lid is actually somewhat pleasant, harkening back to an actual ceramic mug.

Initial Impressions

My initial impressions are positive.  The build quality on the mug is very good. The lid also has a solid feel to it. The rubberized grip can be easily removed if you'd prefer to just have a brushed stainless steel mug (my wife took hers off, I kept mine on).

More importantly, the mug worked! You poor fresh, hot, coffee into the mug and by the time you walk to your car and have your seatbelt fastened, you can drink it without fear of burning your tongue or mouth. The Temperfect keeps my coffee warm just as long (~3 hours) as my old vacuum-sealed mug, but the difference was that I find I drank more than half of it before I even get to the office. A significant difference, because I couldn't even drink the coffee from my original mug during my drive to work.

Impressions after 1 Month

It's actually been 4 months since we received our Temperfect mugs. My wife almost immediately stopped using hers. The issue? Coffee leaks through the shutter. To be fair, this was addressed in the original Kickstarter offering:

This lid is not designed to be leak tight, it is intended to keep your drink hot and to keep it from sloshing out when you are walking with the mug, or when the mug is in your car (during rally driving, for instance).

The shutter is really just that, a piece of metal (no gasket) that covers the hole through which you drink. If the shutter is closed and you go to drink from the mug, liquid will trickle out. It'll also trickle out a bit walking or driving with it. This bothered my wife as she often puts her travel mug in her purse and it can end up sideways. She requires a leak-proof lid (like the Contigo Autoseal Mug).

Mugs can leak from two places and in my experience one can be acceptable (the mouth piece) and one is not (the lid/body seam). My wife also had trouble with her mug leaking through the seam where the lid meets the mug body, but I diagnosed this as screwing the lid on too tightly. Many mugs have a "stop" that prevents you from over tightening (the Contigos do), but the Temperfect can definitely be over tightened which will cause the gasket to warp and allow liquid to leak out. This is most annoying because it'll happen when you're drinking from the mug and will spill on your shirt.

Additionally, the mug body is not dishwasher safe, so you need to hand wash it.

What I’m Currently Doing with my Temperfect Mug

My wife has abandoned her's and she's purchased a larger Contigo Autoseal. I'm still using mine when I make coffee in the morning and can take it to the office. It's my go-to travel mug.

Conclusion

This was the twenty-second Kickstarter project I backed.  It took the team a long time to deliver, but I believe they delivered what they promised. The mug works and is a quality product. I'm not happy that my wife doesn't use her's, but I understand the reasons. I'm also not happy that I paid more than the current retail price for the mug. So, I'm deducting a star for the delay in shipment, the pricing, and the issues with the shutter.