Having The Right Coffee Making Equipment
Hey, if you go to all that trouble and money to make a great cup of coffee, why would you put that great coffee into an inferior cup or mug? Maybe that’s why Charbucks puts their coffee into a recycled paper cup. Gee… it makes me wonder where that paper was before it became a cup; maybe a toilet paper role? Who knows. And we don’t care, because we’re patriots, who buy “Made In USA” products. AND so should you.
About a year ago, a customer of ours pointed out that nearly all of my coffee brewing equipment suggestions (FAQ Tab) were made in China. WHAT! No way! Sure enough he was right and that just wouldn’t do. I thought, “No problem, I’ll just replace them with Made In USA coffee equipment. Easier said than done. It took me MONTHS of heave internet research to find just:
- 1 manual grinder
- 1 insulated coffee mug (and)
- 1 coffee brewer
I’m still ticked about that, but I haven’t given up. I will continue my search and add to my list of Made In USA.
Made In China vs. Made In USA
Only an idiot would support their enemies. And that’s exactly what we’re doing every time we buy “Made In China”. Let me be more clear. “Made In China” is short hand for “Made By Slave Labor In China”. Can I be more specific? That “slave labor” includes children!
OK, point made. That’s enough about the bad guys. Let’s now focus on Made In USA. “Made In USA” means all parts and labor are made by free Americas in the USA. “Manufactured in USA” means that the parts are made outside the USA (most often made by our enemies in China) and then “assembled” in the USA.
Click here to get If you’re ready to start burning
Insulated Coffee Mugs Made In USA
Prior to this Holy quest for coffee mugs made in USA, my favorite vacuum insulated coffee mug was the Thermos Sipp 16-Ounce Drink Bottle. At one time, I liked my coffee real hot and this puppy did the trick. I’d pre-heat the mug with boiling water, and let me tell you, that coffee was real hot for 3-4 hours. The first problem was that it was made by slave labor in China. Additionally, the Thermos mug keeps the coffee just too hot to comfortably drink.
The last problem was that the lids would break every time you dropped the mug or just dropped the lid. I ended up having to buy a new coffee mug about once a year. The cheap craftsmanship, or lack there of, just couldn’t hold up to normal use. With a cheap China made mug, I’d spend $29 a year. So, after 3 years, I had spent $90. Compared to a well built Insulated Coffee Mug Made in USA, the Thermos was not cost effective.
Burnout Coffee Mug Review
To date, I’ve found one company with insulated coffee mugs made in USA. That company is Burnout Mugs, made in Missouri. Not only is this mug built like a German tank, it also has a unique engineering and design feature.
How Hot?
Here at Lake City Coffee, Alisha and I do a lot of coffee taste testing. I quickly learned that you can’t really taste all the nuances of coffee if it’s too hot. Sheerly out of self preservation, I learned to drink coffee that wasn’t so hot. As it turns out, the optimal temperature to drink coffee is 140 degrees; at least that’s the temperature that coffee taste testing professionals use. I’ve come to agree with them.
Triple Walled
Every vacuum insulated mug that I’ve ever come across (Stanley, Thermos, etc.) is double walled, leaving a vacuum cavity for insulation. The Burnout mug, on the other hand, is triple walled; leaving one cavity as a vacuum for insulation. The second cavity contains a bio-wax to absorb heat from the coffee, then release that heat back into coffee over time. How this typically works is that you boil water (212 degrees Fahrenheit), make your coffee, and by the time you put your coffee into your mug, it’s about 190-200 degrees.
Heat Absorbing Bio-Wax
What the bio-wax in the Burnout mug does is absorb about 50 of those degrees from the coffee and deposits that heat into the bio-wax, thus bringing your coffee down to a drinkable 140 degrees. Secondly, the mug will keep dumping the heat from the bio-wax back into your coffee for hours, thus keeping your coffee at a constant 140 degrees.
Pre-Heat Your Burnout Mug
You may be thinking, “But Russell, I like my coffee ‘HOT’.” There is a solution to this; pre-heat your Burnout Mug. Depending on how hot you want your coffee, you can pre-heat your mug with hot water from your kitchen sink. This will bring your coffee up to a consistent 150 degrees.
If on the other hand you like your coffee really hot, then use boiling water to pre-heat your mug. The longer you pre-heat the mug, the hotter and longer your coffee will remain hot.
Burnout Bottom Line
I like this mug. At $79, it may seem a bit expensive at first, but when you consider how sturdy this mug is made, it’ll probably last a lifetime. That sure beats buying each year a new cheap disposable “Made By Slaves In China” mug.
Lake City Coffee
Alisha and I love super smooth coffee that also has distinct notes of chocolate. For seven years, we’ve been purchasing coffee strictly from the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. We choose from this region because, in our humble opinion, it’s consistently the best coffee we’ve ever tasted.
Secondly, we only offer three roasts; Barely Dark, Medium, and White. We also offer the best, all natural, Swiss Water Processed decaf coffee that you’re likely to find anywhere.
If you really want to focus in on us, our coffee, and our service, then just click on the “Reviews” tab above. These reviews are honest and some pretty darn funny. We hope to hear from you.