Zojirushi SM-SA48-BA Stainless Steel Mug, Black, 16-Ounce First, I don't write reviews often, but feel compelled to do so. I can't stop telling people about this little gem! I was using a Contigo autoseal style cup and was happy with it. It kept my coffee hot for 4-6 hours if left full all day. If I drank say half of it, the temperature would hold closer to 4 hours. That is to be expected. It was my favorite cup as it kept my coffee hot and it was my only spill proof travel mug. Sure I have a dozen insulated coffee mugs, but none that I could put in a bag or throw on the leather seat of my Lexus and not worry about it spilling. Well, I dropped the Contigo cup shortly after purchase and it dented in the side pretty good, but its function was fine. After about six months it started leaking after another drop and the plastic threads of the lid cracked and could no longer hold a seal. So, I was back on the hunt for a new travel mug. I roast my own coffee and am pretty particular when it comes to my coffee. I literally have spent thousands on coffee and espresso equipment. It would be considered an addiction. Needless to say, I like to have my addiction hot and often. Kind of reminds me of my wife! Similarly, I get irritable if you decrease my enjoyment of either of these addictions. So, needless to say, the cup needed to be replaced asap. So, I go to Amazon and find the Contigo Autoseal and put it into the cart. Prime baby, I'll have it in a couple days. Hey, what is that in the recommended products. A Zojirushi SM-SA48-BA Stainless Steel Mug, interesting, six months earlier I had researched bread making machines and turns out Zojirushi makes the best one, I bought it and we have been very impressed with its thoughtful design and quality. A few months later I broke my thermal pitcher I pour my french press brew into immediately after extraction. So here I go to Amazon and similar story, I purchase a Zojirushi thermal pitcher and it was also a great product. So the Zojirushi SM-SA48-BA Stainless Steel Mug caught my eye. Wow, 1100+ reviews and 5 star rating. You don't see that too often. $26 dollars compared to the Contigo $15, hmm, that's a lot. I will just order both. Now, to say that I am impressed with this little gem is an understatement. At first look on Amazon, I didn't like the design. The flip lid seems like it would be a pia. Always having to flip to take a drink, when I was used to the Contigo and just pushing the button and taking a drink. A few reviewers also stated they hit their nose on the lid. I really didn't think I would like it, but what the hey, I'll give it a try. The package arrived as expected with the two cups, I attached a picture with a soda can so you can compare the two products. First impressions: Form - They both look really good as far as form factor. I got the white Contigo, because it was $12 compared to $15 and up for other colors. Not considering colors, I like the look of the Zojirushi. I believe this is a more of a personal preference issue. So pretty close just looking at them. Design - The Zojirushi really pulls ahead in this department. When you pick up these mugs up out of the box, you will immediately lean towards the Zojirushi. As you can see in the pictures, compared to a soda can the Contigo is a bit larger in diameter and the Zojirushi is a little smaller. My hands are on the smaller side of a male hand and the Contigo feels big. Kind of like picking up a soda can compared to a two liter soda bottle. The soda can feels more comfortable in your hand. This is an exaggeration, but it is the accurate way you will feel when comparing the two. The Zojirush, just has a nicer hand feel. It is comfortable to hold in a relaxed position. Like the 2 liter bottle, the Contigo took more effort to hold. The Contigo wins when it comes to getting coffee from the mug into your mouth quickly, but hold on. If you are a coffee drinker, like me, who enjoys the experience of drinking coffee. The mouth feel of the cup, the aroma of the coffee as you inhale through your nose taking that first air infused slurping sip. The best environment for this experience is a good warmed open ceramic or porcelain mug. Short of that, every other form is a compromise. The mouth feel of the mug, the openness as you tilt the mug to inhale the aroma, and the ability to sip with a slurping type sip where you take in a little air with the liquid to enhance your ability to taste the subtle rich notes of the coffee. This is where the Zojirushi shines, as it simulates the porcelain mug the best. When I was like you, reading the reviews, this didn't occur to me, until I took my first sip from the Zojirushi. Again, the flip lid seemed to be less efficient way than the Contigo, and maybe it is, but the advantages to coffee enjoyment are great. Here is why, think about drinking out of the Contigo. It is like drinking out of a straw. You suck from the little hole at the edge of the lid and there is no air exchange, like sucking out of a straw. Think about drinking a beer out of a straw, you lost the joy of drinking the beer, but you got your alcohol. The Conitgo was the same way, but at the time was worth having a spilless cup of hot coffee. You got your caffeine, but lost the joy of the cup. You comprimise on mouth feel, air exchange with the slurp and aroma of the coffee, but you get hot and spilless. The Zojirushi, on the other hand, has less compromise in these areas. Due to the flip lid, they were able to design a drinking rim similar to drinking from a cup with enough room for plenty of aroma to escape and you can slurp as you take a drink. So, this design allows you to enjoy your coffee to the fullest, even in a travel mug. No, you are not sitting on the porch with comfy clothes and sluping on a warm mug of deliciousness, but you are getting the best coffee drinking environment I have found in travel form. The other impressive thing on design, this thing can keep your coffee hot all day long. The Contigo will keep a full mug of coffee hot for about 6 hours. About 4 hours if you only fill it half way or drink half. The Zojirushi really shines here also, I put coffee from my french press into this little gem at 8 am and drank from it all day and that evening at 6pm, ten hours later, the last drink was drinking temperature, not just lukewarm. Wow, I was impressed. Another note, I can fit the Zojirushi in my back pocket of my jeans or fit it into the inside jacket pocket, where the Contigo is just too fat to make that work. Needless to say, make this purchase and just enjoy your coffee. If you drink Folgers coffee, disregard everything I have said, as you just won't understand. This is one of those stupid things, but I am so impressed and this is one of those products that has literally made my life a little more enjoyable and I appreciate it!
