Ceramic travel mugs are great.
They have several key advantages over other types of tumblers.
But they also have a few glaring disadvantages.
For that reason, they are not right for everyone. Whether they are right for you will depend on a few factors.
We will look at the main factors people consider when buying a tumbler for the road and tell you which material is best and worst for each of those factors.
If ceramic is best for the factors that are most important to you, then that is the way to go. If not, you’ll learn which material would be best for your needs.
Factors To Help Decide If Ceramic Is Best For You
Most people consider the following factors when buying a to go cup.
Price
Price is often the deciding factor. In order of cheapest to most expensive:
- Plastic
- Ceramic
- Metal
- Glass
Durability
Durability is probably the first or second most important factor for a travel mug. In order from most durable to least:
- Plastic
- Metal (tough, but dents easily)
- Ceramic
- Metal
Insulation
How well a tumbler insulates your drink and keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold is the other factor (along with durability) at the top of the list. In order of best insulating to worst (double walled is always better):
- Metal
- Ceramic
- Plastic
- Glass
Flavor
Flavor refers to the tendency of some materials to add a flavor to your drink. In order from most neutral (no flavor) to strongest flavor:
- Ceramic/Glass
- Metal
- Plastic
Potential For Harmful Materials
Similar to “flavor”, some materials may leech harmful components into your drink when they are exposed to heat. In order of least potential to contain harmful components to most:
- Ceramic/glass
- Metal
- Plastic
Weight
Lighter weight cups are better to take on the road. In order from lightest to heaviest:
- Plastic
- Metal
- Ceramic
- Glass
Why You Should Get A Ceramic Travel Mug
As you can see, the big advantages of ceramic are the lack of any harmful materials or materials that add a flavor to your drink. The disadvantages are that they break more easily and are heavier.
When it comes to insulation, they do pretty well, especially the double-walled ceramic mugs, but they lag behind stainless steel mugs.
You should get a ceramic mug, if purity is most important to you. In other words, you want a cup that absolutely does not contain harmful materials and that will not impart a flavor on your drink. They are also generally easier to clean.
If portability and durability are most important to you, you should get a stainless steel mug. The same is true if you want the best-insulating tumbler.