The Ranting Chef does not get paid or receive any revenue from manufactures or retailers of products reviewed. I occasionally receive products that I am asked to use and see what I think. I take a look, try them out and tell you all about them.
The very first booth I visited at the International Housewares Association show was the Contigo/bubba Brands booth. You’ll have to wait until July to see the cool new product from Contigo (it will not be released for sale until then), but I can show you a great new travel mug from bubba.
First, though, this is the mug I use at work. As I have to get coffee from another floor, I decided to use a travel mug to prevent hot coffee spilling on my hand as I walked. This old travel mug of mine long ago lost the stopper from the top and the plastic sides are cracked.
The inside is plastic. Yes. Time to throw this out, but I hadn’t seen anything I liked better. Until now.
The bubba TasteGuard Travel Mug is the newest travel mug to hit the market. It comes in both a 12 and 16 ounce size.
It has a locking lid like many travel mugs, as well as a smaller hole for airflow. What makes it different then? Two things. The first is the design of the mug. It not only has a space between the inside vessel and outside (many mugs have that) but that space is a vacuum. This makes it a much better insulator than normal air. This helps it retain heat (or cold) longer. The other difference?
The inside is not plastic which could potentially leak harmful chemicals or at least alter the taste. It is not a metal inside which can make drinks with any kind of acidity (coffee and tea, lemon, etc..) have a metallic taste. It is ceramic. The ceramic does not alter the taste so if you are a coffee snob, or like your chai tea just so, don’t let your mug ruin the flavor.
The TasteGuard Travel Mug is dishwasher safe.
My Take: The TasteGuard Travel Mug in some ways is your typical travel mug. It cleans up well, it fits into the cup holders of your vehicle, and the lid locks. In other ways, the ceramic interior, the vacuum seal and the nice solid heft of the mug, makes this mug unique. It comes in black and stainless. You can purchase the TasteGuard Travel Mug here.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
This mug is the most unhygienic travel mug i’ve ever seen. There is a lip between the end of thec ceramic and the plastic body. I doesn’t matter how well you clean it, if you then put a bit of water in it and shake it, then open it you will see some of the water running back out of the little gap where the ceramic meets the black plastic, and the water will be slighty brown as it brings out old coffee and god knows what bacteria with it. This old residue must mix with your drink each time its used. The inside of a flask needs to be one solid piece. Disgusting product.
LikeLike