Reddit mentions of Contigo AUTOSEAL Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tumbler, 16 Ounces, Black

I CAN BE SO USEFUL TODAY!!!

The Libre Tea Mug has the exact same design as the mug you describe, but has glass on the inside, and plastic on the outside. Here's a video. There's a 10 oz version and a 14 oz version, and a 9.5 oz handled version.

However, I bought one of these and decided it's not the best thing in the universe. There were plenty of good things about it, but it had some flaws:

1. It won't keep drinks hot for very long, because plastic & glass apparently don't keep things as warm as stainless steel (not sure if this is totally accurate), but you also have to remove the lid every time you drink, and it's all the way open, as opposed to a sippy lid or other designs that have small holes or whatever, and lots of heat escapes. It also means that you get a face full of steam every time you try to drink.
   
   
2. When brewing black tea, you stick the leaves in between the two top lids (see video) and brew upside down. However, when you turn it upside down, the surface tension of the water actually retains the ENTIRE volume of water that was in the lid. Seriously. I don't know what the deal is. This happens even with zero tea leaves. This means that when you remove the two lids to drink (you need to remove both lids simultaneously if it's black tea, since the leaves are between the two lids), there's still lots of boiling hot water in the lid, and if you tap it, or bump it, or angle it, all that water falls out. You really have to tap the lid to dump this excess water before you drink; if you don't, you run the risk of spilling lots of hot water all over yourself. Someday you'll forget, and probably burn yourself.
   
   Aesthetic problems:
   
   
3. You can hear the plastic creaking against the glass, and it makes it seem cheap. Purely psychological, but it probably could be fixed.
   
   
4. The larger size and the handled mug version have the company's website printed address on the side of the lid. Pretty ugly in my opinion.
   
   
5. The lid has a picture, but it's a physical object (a tiny carving or something) and it actually moves. It's somehow not secured in place, and it moves off center and looks awkward and cheap. Plus, I can see a couple parts of it bent the wrong way.
   
   I can't really recommend it, but if you've used the Activitea and found it usable, you might be happy with the Libre. The design looks pretty much the same from the photos, as far as I can tell. But I have continued searching for the perfect tea mug.
   
   Contenders thus far:
   
   
6. JoeMoXL: Entirely stainless steel, with a removable infuser basket, a push-button seal, 360 degree drinking, sipping that doesn't require removing the entire lid and draining heat away, leak proof, etc etc. Good stuff.
   
   
7. Timolino infuser mug: Theoretically similar to the JoeMoXL, but no push-button seal, and the infuser basket has some plastic. Oh well though. Adds a hidden compartment in the very top lid where you can store sugar. Smaller than most travel mugs (12 oz instead of the usual 16), so I think it's more practical to fill up, drink, then fill again and get a 2nd steeping out of the tea, as opposed to 16 oz over the course of the day and then getting home or whatever and not making use of the leaves until the next day maybe. There's also a carabiner version. Note that Timolino makes 2 tea mugs; this one, plus another that is ONLY good for green tea, with the leaves steeping inside the main chamber, with no removable infuser basket.
   
   I've been shopping around for quite some time. These are the two winners as far as I am concerned, though they skip out on being see-through and hiding the tea in the lid, but I can't see any well-designed options out there with those traits (although this Thermos mug has the infuser in the lid, but I wasn't so excited about it), so I'm giving my seal of approval to these. There are other contenders I think, but these are equal or better compared to anything I can find. I might also just go with a Contigo and brew in a teapot and just deal with the fact that the mug has no internal tea infuser.
   
   OCD FTW!

Yup. For $22 you can get one of these guys and still have change left over.

I've used a Contigo auto-seal one for travel for a few years now. For home consumption its the beast of a cup I made in an elective pottery course in college.

This is the Contigo that I use. It's brilliant- never leaked on me in 3 years of pretty regular use and holds the heat really well. Be sure to buy the uncoated stainless steel tumbler, as that's the only one that's dishwasher-safe (all the lids are fine, though- so that doesn't matter as much).

Let me show you the ways... I like this one personally: Contigo but I also love Tervis tumblers, though they can leak depending on the lid and I use them for cold beverages.

I had the same "problem" when I first used my Contigo. I had to wait hours before I could drink my hot chocolate. Oh my god I'm no salesperson but I could go around selling those things all day. It's the best thermos ever. Did I mention it's the best thermos ever and auto-seals the lip and the vent? And the seal is super tight? And the colors!

I think the best option is a Nissan Thermos travel mug. The second best option is a Contigo travel mug. The reason I like the Nissan more is because it keeps my beverages hotter for much longer, it is much easier to break all the way down (taking off rubber seals and whatnot), I like drinking out of it more and the overall construction seems a bit nicer. Many people will surely tout the Contigo. I have one and it does get used, but if I were to lose it I would replace it with another Nissan Thermos travel mug.

I love my Contigo.

I would recommend avoiding the colored ones and just go for the plain silver stainless steel model as the pain can start to peel on the others.

Agreed!
http://www.amazon.com/Contigo-AUTOSEAL-Stainless-Insulated-Tumbler/dp/B001RMIWJ6

Try the Contigo mug. Insulated and airtight, so it'll take hours before your coffee is cold.

Just remember to wash it every day. Trust me.

Thermos Stainless King and Thermos Sipp are popular on Amazon. Contigo Autoseal, while also popular, seems to have some rather gross issues according to user pictures and reviews.

I shelled out for this one when it was released since it fits in all cup holders but the suction closure blows and it often leaks or won't pour at all. http://thermocoffeemugs.blogspot.com/2011/10/biologic-vacuum-flask-from-bike-hugger.html

Now I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/Contigo-AUTOSEAL-Stainless-Insulated-Tumbler/dp/B001RMIWJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1349033577&sr=1-1 It's great but if you don't use a dishwasher to wash it, make sure that you run extremely hot water through the lid at every wash to get out any mold that accumulates. I found that out the hard way. Yick.

The Contigo is the best for me, the autoseal feature actually works really well and keeps the coffee hot and it has also saved me from many a spill in college

I really like this thermos. I just brew my tea in there and add to a tea cup as necessary so my tea is hot on demand.

I have one similar to this http://www.amazon.com/Contigo-Stainless-Insulated-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B001RMIWJ6

I love it. It keeps my coffee hot for 2-3 hours at least. I use it every day.

My coffee container (Contigo 16oz) has trouble fitting on the passenger side, drivers side no problem and the drink isn't really that much in terms of oz. just an oddly tall container.

I have one of these and it's worked great for me for the past year or so. I throw it in my backpack, on the seat of my car, wherever, and it has yet to leak. It keeps your coffee warm for a solid amount of time too. My only problem with it is that you really need to clean the lid well to get that 'old coffee smell' out of it. (which I deeply loathe)