The quest for the holy grail

Submitted by Eric Daniel

Me and favorite things don’t get along. Seems every time I decide I like something and incorporate it into my routine, the manufacturer decides that it’s time to move on, leaving me in the unenviable position of having to scour the world (or at least eBay) looking for a replacement for my most recently discontinued favorite thing.

One of my more recent "quests" has been for a replacement coffee cup. While, in the great scheme of things, a good coffee cup might seem a trivial thing, for me, coffee is one of those touchstone rituals that makes all the insanity that goes with combat survivable.

My long time favorite cup of choice was a short, fat 16 oz. cup made for Starbucks. This cup was of double walled aluminum construction, with a foam non-skid pad on the bottom (I supplement the pad with a square of Velcro for absolute stability.) It was absolutely brilliant, so quite naturally, Starbuck quit distributing them years ago (you can literally only find them on eBay now.) Unfortunately for me, when I last rotated out of Iraq, my veteran Starbucks cup decided not to come with me (some lucky sod is going to get an early Christmas present when they find that cup in a humvee) so I’ve been questing ever since for a replacement.

My new cup of choice is the Thermos-Nissan JMF502 drink/food mug. While taller than my old Starbucks cup (Velcro on the bottom of this thing is a must), one nifty feature this cup has that my old mug didn’t have is a second lid to completely seal in the contents of the mug (the lid on the Starbucks was a press-in lid, the lids on the Thermos mug are screw on with rubber gasket seals.) This means that you can put anything in the mug, close it up, and toss it in your CVC bag without having to worry about the contents spilling everywhere.

Be forewarned however, once word gets out that I like this thing, Thermos is likely to get out of the vacuum bottle business all together. Get yours now while supplies last.

Buy a Thermos travel mug here

Comments

[Chris]

A good coffee mug is a crucial piece of kit. I don't care if its 120F, I am having my cup(s) of joe! After going through countless number of those crappy Styrofoam cups that sweat out my precious black beverage and spilling it 100s of times, I gave in and bought a mug at the PX on my 1st rotation. It was a worthless mug. Upon my return, I flew in with the OXO Good Grips Click & Seal Travel Mug. It's only 14oz, but it's perfect dimensions. I can fill 'er p at the DFAC or TOC (ok I spend too much money at Green Beans) and roll out. It stows perfectly in my Kelty backpack mesh water-bottle pockets on the side. Mmmmmm coffee.

[R. Boyle]

I totally understand about the coffee dillema. I too am a former military man and HUGE QUESTER FOR THE PROPER COFFEE CUP.

Please give this guy a go for me. It's better for your needs trust me. This thing doesn't have that second lid that yours does so no PARTS TO LOOSE and it's shape is designed to go into cup holders. The best part is that you can hook this baby into your web belt while you're out and about.

Give it a shot. It's the BEST MUG BY FAR. I've had my original one for around 10 years and it's been to more foreign countries than I can count. Been trampled by troopers and dropped out of mooving hummers. I've stepped on it, and even beat nails in with it. You name it. You just twist the lid 90 degrees and drink and then back 90 degrees and its COMPLETELY LEAK PROOF. After drinking, you throw it upside down into your ruck and off you go. Not a drop spilt. Trust me these people know how to make coffee mugs. Take my word for it. You'll thank me later. Trust me.

Trudeau "drive time" travel mug. Stainless steel, double wall insulated. the ULTIMATE in an easy to use, easy to clean, completely LEAK PROOF coffee mug.

Here's a link to their website. navigate to the coffee section, select S/S for stainless steel D/W for double wall insulated.

http://www.trudeaucorp.com

[Barry Sells]

Having retired in 1994, and been a die hard coffee drinker since the mid 70's I can relate. I was in Armor, now work as a construction manager and have my coffee cup w/me daily. What I found that is great is a cup found at target. It fits cup holders, stays sealed, stays hot for hours. It's by Trudeau, all stainless with faux leather wrap. I've had this one for several years. Very durable! Good Luck!

[Dylan C]

A good truck driver never leaves the FOB without a cup of coffee. That was my motto while in Iraq. Like you I had my favorite mug and it made it through the entire deployment only to be lost a month after I got home. I sure do miss that thing....

[Randy P]

I remember the cup in question. Mine just died back at the first of the year. the little clip holding the upper handle on (read 'spot-welded') died and snapped the lower end off as well. The cup was just fat to hold in your hand, altho the handle was great. Looking for a replacement at this time. Will look at the item mentioned in your article. Could be the next version of a container for 'mess hall coffee'. Thanks.

Randy

[Karen]

Congrats on finding a coffee cup...seems somewhat unreal reading about it!!

[Ken C]

I have had the Trudeau "boardroom" travel mug for almost two years and love it. This is no boardroom item - although it looks great and drinks great, it is tough as nails. Mine has a couple of pretty good dings in it and the lip is a little rough in one spot from sliding down the side of a mountain, but it keeps my coffee hot in winter and - most importantly - it keeps the coffee in the mug (as long as I remembere to twist the top shut). It was a gift from my wife and she purchased it at StarBucks and I wanted to get one for my wife for Valentines but they do not carry them any longer.

After two+ hours of searching online today, I found this website and followed the trail of internet cookie crumbs to finally find one about 60 miles away. I like my cup so much that I will make that drive to buy her one.

I could not find one at any of the online retailers that Trudeau lists on their website except LaPrima.com, but I did find them at Amazon.com and KlinQ.com - butI wanted it for tomorrow anyway so I am off to Cafeggio Coffee in San Antonio to pick it up.

Now, if Trudeau could just come up with a way to remind me to twist the lid shut...