I had to connect to the Ceramic Mug every time I opened the app (requiring a simple tap to connect prompt), and afterwards the home screen displayed a color gradient that went from light gray (or 'Empty') to a deep red as the temperature in the cup increased. For my first cup, I steeped a bag of herbal tea within the Ceramic Mug, and followed a push notification from Ember on my iPhone to set what I was drinking. Once everything is synced between your mug and the app, just add your favorite hot beverage to the mug and the Ember app will automatically ask what you're drinking. Using Ember every day is pretty simple as well. Once the mug is on, you never have to worry about powering it on or off again since it automatically goes into sleep mode when not in use. In terms of setup, that's really it you can wait for the mug to finish charging, but if you'll be placing it on the charging coaster as you drink, the initial setup process is shortened even further.

Using the Ember iOS app, I searched for and found the mug, paired it, named it, and customized its front-facing LED color. Setup is largely a breeze with Ember's mugs all I had to do was power on the Ceramic Mug, plug in the charging coaster to the included AC adapter with a barrel plug, and set the mug on it to fuel it up. In that time, I've found the device to be a helpful companion for my daily cups of tea and coffee, although there are some aspects of its design that will hinder its usefulness in the long run. I've had the chance to test the Ceramic Mug over the last few weeks, following an announcement that Ember's mugs now calculate your approximate caffeine intake and sync it to Apple's Health app, and are now being sold in Apple stores. Ember also sells the Ceramic Mug, which provides all of the same benefits of the Travel Mug but in a size and shape that's aimed for use in your home or at your office. Ember first began selling its temperature control Travel Mug back in 2015, allowing customers to personally control the temperature of their favorite hot beverage from their smartphone, and keep the drink hot for as long as an hour when it wasn't sitting on a charging pad.

Starbucks ember mug