The First Sip Is The Hottest

I got a birthday present I am just going to have to talk about because I’m pretty excited about it.   My friend gave me a S’well thermos/water bottle.   I’ve heard people talking about them recently but hadn’t looked into one, what with my current water bottle doing a relatively good job of holding in the water.

The label and claim on the packaging is that it will keep cold beverages cold for twenty-four hours and hot beverages hot for twelve hours—which is quite a claim.   There is a whole lot of technology behind these bottles and I was ready to put it to the test.

I’m not that worried about my cold beverages staying cold.   I pass on ice a lot of time at the self-serve beverage counters at restaurants.   Water is water and I’m not overly picky about temperature.   But hot—hot beverages are another thing altogether.    I like my hot beverages hot—almost to the skin-searing, gobbets of flesh dangling from the top of your mouth if you’re not careful temperature.

When I get a beverage at Starbucks I ask for 185 degrees.  Milk scalds around 195 degrees, so that’s pushing it close, especially if the barista doesn’t have a lot of experience.  My old Keurig had a temperature setting and I had that on the hottest and my hot water tap in the kitchen is just shy of “about to boil off”.

So I thought I’d check out this staying hot feature of the S’well bottle.   I made some coffee and added nearly scalded milk I’d microwaved into it, put the lid on and headed off to school with it in the cup holder of my car.     I met the other people in our courtyard and after we had gotten coordinated I went back to the car to get my coffee.  

I opened up the bottle and took a sip and it was hot.   It was “first sip” hot.   It was like the first sip of a hot beverage you have.   That first sip is always the hottest and the best.   From there, the hot tea or coffee or coco begins to cool down in the mug or cup.    That first sip is the hottest and there is only one first sip for any given beverage.  

I marveled at the little canister because that “first sip” was at least twenty-five minutes after I’d made the coffee and put it in the container.   It should have been lukewarm by then.   I had to go check on something so I set it down for a few minutes.   I came back and opened the bottle and it was still just as hot.   I had another “first sip”.   I stared at my little bottle and put it back down.    Over the next hour I kept going back and confirming the temperature had indeed not dropped.    I think I finished the coffee with the last sip still being a first sip.

I’m already looking forward to my morning coffee in my new S’well canister.   I think I’m going to drink it in the container, even if I’m not going out.

The Big Boy Update:  Where do they hear these things?   I was on the phone with a friend with my son in the back seat.   I pull in the driveway and tell him I’ll be right in, to head on inside.   For no apparent reason he unbuckles, leans right up to me and says, “you are SOOO dumb.”   I try not to react because I’m on the phone so he says it again.    I don’t know where he heard it, but there were consequences for ungracious behavior (the iPad was removed for the rest of the weekend.)   He was cross.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter threw a temper tantrum the likes of which I can’t remember recently.   She was intentionally doing delay tactics while we were trying to get ready to go out, including excuses and declarations she could’t do things like put on her jacket or shoes.   Finally I told her she was going without shoes.   Suddenly, the only thing she wanted was shoes.   She wouldn’t stay in her car seat as we were preparing to leave the garage so she got put out in the cold in the front yard with no shoes on.   She wailed at the front door, saying she wanted shoes and could she please have shoes.   I told her she could possibly have shoes when we got to the restaurant IF she had calmed down.    She got in the car but continued to be inconsolable, screaming, complaining, crying, wailing and all about the shoes she just had to have.     She was finally spent just as we were getting to the restaurant.    She got the shoes on and was suddenly completely over everything.   She was happy, pleasant, cooperative and friendly for the remainder of lunch.  The message was received though, because when I told my children it was time to get their shoes and jackets on to go to Naya’s birthday party later in the afternoon, my daughter got hers on immediately, went to the car, got in and was buckled waiting for my son and me to finish getting ready.