What exactly are Heat Changing Coffee Mugs?
They are coffee mugs that react to heat and change their appearance! And let’s be honest—this is practically the only kind of coffee mug that people are actually excited to get as a gift.
Because “heat changing coffee mugs” (more accurately called heat-sensitive coffee mugs) are sensitive to temperature, pouring hot coffee (or any liquid) into the mug makes it perform a little magic trick.
Look at the first mug below. When the mug is empty, the Game Boy is “off.” Pour hot coffee into it, and the Game Boy suddenly “turns on”!
Of course, it’s just a picture on a mug. Sorry, there’s no actual Super Mario game to play. Still, any gamer on the planet would LOVE to get this as a gift.
Keep scrolling down to see the rest of the heat changing coffee mugs in this carefully curated collection.
Grownups only: scroll all the way to the bottom for something that’s a bit … shall we say … saucy!
Click (or tap) on any image or product name to view the current price on Amazon. (sorry, prices really do fluctuate from time to time)
Paladone Gameboy Heat-Changing Coffee Mug
Seriously, give this heat changing coffee mug to a gamer! You’ll be hailed as a hero for all eternity.
Doctor Who – Disappearing TARDIS Coffee Mug – Add Hot Liquid and Watch The TARDIS Move From London to the Stars
My earliest memory of Doctor Who is from the late 70s or maybe the early 80s. I used to come across the Jon Pertwee incarnation of the show while I was looking for Saturday morning cartoons to watch.
If I had known that I was watching the beginnings of a sci-fi mega-franchise, I probably would have tuned in for longer than 10 seconds at a time! But alas, I was more interested in Thundarr the Barbarian.
Anyway, every Doctor Who fan MUST have this heat changing Doctor Who mug!
Doctor Who – Weeping Angel Heat Changing Coffee Mug – Add Hot Liquid and Watch the Stone Angels Come to Life
Since Doctor Who has never really caught on with yours truly, I confess that I don’t fully understand this particular Doctor Who mug.
But it’s one of the most-purchased heat changing coffee mugs on Amazon, so I thought it would be a crime to not feature it here.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild Star Trek Transporter Mug
If you’re going to put the crew of the USS Enterprise on a heat changing coffee mug, this is the way to do it.
Dammit Jim … I’m a doctor, not a barista!
InterestPrint “Cat Looking From The Inside” Heat Sensitive Coffee Mug
I’m a dog person myself, but I have no objection to cute kitties.
The fact that this heat changing coffee mug starts as plain ol’ black is a real turnoff, but cat people really, really love this mug. I guess I feel some level of responsibility to the crazy cat ladies of the world.
Color Changing Unicorn Mug
I don’t think I’d want this piece of cuteness in my kitchen, but something tells me this would be a huge hit with kids. And yes, hot cocoa will bring out the unicorn rainbow just like hot coffee would.
Van Gogh Disappearing Ear Mug
Even if you’re not into art, this is pretty funny. Goodbye, Van Gogh’s ear! It’s time for my coffee now.
The Unemployed Philosophers Guild Disappearing Dino Mug – Add Hot Liquid and Watch Dinosaurs Turn to Fossils
The perfect heat changing coffee mug for the paleontologist in your life!
Mister Rogers Heat Changing Coffee Mug – Add Hot Liquid and Watch Mr. Rogers’ Sweater Change Color
I used to watch Mister Rogers when I was little. Honestly, who didn’t? For some reason, his whole intro song and shoe-changing routine was captivating. But once he changed into his slippers, I usually flipped the channel to whatever cartoon violence I could find.
Still, this heat changing coffee mug is kind of nice. Or maybe we should call it a sweater changing coffee mug. Take a deep breath and enjoy the nostalgia.
Disappearing Cheshire Cat Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and The Cheshire Cat Disappears Except for its Grin
No, Alice, you’re not crazy. There really IS a gigantic talking cat in that tree! Or is there … ?
Heat Changing Constellation Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and 11 Constellations Appear
Constellations are great, but don’t ever ask me to look up in the sky and find one that doesn’t have “dipper” in the name.
This is the kind of thing that heat changing coffee mugs were made for. And you get to learn a little something with your coffee while you’re at it.
Timeless Elvis Presley Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and Elvis goes from Vegas to Memphis
At first I thought the order of Vegas to Memphis should be reversed. Then I realized that Memphis Elvis was the hot Elvis, so it’s only fitting that he appear when the mug is hot. Vegas Elvis was old and kind of creepy.
Nonetheless, this heat changing coffee mug is a nice tribute to The King.
Heat Changing Cup 12 oz Smiley Faces
I’m throwing this one in for a change of pace. Smilies. They belong on coffee mugs, what can I say.
Climate Change Disappearing Coffee Mug – Add Hot Liquid and Watch What Will Happen When The Ice Caps Melt
Give this heat changing coffee mug to your Republican Dad to prove, once and for all, that climate change is real!
Goodbye, Central America. It was nice knowing you.
Schrödinger’s Cat Heat Changing 2 Mug Set – Add Coffee or Tea and Observe Schrödinger’s Famous Experiment
I confess that I had never heard of Schrödinger’s Cat until watching The Big Bang Theory. I’m not so sure this set of heat changing coffee mugs is for cat lovers … unless those cat lovers are also theoretical physicists.
Supreme Court Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea to Reveal the Winners of Famous Supreme Court Cases
Heat changing coffee mugs can be so educational!
Fill the mug with hot coffee to see the losers of Supreme Court decisions disappear into oblivion, leaving only the winners to share in your morning joe.
Disappearing Civil Liberties Coffee Mug – Add Hot Water and Watch Your Civil Liberties Disappear Before Yours Eyes
I laughed out loud at this one. Watch your civil liberties disappear! Hey, you weren’t using them anyway, amiright?
Batman Bat Signal Heat Changing Coffee Mug – DC Comics Officially Licensed – – Add Hot Water and Batman Comes to the Rescue
I guess it was inevitable that superheroes would eventually make it into this parade of heat changing coffee mugs.
Heath Ledger totally deserved that Oscar, even if it had to be awarded posthumously. He made the Dark Knight cool again, at least for one movie.
This Calls for Wonder Woman Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and Diana Prince Transforms into Wonder Woman
Classic Wonder Woman! I like to imagine that Lynda Carter has an entire cabinet full of these. Who knows, she might.
Job for Superman Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and Clark Kent Transforms into The Man of Steel
Call me crazy, but I didn’t think Batman vs. Superman was THAT bad …
Jesus Shaves Disappearing Coffee Mug – Add Hot Water and Jesus’ Beard Disappears
Christians, please don’t hate me for including this heat changing coffee mug. Admit it … it’s funny!
Wrap one up and give it to a man or woman of the cloth. I’m pretty sure you’ll get a nice chuckle.
Shark! Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and Sharks Lurking Under the Water Appear
Sharks are terrifying killing machines, but they look quite at home on this whimsical heat changing coffee mug. Cute, even.
Oh look … that great white is about to swallow Oblivious Bikini Girl whole. Cute!
Birds on a Wire Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and Colorful Birds Appear
A good friend of mine is a big fan of birds. I think I’m gonna get this for her.
Democratic Dream Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and the Red States Turn Blue
I think there should be another version of this mug that says “IN YOUR DREAMS” on it. You know, so that ideologically opposed family members can swap at Christmastime.
Great Gays Heat Changing Mug – Add Coffee or Tea and Famous Gays From History Come Out of the Closet
For those who are offended by this heat changing coffee mug: If a gay coffee mug is the worst thing you see on the internet today, consider yourselves incredibly lucky!
Also, please don’t yell at me for the “gays” verbiage. That’s actually what this mug is called on Amazon.
One love.
Great Nudes Heat Changing Coffee Mug – Add Hot Liquid and Watch the Figures Change From Prudes to Nudes
Avert your eyes! Or don’t.
Did you scroll all the way down here because I said “grownups only”? Ha. I knew that would do it.
If I could give this heat changing coffee mug an award, it would be GREATEST USE OF THERMOCHROMIC MATERIALS EVER!
(According to the Google, thermochromism is the property that causes these mugs to be heat-sensitive.)
You may have noticed that nearly all of these mugs come from the same company, The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. I don’t work for them; I just like their stuff!
There are tons of heat changing coffee mugs on Amazon that are entirely unremarkable … a shocking number of them are plain black and then reveal some random picture when hot liquid is added. Yawn.
There are even a few mugs from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild that I excluded from this list of heat changing coffee mugs. I excluded them because I thought they were just kind of lazy. Their Bob Ross mug, for example, simply changes a black background into a Bob Ross painting. I love Bob Ross as much as anyone, buuuut no. Not good enough for this collection.
I chose these mugs because, for the most part, they use the heat-change feature in clever ways. I mean, if you’re going to give a heat changing mug as a gift (or buy one for yourself!), it might as well be a neat one.
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