The Best Thermal Coffee Carafe

If you’re wondering how to keep your coffee hot throughout the day, the answer is simple: You need a good thermal carafe. Most of them retain heat for 6-12 hours, but the best models are able to keep your coffee hot for even longer. Perfect for a day out, but also perfect for those who just want to brew one large portion of coffee in the morning, and have it last throughout the day.

In this buying guide we’ve taken a closer look on 5 great thermal coffee carafes, and all of them are great choices for various reasons. Make sure you check them all out below.

Affordable Thermal Carafe With Great Capacity

What we like: This thermal coffee carafe is a proof that you don’t need to shell out a lot of money to get a proper insulated carafe to keep your coffee warm throughout the day. With a capacity of 68 ounces you’ll have enough coffee to get you through the entire day, and you can serve your entire family without running back and forth to the kitchen and filling it up all the time. Despite its low price it’s able to retain heat for up to 12 hours, which is more than enough for most people. Great buy!

All you need to know: This Cresimo thermal carafe has a capacity of 68 ounces, which is enough for at least 14 cups of coffee. It keeps your beverages hot for up to 12 hours, and cold for up to 24 hours.

It is a double walled carafe made from stainless steel on the inside and outside, which also makes it quite durable.

There’s a lid with a pouring spout on top of the carafe, which is able to open using just one hand. Simply press the button with your thumb while pouring, and you’re able to easily pour yourself a hot cup of coffee.

Specifications:

• Capacity: 68 ounces
• Keeps warm for: 12 hours
• Keeps cold for: 24 hours

Large Thermal Carafe with Built-In Dispenser

What we like: This is our favorite among the party-sized thermal carafes. With a capacity just above 100 ounces, it holds nearly one entire gallon of coffee, making it the perfect choice for the office, but also for day trips with family and friends. Simply place it where you want, and have cups on standby on the side. The pump-action dispenser easily serves the right amount of coffee without spilling a single drop, and it retains heat for up to 12 hours. Truly a great choice for businesses and private households seeking a high capacity thermal carafe at an affordable cost.

All you need to know: The Cresimo Airpot is a thermal coffee carafe with a 101 ounces capacity. It features a stainless steel body with a double wall design for better insulation, and a black plastic lid with a pump-action dispenser for safe handling and pouring of the hot contents.

Simply press the pump handle on top of the carafe, and let the coffee pour directly into your cup. No need to lift the carafe or tip it, the pouring system takes care of everything for you.

When removing the lid, you’ll have a very large opening for filling/emptying the carafe quickly and easily. It also gives you access to easily clean it as well, and there’s a 1-year warranty included with this product.

You can choose the model as shown on the picture, or you can choose a model with a drip tray, which is suitable for business environments.

Specifications:

• Capacity: 101 ounces
• Keeps warm for: 12 hours
• Keeps cold for: 24 hours

Shiny Thermal Carafe with Great Heat Retention

What we like: If you want a more beautiful look and better heat retention, this thermal coffee carafe is the perfect choice. The Pykal carafe has a beatiful shiny design with a satin finish, and it’s made from durable stainless steel to better withstand several years of use. The pouring spout is large and very functional when filling up the carafe as well, and therefore it’s a great choice for those who appreciate simplicity and functionality at the same time.

All you need to know: The Pykal thermal coffee carafe is made from stainless steel, and it has double wall insulation which keeps your coffee hot for up to 24 hours.

The lid and carafe is easily operated with just one hand, by pressing down the top button with your thumb while pouring the coffee. It doesn’t get much easier than this, which is probably why most people prefer these types of thermal carafes.

It also has a capacity of 68 ounces, which gives you up to 14 smaller cups of coffee, or 6-7 large mugs.

Specifications:

• Capacity: 68 ounces
• Keeps warm for: 24 hours
• Keeps cold for: 24 hours

Compact Thermal Carafe for Hot and Cold Beverages

What we like: This little thermal carafe is a perfect choice for personal use. It has a capacity of 24 ounces with the option of a 33-ounce model as well, which gives you up to 5 cups of coffee to enjoy throughout the day. It is also a good choice for cold milk that goes in your hot cup of coffee, and in fact there are lots of coffee shops around the world that use similar thermal carafes for their milk. With that being said, you should definitely consider this carafe as a viable alternative to larger containers.

All you need to know: The ChefGiant thermal coffee carafe offers a compact container with a capacity of either 24 ounces or 33 ounces, depending on the size you choose.

It has a double wall design and is made from stainless steel with a top and bottom made of plastic, which gives it the ability to create a tight vacuum seal. The vacuum seal makes sure your carafe is completely leak proof, and it keeps your coffee hot for up to 8 hours despite its compact size.

There’s a large plastic handle on this carafe, and the pouring spout is opened by turning the lid clockwise, while turning it counterclockwise closes it.

Specifications:

• Capacity: 24 / 33 ounces
• Keeps warm for: 8 hours
• Keeps cold for: 8 hours

Stylish Thermal Carafe with a Wooden Handle

What we like: This is one beautiful thermal coffee carafe, and it has a bunch of nice details. Take the wooden handle as an example of how unique this carafe is, and why it’s one of the best choices: Made from real oak, which perfectly compliments the body of the carafe with its warm colors. The pouring operation is easily handled by a top button, which opens the pouring spout by a single press. Press it again and it’s closed – what more could you ask for? This is by far one of the most stylish and beautiful thermal carafes out there, and if you want something a little extra, this is the one to choose.

All you need to know: The SDREAM thermal coffee carafe holds up to 34 ounces of coffee, which it keeps hot for up to 12 hours at a time. It is also able to keep your beverages cold for up to 24 hours.

The lid is detachable and free from BPA, and the thermal carafe has a durable double wall construction with stainless steel on the inside as well as on the outside.

You can easily detach the lid if you need to clean the carafe or fill it up with freshly brewed coffee, and afterwards you can quickly screw it back on.

Specifications:

• Capacity: 34 ounces
• Keeps warm for: 12 hours
• Keeps cold for: 24 hours

How to Choose the Best Thermal Coffee Carafe

There are a few things you should focus on, when picking your new thermal insulated coffee carafe. Below is a general guide that will help you decide what to focus on and why:

1. The interior

The interior of most thermal coffee carafes is of stainless steel.

Stainless steel has many advantages:

• It doesn’t leak any flavors to the liquid contents
• It doesn’t rust
• It is durable and even withstands pressure
• It is easy to clean

Some thermal carafes have parts made of plastic, but usually the contents aren’t in contact with any plastic parts while stored inside the thermal carafe. The plastics used are of course thermally stable, but they may contract the aromas or flavors of the contents inside the carafe.

That is why most people recommend to keep coffee and tea in separate carafes, so the flavors won’t get mixed up.

Make sure the thermal coffee carafes are 100% BPA free though, which most of them are anyway. I always check this myself though, just to make sure it is BPA free.

2. The exterior

When it comes to the exterior, there are lots of options. One common “rule” applies to all types of exterior designs though: The more it shines, the harder it is to keep clean.

So if you want a shiny exterior, be prepared to clean it more often if you want it to remain shiny.

On the other hand, a matte exterior/plastic exterior can make it more difficult to remove stains because they’ll get stuck deeper into the surface and require a bit more scrubbing to loosen up.

3. Heat retention

While some thermal coffee carafes claim to have longer heat retention than others, it is generally advised to check the user reviews and see if the claims hold up to reality.

There is a difference between the insulation and efficiency of course, and it’s worth noting that the manufacturers can basically claim whatever they want and not having it tested by independent sources.

You shouldn’t doubt their claims though, because in most cases they are usually on point – but it’s always a good idea to check the user ratings and see what other users experience.

Usually thermal coffee carafes are divided into these groups when it comes to heat retention:

• 3-6 hours
• 6-12 hours
• 12-24 hours

For most people 6-12 hours is more than enough, but if you need longer heat retention it’s worth getting one of the more expensive options to ensure it actually keeps warm over longer periods of time.

4. The lid

There are a lot of different options, when it comes to the lid. Some are more convenient than others, but some may require you to be a rocket scientist in order to understand the concept of them.

Below are the different types of lids that are commonly presented in thermal coffee carafes:

• Screw lid
  This is the most basic type of lid, but also the type that usually gives you the best seal and heat retention. It is basically a lid that is screwed open, so you can pour out the contents.
• Push-to-open lid
  This type of lid usually has a button on top with a spring-mechanism, so you push it in order to open the lid and pour out the contents. This type of lid is very convenient and easy to open for anyone, although it may take a moment to figure out how it works.
  Some carafes are designed to be handled with one hand, with the push button located on top of the handle.
• Pump action lid
  Some carafes have a pump action lid instead of a regular lid. This type of lid is usually found on large thermal coffee carafes, and enables you to pump out the contents as if it’s a dispenser. This is a very convenient mechanism for large gatherings, because nobody have to lift the carafe but instead they just place their cup/mug underneath the pouring spout and start pumping.

Our general recommendation is to choose the simplest type of lid possible, unless you have reasons to do the opposite. A regular screw lid is the best, easiest and most durable option, but some may require other types of lids, e.g. if the carafe is used for large gatherings, or if you for some reason cannot handle the carafe with both hands at once.

5. The pouring spout

A narrow pouring spout is highly recommended, because it’s easier to pour with than thermal carafes with a wide pouring spout.

Some thermal carafes have a wide pouring spout because it looks more stylish, but this is not always the most convenient option because it makes it more difficult to pour the liquids into a small cup or mug.

So whenever possible, choose a carafe with a narrow pouring spout.