The coffee connoisseurs in the crowd are probably familiar with the popcorn popper method of roasting your own beans. But anyone who’s tried it has probably found the hot-potato method of transferring the roasted beans back and forth between two colanders, to arrest the roasting process, a little… inelegant. On Evil Mad Scientist, Windell shows […]
Klaus Sedlbauer and Herbert Sinnesbichler, of Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), think coffee is perfect at 58 degrees C. So they built a coffee mug that automatically maintains that temperature, tending to cool its contents above 58 degrees, and releasing heat below 58 degrees to warm them back up. It works by use of an interstitial phase change material (PCM, Wikipedia) between the aluminum fins, which has a solid-liquid phase change temperature of 58 degrees. Above 58 degrees, the PCM melts and absorbs heat, and below 58 degrees it freezes and releases heat. Supposedly it can keep a cup of coffee at ideal temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
There is something about coffee art that really makes a drink seem special. I think it’s the extra energy and attention put into the bevy by the barista that makes artful coffee taste WAY better than regular coffee. Only one snag- it’s just too pretty to drink! [via weirdomatic]
The onslaught of DIY iPhone stands continues. This time around we find ourselves in a cafe with a warm beverage and the need to watch BMX stunt videos. Luckily we remembered to bring along our nice utility scissors and the Barista was kind enough to include a cup sleeve with the drink.
What a cute video about roasting, grinding, and siphon-brewing coffee. Style points for the Gershon Kingsley soundtrack, and it’s not even Friday!
Via BB Gadgets comes a link to this commercially-available coffee roasting drum which fits onto the rotisserie unit of your outdoor gas grill. The roaster drum costs $110. If you’re crafty with a little metalwork, I bet you could fabricate one yourself for cheaper. Coffee Roaster Drum for your Barbecue
Inspired by John Park’s Florence Siphon Brewer article in MAKE, Volume 17, Boris Legradic of Switzerland made this “cruder” version, mostly out of scrounged parts. In email, he says: “…it adds a certain je ne sais quoi with the potential for burning your flat down.” Bare-bones Vacuum Coffee
