

Coffee Joulies: Kickstarter project keeps your coffee at the right temperature - tlrobinson
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/705847536/coffee-joulies-your-coffee-just-right

======
fuzzmeister
I'd be interested to see a graph of the temperature over time of a cup of
coffee with Joulies vs. without.

~~~
vikramhaer
I was able to find one through their website (<http://www.joulies.com/videos>)

Direct link to video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRpfYAaMRIE>

~~~
ojilles
Too bad it only shows how fast it cools, but not how much longer it'll retain
that temperature! Or is there a different video for that?

~~~
vikramhaer
I was disappointed by that as well. They mention in their other video that it
retains the optimal temperature for twice the amount of time. It would have
been great to see them show that in the video. Hopefully they'll do so in a
follow-up.

------
PStamatiou
Team Notifo ordered some for the company.. office necessity. When we were
working out of the garage, we had a ritual of making coffee (no temp control
on the machine) then digging into the ice chest for a cube or two. We would
hear Chad's aunt call us wimps for using ice when she heard us open the
freezer haha.

~~~
jazzychad
I tried to retort by pointing out the fact that she puts cream in her coffee
(thus cooling it), while we drink ours black. Apparently, this was not a valid
excuse for her.

------
rjett
Interesting hack, but if your coffee is scalding when it's being prepared,
something is wrong and it's going to taste bad anyways.

I also hope there's a disclaimer attached to the packaging that warns of the
dangers of gulping down your coffee joulies.

~~~
zbailey
Disagree. A quick google shows most sources claim the optimal temperature for
brewing coffee is somewhere between 195-205F (92-96C) which is certainly hot
enough to cause first degree burns in your mouth.

Now certain herbal teas on the other hand are brewed at lower temperatures to
keep from scalding the leaves. That may be what you're thinking?

I'm curious, what's your optimal temperature and how do you brew your joe?

~~~
thenomad
I've spent a good long time studying coffee prep. I'm not a pro, but I am a
mildly obsessive foodie geek, so that may inform how many pinches of salt you
take this with.

In non-pressurised or Turkish coffee (French Press, pour-over, other filter)
the optimal extraction temperature varies between 93C and 89C - above that
you'll start to "scorch" the brew, which means you'll be over-extracting
caffine amongst other things, causing that bitter taste.

(I'm fairly sure those are the figures that Harold McGee quotes in "On Food
And Cooking", although my copy is buried below a stack of books at the moment
whilst we redo our kitchen.)

However, yes, 93C is definitely hot enough that it'll be no fun to drink.

------
donw
One request: Make a version for those of us that like hot coffee (160F).

~~~
darrenkopp
I like my coffee the McDonald's way: 190F

------
d2
Oh hell, I'd buy this. It seemed gimmicky at first, but I love the marketing,
product design and packaging. Good luck guys!! These will make awesome xmass
gifts.

------
erikpukinskis
They're going to make a fortune in SkyMall.

------
dot
could one make a cup that has field's metal (or whatever they use) in its
walls? i hate the idea of having something in my coffee and an extra thing to
wash.

~~~
sbierwagen
It'd be fairly easy, though you'd want to put it in the bottom, or something,
or else you would end up with an oddly thick cup.

------
bobds
I've thought about what would be the opposite of ice cubes, I guess this is
it. Only it's kind of better since it solves two problems, some initial
cooling so you can start drinking and then maintaining the temperature. A
hacker's product, if there was ever one.

------
hapless
This is the kind of device that _requires_ a patent, so that you can tell me
_precisely_ what's in your "proprietary phase change material." Perhaps you
could also describe its containment. That's what "patent" means, after all:
open, obvious, visible.

I'm not going to put a can full of mystery alloy into my scalding coffee and
_trust_ that it's not going to leak, burst, or leach metals into my food. Just
not gonna happen. Given the market for this product, I know I'm not the only
one who will balk.

~~~
oasisbob
My guess is that the material is really trivial, and they're just trying to
protect the composition so they can get a lead to market. Once it's on the
market, I bet it'll be cracked open within days, and cloned fast.

My guess? The phase change material could be as simple as beeswax. (Melting
point of 62-64 C, very close to the melting point they specify.) They'd want
to optimize for heat capacity, but there are plenty of natural and safe
materials in the ballpark.

~~~
hapless
That's what a patent is for: get you twenty year lead to market.

Even if it is just beeswax, this is a novel application.

------
will_lam
Wow this is awesome - a perfect complement to my collection of coffee toys. I
just bought an Aeropress last week, and now this. I'm really excited for this
product!

------
kleiba
After almost 20 years, I recently stopped drinking coffee because of the bad
water footprint coffee has. Of course, my co-workers smile at me pitifully,
but I believe it's the right thing to do. Now I wonder if that step will make
me a worse hacker in the long run? ;-)

------
impendia
This looks fantastic, but after reading the whole page I couldn't quite shake
the feeling that maybe these things are unsafe.

I don't _actually_ think they're unsafe, but perhaps something to keep in mind
as you grow your business.

~~~
morrow
Agreed - this bit especially could use some work:

"Yes! Joulies are perfectly safe _when used properly_ , and _in fact make
drinking coffee safer than usual_ by reducing the risk of burning your mouth."
(Emphasis mine)

The whole "it's actually safer because burning your mouth is unsafe" isn't
very comforting, and the "safe when used properly" clause makes me think "what
happens if I dont' use it properly?" The fact that the inner material is
proprietary and is somewhat of a mystery doesn't help either.

Still a very interesting idea, but I think the early-adopters and overall
target market for theses things overlaps largely with more conscientiousness
food shoppers who want to know exactly what's in the food and drink they buy.

~~~
DougWebb
"Do not taunt Joulie fun bean."

------
probablyrobots
They should think about building this into the bottom of an insulated coffee
cup. Another good product would be to put the thermal material in a silicon
jacket instead of stainless steel so that it could be microwave safe.

------
georgio
I really like it, I wonder if there's any point in funding them more now? I
can't find anything about what they are planning with all the extra money.

~~~
MichaelApproved
You get 20% off the retail price.

------
zcid
A little out of my budget at the moment, but I can definitely see the
potential market. My coffee was getting cold just as I was reading this.

------
dreww
This idea, while an awesome use of physics, has a problem -even in the
cleanest of brewing processes, the brewed beverage continues to go through
chemical changes as it sits. Preserving their idea of a "perfect" temperature
in order to preserve the coffee longer is inherently flawed, as it will begin
to taste bad after a certain point no matter what. All coffee is temporary; do
yourself a favor and brew more. Top-notch shops aren't dumping their airpots
after 45 minutes because the coffee has cooled down too much.

------
harrisonhjones
From what I can tell these people as selling a huge lump of metal. It's a
F*CKING thermal mass. This isn't an invention of any kind. They simply took
thermodynamics. It's kills me they made 22grand.

~~~
tcskeptic
I don't think that is all there is to it. The page says they are filled with
"Phase Change Material" (which I would guess is some sort of wax) that melts
at !40F. I don't know why that would be better or worse than a lump of metal
though.

~~~
jasonkester
Apologies for going meta, but it's refreshing to see that I'm not the only one
who uses capital 1's from time to time.

