Image from kickstarter.com
Finally, a KickStarter project that I can really get behind.
Which is worse, scalding your mouth on a beverage that’s too hot, or waiting too long for it to cool and taking a swig of room temperature coffee? I’d say the former is worse, but my wife would argue that the latter is at least equally bad.
Dave Petrillo and Dave Jackson have teamed up with science to bring us a solution to the problem. Their cool looking stainless steel coffee beans absorb heat, quickly cooling your coffee down to a comfortable 140 degrees Fahrenheit then slowly releasing the heat to maintain that temperature.
Coffee Joulies are a unique bean that uses a phase change material, or PCM, to maintain a comfortable drinking temperature. You’re already familiar with one PCM, ice, that is used to keep drinks cold. The ice absorbs heat as it changes to a liquid, keeping your drink cool.
Like the ice, the PCM inside the Coffee Joulie changes from a solid to a liquid and absorbs any excess heat. Since this phase change happens at about 140 degrees the result is a near-perfect drinking temperature. As the drink starts to cool off the PCM starts to solidify, giving up its heat and keeping the drink warm.
Coffee Joulies aren’t the first KickStarter that I’ve thrown some money at, but they are one of the first that I eagerly await for the product. I just hope now that demand hasn’t far outstripped their manufacturing capabilities.
Of course you could always go with the cheaper, less portable electric desktop coffee warmer.
