Hey coffee fiends, I need your help! This should be fun.

I'm working on a project (for a course in design) where the task is to
design an intelligent coffee machine of the future. I want to ask a
number of people what THEIR desires for a future coffee machine would be.

I'm limiting the scope of this to INDIVIDUAL users (think a machine that
would go in a home or small workgroup, not something behind the counter at
a coffeehouse) that brews espresso (not some machine that tries to do it
all).

What would make it your dream coffee machine? A certain function -- or a
LACK of a certain function? A feature or fun accessory? Get creative and
think outside the box -- no wrong answers here, just idea generation!

Just reply to this thread -- unless you've got something REALLY crazy that
you don't want the public to see (!!??).

Thanks in advance!

Amy

> The obvious way to do this would
> be through magnetic levitation. Coffee is weakly diamagnetic,
> so it can be suspended in a sufficiently strong magnetic field.
>
> Here is an example of water being levitated in a magnetic field:
> http://www.hfml.sci.kun.nl/froglev.html
>
> Although the field strength is high, it is a static field, so there is
> no power dissipation once the field is set up.

That is one of the funnier spoofs I have read in years.

Just for the record though a 16 Tesla field would rip the nails out of
the walls of your house and kill you by shredding!

sPh

In article >,
Mark Thorson > wrote:
[a whole bunch of great stuff]

Mark, you ROCK. That's exactly why I came to the net -- those I asked were
like, "Ummm... could you make the machine purple?" Not real out-of-the-box
thinkers.

Fantastic. Thanks.

Amy

In article >,
sPh > wrote:
>That is one of the funnier spoofs I have read in years.
>
>Just for the record though a 16 Tesla field would rip the nails out of
>the walls of your house and kill you by shredding!
>
>sPh

Now, now -- we don't have to MAKE the machine; this is an exercise in
getting input from users about future designs and then synthesizing that
down into something doable! =-) While yes, many of Mark's suggestions
will not make it through feasibility assessment, it's a great batch of
things to start with. =-)

Amy

sPh wrote:

> Just for the record though a 16 Tesla field would rip the nails out of
> the walls of your house and kill you by shredding!

That would not happen in a competently engineered
machine. The magnetic field would have a closed
circuit and not leak into the surrounding environment.

The nails would be completely unaffected.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> First, we will get rid of off-flavors introduced by contact
> with the materials of the machine itself (in particular, plastics,
> aluminum, brass, and stainless steel).

does stainless steel really affect the taste of hot water?

(Amy Lynn Young-Leith) wrote in message >...
> Hey coffee fiends, I need your help! This should be fun.
>
> I'm working on a project (for a course in design) where the task is to
> design an intelligent coffee machine of the future.

Hmm, it rather depends upon where the intelligence lives - in the
machine or in the designer :-)

OK, I have been thinking about some ideas for a while, and put these
forward as pretty much exactly what I would like to see on the market.
Unless someone is going to be kind enough to send me the numbers for
Saturday night's lottery draw I suspect I am going to have to wait for
someone else to engineer this and put it into production.

Clearly it is going to have to brew the best possible coffee. That
goes without saying. So...

It will boast very high precision in temperature profile and either
pressure or volume profile. This is achievable now - one way to
create what I envisage would be a pair of leadscrew driven pumps - one
driving hot water, the other cold - a computer controlled feed-forward
system would be able to create perfect profiles of all the brew
parameters.

OK, now some more mundane thoughts.

My big beef about all domestic machines is that they are considered a
standalone device. Make it a kitchen bench appliance - drill a huge
hole in the bench-top and mount it over its own dedicated sink. You
can put most of the mechanism under the bench-top - yielding almost
arbitrary flexibility on the aesthetics of the visible component, and
it suddenly becomes a very kitchen friendly device. The mess goes
straight down the sink.

The machine can pay for its use of bench-space by being multi-purpose.
The hot water delivery is a real boon, and we could add a additional
nozzles for filtered water, both room temperature and chilled. Many
people already have special hot and cold water delivery systems in
their kitchen, this would supersede them (and also justify part of
the price.)

Cleaning. We have a computer controlled machine with a source of high
pressure hot water and steam. There is no reason why is cannot keep
itself perfectly clean. Additional nozzles in strategic places and a
"clean me" button. The machine simply blasts itself with hot water
and steam, it would be possible to make a self cleaning steam want too
(perhaps using a double walled wand to deliver the cleaning water to
the end.) Since the machine is mounted over a sink there is no issue
about where the mess goes.

External body. It should be constructed like any other piece of high
quality plumbing for long term use in a domestic situation. Solid
polished metal. All the switch-gear should be flush with the surface
and totally sealed - so it is possible to clean all external surfaces
with ordinary kitchen cleaning materials in exactly the same way as
you would keep a tap or sink clean.

Grinder. This is an interesting issue. Clearly we will want a
grinder. One possibility is to integrate a grinder into the machine.
In a domestic low volume setting we don't need a clone of a commercial
unit (except in durability and quality.) We don't want a doser, nor a
large hopper. Indeed a true coffee geek will want to individually
grind different beans from shot to shot - so we only need a hopper
large enough to hold that - and add a weighted lid that will drive all
the beans through the grinder and avoid any flying out. Use a conical
burr grinder so that the grinds fall straight out of the bottom, and
use a 90 degree gear set so that the motor can be mounted out of the
way - deep inside the machine. The grinder can eject grinds right
next to the group head, so it is very convenient - and any mess drops
into the sink.

Cutsie ideas.
Put a peltier cell cooled plate somewhere so that the milk jug can be
kept cold for the best milk steaming performance. Adjustable cup
holder so for those that must, a large cup or mug can be placed under
the portafilter. This holder should also rotate out of the way to
provide full access to the sink.

Clearly the device will be engineered to stay on permanently.
Internally it should be very well insulated and the outside shell
should not get hot. One could utilise aerogel insulation and achieve
astounding thermal performance.

So, anyone want to make me one?

In article <9uxad.54105$a85.5937@fed1read04>,
Dennis M. Reed \"Califa\" > wrote:
>
>"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
>> First, we will get rid of off-flavors introduced by contact
>> with the materials of the machine itself (in particular, plastics,
>> aluminum, brass, and stainless steel).
>
>does stainless steel really affect the taste of hot water?

It seems to for me -- I bought one of the fancy stainless lined beverage mugs, but can't stand to use it, especially if I try
to drink something cool out of it without using the sippie-cup like lid. It's just awful.

Amy

Who needs high tech computer control self brewing and cleaning coffee
machines.
I found a quick "fix" for my hot and iced coffee addiction. Scored
web site for free sample of this liquid coffee concentrate that takes
two seconds to make......and you can make it anywhere you've got
water. Forget the engineering problems....just give me the caffiene.
Isn't that the goal... or... is it the grade?

.... site www.javette.com ....check out blogsite, www.lynch.st/ Sept 6th,
2004 posting that gave me the link......Mark





"Dennis M. Reed \"Califa\"" > wrote in message news:<3KCad.58791$a85.14387@fed1read04>...
> "Amy Lynn Young-Leith" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article <9uxad.54105$a85.5937@fed1read04>,
> > Dennis M. Reed \"Califa\" > wrote:
> >>
> >>"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
> ...
> >>> First, we will get rid of off-flavors introduced by contact
> >>> with the materials of the machine itself (in particular, plastics,
> >>> aluminum, brass, and stainless steel).
> >>
> >>does stainless steel really affect the taste of hot water?
> >
> > It seems to for me -- I bought one of the fancy stainless lined beverage
> > mugs, but can't stand to use it, especially if I try
> > to drink something cool out of it without using the sippie-cup like lid.
> > It's just awful.
> >
> sounds like the taste is probably from your saliva not the drink in the
> stainless steel...to test this supposition, you might put a piece of plastic
> wrap over the lip if the mug and see if you still get a bad taste...I would
> be interested in your test.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Amy Lynn Young-Leith wrote:
>
>> What would make it your dream coffee machine? A certain
>> function -- or a LACK of a certain function? A feature or fun
>> accessory? Get creative and think outside the box -- no wrong
>> answers here, just idea generation!
>
> Nobody knows exactly what coffee machines of the future
> will look like, but there are a few things we can say with
> a very high degree of assurance, almost amounting to certainty:
>
> First, we will get rid of off-flavors introduced by contact
> with the materials of the machine itself (in particular, plastics,
> aluminum, brass, and stainless steel).
<snip>
That's an idea - what about the use of ceramics and glass. The Cona vaccuum
pot coffee maker is all glass. The ceramic glass you get on electric stove
tops is pretty tough.The spec might not be ok for a boiler but they do line
bulk milk tankers with glass. Perhaps you could do the same with a stainless
steel boiler ?
Ditto the piping and the portafiller.
The 15 bar pump in an espresso machine might be tricky but incorporating
ceramics into say, a lever type espresso similar to the La Pavoni may not be
such a hurdle, as this operates at only at about zero point five bar.
Hmmm, I need a coffee and/or an ice pack.

Pete

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Amy Lynn Young-Leith wrote:
>
>> What would make it your dream coffee machine? A certain
>> function -- or a LACK of a certain function? A feature or fun
>> accessory? Get creative and think outside the box -- no wrong
>> answers here, just idea generation!
>
> Nobody knows exactly what coffee machines of the future
> will look like, but there are a few things we can say with
> a very high degree of assurance, almost amounting to certainty:
>
> First, we will get rid of off-flavors introduced by contact
> with the materials of the machine itself (in particular, plastics,
> aluminum, brass, and stainless steel).
<snip>
That's an idea - what about the use of ceramics and glass. The Cona vaccuum
pot coffee maker is all glass. The ceramic glass you get on electric stove
tops is pretty tough.The spec might not be ok for a boiler but they do line
bulk milk tankers with glass. Perhaps you could do the same with a stainless
steel boiler ?
Ditto the piping and the portafiller.
The 15 bar pump in an espresso machine might be tricky but incorporating
ceramics into say, a lever type espresso similar to the La Pavoni may not be
such a hurdle, as this operates at only at about zero point five bar.
Hmmm, I need a coffee and/or an ice pack.

Pete

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
: First, we will get rid of off-flavors introduced by contact
: with the materials of the machine itself (in particular, plastics,
: aluminum, brass, and stainless steel).

Stainless steel? If stainless steel makes your coffee taste
different, then either you have a serious problem, or should be a
taster for some food company. Wow.

: Second, the water will be synthesized in the machine in pure form
: from hydrogen and oxygen gases. The heat from the reaction
: can be used to provide the heat for the coffee, of course.
: An electrolytic cell can generate the hydrogen and oxygen
: gases by electrolysis of tap water, so no bottled gases would
: be required. This can take place at night, when demand for
: electricity is low.

Clearly, you don't understand how much the dissolved minerals in the
water are important for good flavor. Try this out - go get yourself
some distilled water, and compare it to both regular bottled water
and/or tap water (depends on where you live, not everyone lives where
the water is as excellent as we have in Champaign/Urbana). If you
think that pure, unadulterated water tastes good, and that stainless
steel makes a noticeable difference........

: Third, contact between the water and the coffee must be
: rapid and brief, to avoid flavors which are developed
: due to overextraction. This may be accomplished by
: accelerating individual particles of ground coffee using
: electrostatic fields in a sort of "gun", and shooting them
: through the magnetically levitated sphere of water.
: To avoid shock waves, they would be travelling at
: a speed not to exceed about Mach 0.95. They would
: travel through the sphere and exit the other side,
: where they would be caught in a waste container.
: This eliminates the need to handle filters, which is
: another big plus.

I think you're thinking about sonic booms....but guess what? When
your coffee hits that water, your bubble of water will want to go
splat. Besides, while you want to avoid overextraction,
underextraction won't exactly provide a good cup, either.


At any rate, you've got a wonderful imagination - even if you have
some details out of skew.

6 newborn or veal cutlets
Tomato gravy (see index)
4 cups mozzarella, 1cup parmesan, 1cup romano
Seasoned bread crumbs mixed with
parmesan
romano
salt
pepper
oregano
garlic powder
chopped parsley
Flour
eggwash (eggs and milk)
Peanut oil for frying.

Pound the cutlets.
Dredge in flour, eggs, then the bread crumb mixture.
Fry till golden brown in 350° peanut oil.
In a baking pan, place a layer of gravy,
then one of meat, gravy, and cheese.
Another layer each of meat, gravy, and cheese.
Then bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Serve on hot pasta with romano cheese.



Southern Fried Small-fry

Tastes like fried chicken, which works just as well.
In fact you may want to practice cutting up whole chickens
for frying before you go for the real thing.
Whole chicken is much more efficient and inexpensive than buying pieces.

1 tiny human, cut into pieces
2 cups flour
Onion, garlic
Salt
pepper
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
hot sauce, etc.
Oil for frying

Mix milk, eggs, hot sauce in a bowl, add chopped onion and garlic.
Season the meat liberally, and marinate for several hours.
Place seasoned flour in a paper or plastic shopping bag,
drop pieces in a few a time, shake to coat thoroughly,
then deep fry in hot oil (350°) for about 15 minutes.
Drain and place on paper towels.



Miscarriage with Mustard Greens

Why waste it? Otherwise, and in general, use ham or salt pork to season greens.
The technique of smothering greens can be used with many vegetables;
green beans work especially well. Meat is not necessary every day, don?t
be afraid to al