The Clear Cup is just that, a clear to-go cup for your coffee. A very beautiful to-go cup for your coffee. It is making its debut this weekend at the New York International Gift Fair, so I haven’t been able to get my hands on one, but it makes my ceramic “paper cup” look like a PC next to a Mac. A really heavy one at that. While I try to avoid plastic containers in regard to my food, especially hot beverages, this is made with Eastman’s Tritan BPA-free co-polymer. I haven’t used anything made from the material, but it’s the same stuff that Nalgene began using for their water bottles once BPA awareness went mainstream. I’d definitely be willing to try it out and see how my coffee tastes from it.
This was designed and developed by Vizun, the same company who created the Mug Hug, which we gave away in our first (and so far only) contest. The cup was actually designed to use a Mug Hug as its lid, a clever and efficient decision by the company that places multiple products into the hands of customers at the same time.
If you already have a mug you love and just need a lid for it, the Mug Hug is also being offered in two sizes now, in case you have a smaller, less standard size mug.
If you’re in NYC go check out the fair, or go to Vizun for more info.
When most people think of espresso, and the machines that make it, they think of Italy. However, this senior project by industrial design student Yaniv Berg, adds someplace new to think about. If this is what Israeli designers can do with an espresso machine, I’d love to see what they could do with a Ferrari! With this developing from the same project responsible for the concrete espresso machine at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, the future of product design for the coffee industry may have a new home in Israel.
I personally find mustaches annoying (mainly the ironic sort) and the trend of putting mustaches on everything is looong overplayed. But these mugs, designed by Peter Bruegger, were executed really well, so I wanted to share them with anyone who may actually enjoy groomed upper lip hair. There are 3 different mugs, two mustache designs on each (front/back). Enjoy!
To love coffee is one thing, to get up close an intimate is another. This coffee grinder was conured up by a group of students at the Bezalel Academy for Arts and Crafts (Israel’s national school of art) to make a statement about the disconnection we have to our purchased objects. So they designed one that needs to be embraced and caressed in order to function.
Their protest takes form in this beautifully designed “Heart Bean” coffee grinder. Made from a single piece of carved wood, this coffee grinder has a built-in heart beat monitor and will grind your beans to the rhythm of your heart … So basically, you wake up, you make sweet, sweet love to this giant piece of wood and it spits out coffee grinds. Gosh I love humans, we are so weird and wondrous.
I’ve always loved the graphics and type on coffee sacks. They have a great modern feel that contrasts so much with the origin they’ve traveled from. It always makes me happy to see them filled with beans and stacked on pallets when I visit roasters. I’ve also seen them hung like flags in cafes like a patriotic ode to the countries they support. Thanks to Gus* Modern, you can rest your feet on repurposed coffee sacks while you enjoy your favorite cup!
While I was in New York in May, I drank a lot of great coffee and hung out with a lot of great friends, including the brothers behind eco-fashion company Holstee. Their shirts and accessories, made from recycled materials, are awesome—but they also voluntarily curate their store with other responsible products they love and support.
One of those products is the Presso—a manual espresso machine, that’s fun and easy to use. Just add hot water, fresh ground beans, and a little tricep power, and you get a surprisingly good shot for much less than most home espresso machines ($150).
So we got together, drank a lot of espresso (I think I had 8 shots myself) and made a video showing how the Presso works. Enjoy!
Starbucks is apparently working on a set of mugs made from recycled clay (20% of them atleast). I really like their shape and the typography made from flecks of broken ceramic. It’s not clear whether those broken bits are what makes up the recycled aspects of the mug, but I like the direction they’re headed. I’d love to see more of these in the future with a higher percentage of recycled content.
This recycled ceramic mug was brought to life in a zero-waste factory in Japan, which reuses the clay of former mugs and dishes to create new ones. It’s a story of reuse and renewal that is told from mug to package. The particles coming together to form words and shapes represent a renewed respect for resources. For from broken bits of ceramic, we can make beautiful things.
The Betacup contest has come to an end with 430 entries! Yesterday, the jury selected winners were announced, and first place went to the Karma Cup! Karma Cup transforms buying your daily coffee into a game that can only be played by those with reusable cups. Every person who uses their own mug puts a mark on the chalkboard and every 10th person get’s their drink for free! This is a great idea and I really hope Starbuck’s implements it. This process of engagement is far more rewarding than a $0.10 discount.
I love coffee, but despise coffee flavored candy. It usually tastes nothing like coffee and has little to do with the bean we love. Enter Elizabeth Montes of Sahagún, an artisanal chocolatiere in Portland, OR. She takes single origin coffee beans from local roasters like Stumptown, Heart, Ristretto, and Extracto and treats them like cocoa beans.
Elizabeth combines the coffee with a bit of sugar and cocoa butter for texture, to create a coffee bar that acts like chocolate, but has all the distinct flavor of the single origin coffee used. So each batch of Ka-Pow! bars are as unique as the coffee used to make them.
I’d love to try these, but since it’s the “warm season,” $30 overnight shipping is the only available option for getting a hold of one. Guess I’ll have to wait until Christmas.
This is a cool concept for a stove top moka pot, designed by Joey Roth of Brooklyn, NY. I met Joey last month at a PSFK salon about design, which featured one of Joey’s newest products—a pair of beautiful ceramic speakers. I discovered this moka pot months ago, but just recently connected the dots, realizing it was the same guy.
The pot is made from porcelain, cork and steel and offers a new perspective on the iconic Bialetti moka pots most people are familiar with. It makes 2 shots of espresso and looks good doing it.
