Velox Coffee Maker and Espresso Maker

I discovered that Velox from Italy make coffee makers and espresso makers for the car.

Froogle: Velox coffee maker

Interesting! Now it's the same general idea that I want to pursue but a different design and definitely a completely different marketing concept.

I want to integrate the coffee mug and the coffee maker into a single machine. The basic components are the coffee mug, a pump, heating element, coffee pod brew compartment, and drip back into the coffee mug. The coffee mug is used to store the water and the brewed coffee drips back into it. So the entire volume of the flow outside of the coffee mug should be equal to or more than the volume of the coffee mug. That's as much as I've thought about the design aspect of the mug. I'll try to come up with a picture of the concept in my head.

So the coffee connoisseur can fill up his coffee mug, bring it to his car, replace the coffee pod, and brew his coffee in less than a minute. I need to figure out cream and sugar, because after the coffee is brewed, the cream and sugar need to be mixed in. I don't want the coffee connoisuer to have to open the mug and mix it in himself, but that might be unavoidable. This has to be travel safe, so when the connoisseur is driving and making the coffee, it doesn't hurt spill and cause burns. So an automatic temperature/brew lock should be factored in. All this in under US$100 can be quite a task. The Velox coffee/espresso maker is around $70.

The marketing concept is different and I'm still thinking about it. I'll try to come up with brand design and I'm reading right now a book (text book) on branding called Strategic Brand Management by Kevin Lane Keller. I like the CBBE (Customer Based Brand Equity) Model that's expounded in the book. And I'll try to follow the concepts to come up with a branding plan.

Coffee brewing continued...

After researching the Carnot cycle, thermodynamic equations, and looking at how coffee makers and espresso makers work, I've come to the conclusion that a simple heating element, one way valve tube and a pump would be adequate for my needs. However, can't afford to have a large tank of water. It's has to be mobile. So have to come up with concepts. Thinking of using the Coffee mug as part of the maker. Don't know how yet.

As an aside, the coffee pods are really expensive. It's a quarter a pod or more. So another short-term product could be a 'Make your own Pod'. Freedom to the consumer to choose which beans they want. Don't know much about how they make it now. May be economies of scale will prevent this product from becoming a home pod maker. For a hack job look here.

Coffee brewing

Short of experimenting with my girlfriends slow cooker for brewing coffee, I can't think of another way to experiment with taste and brewing temperatures. I'm going to start design a coffee maker on the go for the coffee pods.

So Senseo's design is covered by patents. Mellita has another one cup brew. So there must be some wiggle room in Senseo's patents.

I need a heating element to heat up the water, sensor for monitoring the temperature, a steam pump to send the hot water through the pod at pressure, and of course the travel aspects of brewing a hot cup of coffee.

Steam pump, not for a locomotive engine, but for a coffee maker. That's my area of research now. I guess it doesn't need to be steam, just hot water between 195 and 205°& F. Don't want coffee soup.

If liquid is compressed doesn't it cool? Is there another way to create pressure? Have to refresh on Thermodynamics. ugh. More research to do..