Background
According
to the website from Kitchn (Brones, 2015) siphon coffee maker brews a very
clean and fragrance tasting coffee. This method was found earlier in the 1830s
by “Loeff of Berlin” and soon it became popular due to a French woman named
“Marie Fanny Ameine” Massot of Lyons, who “designed the first commercially
successful vacuum coffee brewer” (Brones, 2015, para 2). The design featured
“two glass balloons” held by a frame, which is currently recognized as the
siphon coffee maker. The two “glass balloons” are known as the upper chamber
and lower chamber. By heating the lower chamber, the vapor pressure forces the
water to rise into the upper chamber. Once it reaches the upper chamber, the
water will mix with the coffee grounds. When the heating source is turned off,
the loss in vapour pressure will cause the mixture to flow down into the lower
chamber through a filter attached to the bottom of the upper chamber. As a
result, the bottom chamber will be filled with brewed coffee. This process of
brewing is as beautiful as its functional where it is meant to be brewed in
front of your guests and to show off its elegance. Currently, there are two
popular commercial brands used in the cafe industry namely, Yama and Hario
(kitchn, 2015).
The siphon brewing method is considered to be
one of the best brewing methods that produce one of the best tasting coffees
due to several factors. One of the factors is the controlling of temperature.
According to roastycoffee website (n.d), high temperature of liquid by boiling
the coffee can cause coffee ground to be overly extracted which will result in
sour taste or unpleasant smell. Low temperature of liquid will delay the
extraction process of the coffee ground with the liquid, hence the flavor of
the coffee is affected. Another factor is the skills and attention required to
brew the coffee. According to cafemoto website (2019), to produce an excellent
siphon coffee, the ratio of coffee ground to water must be 1 gram of coffee
ground to 16 milliliters of water. Once the water is boiled and mixed with the
coffee grounds, a precise time is required to stir the coffee several times
before turning the heat source off. In addition, a hula daddy website, the siphon
brewing process requires attention as it “has to be watched and adjusted during
the brew. Failure to stay with the brewer can result in a cracked brewer and a
huge mess” (Karen, 2014). The end product of using siphon coffee brewing will
be visually & aromatically stimulating yet having clean and gentle tasting
coffee for all consumers. Based on a study shown in mentalfloss website (2018),
the aroma of coffee will aid in stimulating the brain. On the website, an
experiment was conducted into two different groups of students entering two
different rooms, one room was filled with the aroma of coffee while the other
room was not. Both rooms were given a test and the students who were in the
room filled with aroma of coffee score slightly better as compared to those who
were in the other room.
Despite producing the best tasting coffee as
well as a very visually and aromatically stimulating experience, the siphon
coffee brewing process can be inconvenient and one might end up having a bad
coffee experience. In order to counter this issue, we decided to implement the
usage of a moka pot, where everyone as in home usage and office usage can
experience while keeping the brewing process simple and maintaining its
qualitative coffee (clean and gentle coffee along with its aroma smell) while
sacrificing the visual experience. The moka pot is known as a stove top coffee
brewing method. It uses a similar function to the traditional siphon coffee
maker (two glass vacuum chambers) where there is siphon (water flows where
there is vapor pressure) system involve. The material used on the moka pot is
aluminum and it comprises two chambers (upper and lower) and the metallic
filter resides in the top portion of the lower chamber. When the water vapor
pressure increases and submerges it together with the coffee grounds, the
increasing in pressure will force the fluid up through a funnel at the bottom
portion of the upper chamber and exit at the top small gap of the upper
chamber. The brewed coffee will be contained in the upper chamber. Hence, the
usage of moka pot will aid in reducing the “skills, attention” required to a
certain extent as compared to the siphon brewing method (two glass vacuum
chambers).
Problem Statement
An ideal excellent tasting
smart coffee machine would consist of programming hardware that mainly focuses
on regulating and controlling the temperature while monitoring the timing of
the brewing process at a high precise accuracy.
Purpose Statement
This report is to propose modifications onto a siphon coffee
maker, which in this case a moka pot, to enhance its ergonomic features.
Implementing these modifications will not only increase the efficiency of the
process, it will also reduce safety risks
Proposed Modifications
The team took reference to the data collected and
researched on the moka pot and found out that there are some limitations to its
product. Based on these limitations, certain modifications can be implemented
on to it.
Implementing a halogen heater to be attached to
the moka pot. According to the tansun website, halogen heaters are able to
conserve energy since they heat up a small area effectively using thermal
radiation as compared to a stove, which uses gas. Moreover, they are relatively
safe in most environments as they do not heat up themselves and produce carbon
monoxide. The design of the halogen heater will be similar as an induction
cooker with touchscreen interface. This allows for easy to carry around on the
go.
Applications to control functions such as,
temperature and timing will be implemented on to the moka pot. This will allow
the user to determine the amount of heat required to brew the coffee as well as
controlling the entire period of the process.
Building a water-indicator on the moka pot to
check for the amount of coffee that is left. This remarkable feature allows the
user to determine when to brew a new batch of coffee. The water-indicator is
made of a transparent glass that is attached onto the pot.
Benefits
The moka pot requires a stove in order for it to
be heated to perform the siphon brewing process. In order to improve on the
safety aspect of the product, the team implemented a halogen heater to be
attached onto the moka pot to replace the original heating element, which is
using a gas stove. In that way, fire hazard can be prevented since halogen
heaters do not produce carbon dioxide, which is dangerous if left unattended.
Adding the touch-screen feature on to the halogen heater can allow the user to
adjust the temperature
The size of the moka pot is small and therefore
it is easy to carry around, making it portable. With this feature, the team
hopes to give consumers an experience whereby they are able to enjoy their
coffee at any time with electrical supply.
One area in which the team’s coffee machine can
be compared to other coffee makers such as Nespresso is the pricing. The team
wants to manufacture a coffee maker which is cheaper than a standard Nespresso
but still able to give the quality the consumer desires.
Evaluation
With the implementation of the halogen heating,
mobile application and water indicator, the team feels that they are ready to
enter the market but expects to suffer minor set-back.
Implementing halogen heater can reduce the
amount of energy induced as the heating process happens instantly but it can be
costly to run which will be a challenge in trying to bring down the
manufacturing price of the coffee maker, affecting the pricing to purchase the
coffee maker machine.
The applications on the smartphone is dependent
on the internet connectivity. In the event where there is internet connectivity
problem, the user would not be able to control the moka coffee pot through the
mobile app and is required to physically attend to the machine. However, the
coffee machine itself is a simple design and is also automated. Meaning to say,
the user just has to press one button to stimulate the entire cooking process.
Methodology
Primary Research
Having personally experienced the process of
brewing siphon coffee at the Starbucks reserve at United Square outlet. All the
staff at that outlet was given the title of “coffee master” by wearing a black
robe. I wanted to see and experience how the coffee is being brewed and how it
tastes. So, I requested one of the staff to show me after I had selected the
type of coffee bean which is called “Costa Rica Las Lomas”. Las Lomas refers to
“the hills” and these beans are grown locally in their farm by collaborating
closely with local agronomists and wet mills, which result in their finest
harvest into one outstanding lot. The coffee grounds will allow one user to
experience the taste of red apple, caramel and chocolate notes with a creamy
mouthfeel experience. During the brewing process I had asked how it was made
and what the steps were. The coffee to water ratio they use is 25g to 385ml of
water. Additionally, rather than the given filter and the heating element which
came in the package when they brought the siphon brewing set. They replace it
with their own disposable filter paper as well as halogen heating element to
hasten the brewing process. With the usage of halogen heater, the process they
took was only 1min 30seconds as they used hot boiling water as the initial
temperature. Afterwards, they turn off the heat source and I get to see the
coffee fluid flow downwards due to gravity and lost in vapor pressure, leaving
a beautiful curved residue of the coffee grounds at the bottom of the upper
glass chamber where the filter paper is. In conclusion, the entire process was
elegant yet leaving their customer amazed and a happy ending with a nice aroma
yet great tasting coffee which isn’t too strong, accompanied by a small slice
of chocolate chip cookie. Even I myself, who isn’t a fan of coffee can start
getting used to this.
Secondary Research
The team researched on the properties of a
siphon coffee maker as well as the limitations to its brewing method using
articles and data sheets found on Google. An official website of the company
who produces the moka pot was used as reference to have more details on the
product. Once we read through the details, we were able to find articles
regarding its limitations. The team then devised multiple solutions to counter
the limitations of the product. In order to solidify our solutions, articles
based on the modifications were thoroughly researched by the team to provide a
strong verification on its feasibility.
Conclusion
In
conclusion, in order to make the siphon coffee brewer an automated machine, two
modifications should be implemented. The halogen heater, with in-built timer
and temperature sensors reduce the required user’s attention since it is a
self-heating element. Moreover, the function of a timer is to control the
process based on its pre-set time, hence the user does not have to pay
attention to the whole process of brewing.
By adding
these features into the coffee machine maker, the ability to improve high
quality coffee without the need for user’s attention but still able to produce
fine quality coffee is definitely something to look forward to.
References:
https://www.tansun.com/gb_en/technical/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-halogen-heaters.html (halogen heater advantage and disadvantage)
http://101coffeemachines.info/moka/brikka-vs-moka-express/ (Detailed info about moka pot, all in one you can find)
https://www.tansun.com/gb_en/technical/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-halogen-heaters.html (halogen heating)
https://www.ushio.co.jp/kr/feature/halogenHeater/pdf/ushio_halogen_heater.pdf (details about halogen heating)
https://www.roastycoffee.com/coffee-brewing-temperature/ (details on temperature affecting the quality)
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