The Javabot Combines Engineering and Coffee 165
WormholeFiend writes "The Javabot is the coffee machine of the future — completely next generation. It is the fully-automated system that runs the Roasting Plant Coffee Company in New York and its design is illustrative of what can be achieved using new thinking and methodologies to something that was previously regarded as a black art. The system is part of the experience because the coffee system runs throughout the shop. It's the first walk-in coffee machine in effect, and customers sit there and watch as their coffee beans rush past in pneumatic tubes, as they move from storage bins to staging, roasting station, grinding and a brewing machine where they are dispensed with the repeatable accuracy of a purpose-built machine. Customers can choose from any blend of seven different beans and every aspect of the process is controlled."
Low tech is better than high in things coffee (Score:4, Informative)
Skyshadow's Law: The more complicated the coffee maker, the worse off you are.
The best cup of coffee I've ever found is from a little coffee shop near my wife's office in San Francisco (I won't say the name, but it's near the SoMa Caltrain station). They make their excellent brew in a decidedly low-tech way:
Each customer chooses the type of coffee they want or (and this is a better option) tell the barrista to use their judgement. The beans are scooped up, ground and then poured into a very conventional filter basket along with enough water to produce one cup of coffee.
And that's it -- the best cup of java you're likely to find made by probably the lowest-tech possible method.
Re:0 comments yet.... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Cubicle? (Score:4, Informative)
Such a thing as TOO fresh. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:No roast on demand (Score:4, Informative)
Your idea of de-pressurizing the bean might work but before I went to the expense, it'd be worth doing the double blind to ensure it's necessary.
What makes the biggest difference is the quality of the bean. I've roasted Vietnamese beans that were god awful and Costa Rican beans that were sublime. Green beans come in all kinds of shapes and colors. The Vietnamese beans I sampled were a motley lot of various shapes in the same bag whereas the best beans have a consistent color and shape within the same bag. The color varies from region to region so there isn't a 'right color' as you can find good coffee in all shades of green.
One problem with this guy's business plan is dealing with neighbors who object to roasting coffee. I generate quite a bit of smoke when I roast my piddling pound of coffee and I have to wait until the wind is blowing away from one of my neighbors who has lupus. I can well imagine all sorts of problems trying to roast in a congested area.
Another mention... (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.bornrich.org/entry/walk-in-for-a-cuppa-coffee-from-javabot
Re:Nice and all but... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Dilbert (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Nice and all but... (Score:4, Informative)
In a nutshell, 'they already thought of that'.
Roasted vs Roasting (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Low tech is better than high in things coffee (Score:3, Informative)
What the article NEVER SAYS... (Score:4, Informative)
Never. It talks about "machine of the future," that it's purpose is "to produce the most flavorful cup of coffee available," efficiency, control, etc.
It does not say whether that purpose was achieved.
The writer does not say that he tried some coffee made by the Javabot and that it tasted good.
The writer does not quote anyone who says they tried some coffee made by the Javabot and that it tasted good.
Re:Low tech is better than high in things coffee (Score:2, Informative)
The Coffee is Fantastic (Score:2, Informative)
The Rube Goldberg quality of the apparatus (it really is rather hypnotic to watch) naturally makes one suspicious that they sacrifice quality for spectacle, but the truth is that they designed the machine to make great coffee and then had a good designer make it pretty.
They use great beans and they don't burn them like Starbucks does. Though they will have a hard time sourcing enough good beans if they become a large chain, at this point, it's not a problem.
BTW, I promise that I have no connection to this establishment other than liking their coffee.
Dan