Phase change materials for the perfect cup of coffee

You know how it is … you make or buy that perfect cup of coffee or tea only to have it go cold before you’ve finished because the phone rang or your boss interrupted your break with some urgent assignment. Well, there’s great news for coffee-lovers (and tea connoisseurs). Two German scientists have put their heads together to come up with a hot drink receptacle that keeps your beverage at the perfect drinking temperature for up to 30 minutes.

And no, it’s not a thermos, it’s a mug that employs the benefits of phase change materials (PCMs).

Klaus Sedlbauer, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), and his colleague Herbert Sinnesbichler, used PCMs similar to those used to keep rooms cool in summertime. These rooms usually have the PCM embedded within the walls and ceilings to absorb and store heat during the day then release that heat slowly at night to keep temperatures desirable 24/7.

Inspiration for the coffee mug invention was their joint disappointment at gagging on mulled wine that was served either too hot or too cold at Germany’s famed Christmas markets. From there, the dynamic duo designed a high-tech mug that would keep its contents at the optimum drinking temperature for up to 30 minutes. This has now been applied to coffee and tea.

How it works

Read more . . .

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