Green Coffee Buying Club

Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: milowebailey on June 10, 2012, 07:35:32 PM

Title: Coffee Joules
Post by: milowebailey on June 10, 2012, 07:35:32 PM
Coffee too hot to drink then to cold?  Well there is a solution.  There is a product called coffee joules

(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0075/4242/products/5-pack-2.jpg?101706)

I saw B|Gadget with his Joules out at SCAA.  Not to be outdone I also picked up a set.   I took them to the cabin to use for my morning hot tub.... no not for the water, but for my coffee.  You put them in the cup, pour your coffee and it's at 170 degrees pretty fast and stays there.

You can read the physics behind it, but I think it's a cool idea.  They are a bit expensive, but they are made in the USA!!

http://www.joulies.com/pages/frontpage (http://www.joulies.com/pages/frontpage)
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rgrosz78 on June 10, 2012, 08:24:04 PM
OOOOH - new toys! If they are good enough for you and B|Java, I'm ALL IN.

I just bought a 5-pack of coffee Joulies ...
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: Tex on June 10, 2012, 09:11:47 PM
Glad to hear your family has a new set of joules! ;D
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: mp on June 11, 2012, 05:34:45 AM
Glad to hear your family has a new set of joules! ;D

 :o
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: BoldJava on June 11, 2012, 05:49:13 AM
OOOOH - new toys! If they are good enough for you and B|Java, I'm ALL IN.

I just bought a 5-pack of coffee Joulies ...

Mine got put away with the SCAA materials.  Need to find them and get some tests running.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rasqual on June 12, 2012, 06:40:46 AM
Hmm. Inspires a thought.

The coffee I serve at the market is too hot.

A thermal pot will, on average, serve cooler coffee than my per-cup brews. And in shops, per-cup brews are generally in ceramic, so that sinks some heat away. My customers get really hot stuff.

I wonder if I could park something under the dripper that would take some heat away. Problem: when I have a queue it would need to be as effective for the first person as for the last. That suggests to me that a conventional heat exchanger would be needed. And that would be weird to implement.

As for this product, it's a cool idea. I'd rather see the idea implemented as an inherent design in thermal mugs, though. The fact that you're not actually removing heat from the product (unlike the market notion above) is excellent. Getting the temp down and keeping it from going further faster is also great to slow staling in the cup, since it's not as hot for as long, but remains not cool for at least as long.

Sweet.

Also way too expensive.

(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0075/4242/products/12oz_180F_6hr_5CJ.png?101706)
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rgrosz78 on June 15, 2012, 05:49:36 AM
Joulies arrived yesterday, so first test today. I am very pleased - they work EXACTLY as advertised.

The little instruction sheet suggests using all 5 Joulies for a thermos carafe. After finishing the pot, it is clear that I should make allowance for the quantity of coffee. We have the '10 cup' Technivorm Moccamaster, but we normally only fill it with water to the '8 cup' mark.

I found that the coffee actually cooled TOO quickly in my cup - only 1 minute to correct drinking temp, but too cool after about 3 more minutes. Not a problem if you like to GULP your coffee!

Next time, I'll use 4 Joulies instead of 5.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: mp on June 15, 2012, 04:29:47 PM
What is the next toy?

Will someone come out with a device to control environmental temperature so that the cup of coffee will stay at the right temperature without having to Joule it?

 :-X
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: Ascholten on June 15, 2012, 04:39:17 PM
Ok, some metal, or fancy gel packs in a container and someone charges you an ass ton for it?   really???

wow

Aaron
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: peter on June 15, 2012, 05:39:35 PM
Ok, some metal, or fancy gel packs in a container and someone charges you an ass ton for it?   really???

wow

Aaron

Yeah, they're not for rednecks.   <ducking>    ;D
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: Ascholten on June 15, 2012, 06:08:31 PM
Id think the gas cap of an old chevy pickemup truck would do the same thing, only for a lot less.
can't use ford, you'd contaminate your coffee with rust.

Aaron
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: MGLloyd on June 16, 2012, 05:21:20 AM
Let's see, as a former analytical chemist, if I wanted to create an edible plant-based phase change material that would not kill my customers if it leaked out of a stainless steel shell, I would probably use any one of a number of vegetable waxes.  For example, soy wax is cheap, non-poisonous and comes in formulations that have the right melting point.  Some hydrogenated vegetable fats would also work. But I would definitely lean towards a wax. 
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rgrosz78 on June 16, 2012, 11:28:57 AM
Second  test today. I used 4 Joulies instead of 5, with the Technivorm filled to the '8 cups' level.

I was happy with the results - just about perfect.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: peter on June 16, 2012, 12:28:03 PM
Thanks for the feedback.  I like the idea of the Joules, and may get a set.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: Ascholten on June 17, 2012, 04:13:16 PM
Can always give em to the wife  if you don't like em.  Help her stay hotter longer????   ;D

Aaron
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: Tex on June 17, 2012, 04:58:04 PM
Thanks for the feedback.  I like the idea of the Joules, and may get a set.

C'mon dude, don't toss underhand like a girl - throw them in there like you had a pair already!! ;D
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: Joe on June 18, 2012, 09:19:42 AM
How big are these? It looks like from the picture that you might not want to swig that last drop of coffee or espresso?

I don't think these are going to take off, China will make some lead based ones on eBay if they do.

Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rasqual on June 18, 2012, 10:01:03 AM
I found that the coffee actually cooled TOO quickly in my cup - only 1 minute to correct drinking temp, but too cool after about 3 more minutes. Not a problem if you like to GULP your coffee!

Next time, I'll use 4 Joulies instead of 5.

Well, here's a question. Could their use be finessed with a bit of pre-heat to the Joules? In fact, it seems to me, as I consider the dynamics, that it might be better still to use more Joules -- but with some level of pre-heat to them.

As you use more, their immediate thermal effect will be more pronounced. Pre-heating would reduce that immediate effect, offsetting the increase in number. But that would also mean more thermal inertia to slow cooling.

It may be difficult, with this phase change stuff, to be repeatable with pre-heating. I presume there's a drastic thermal curve at some point with the things. So perhaps pre-heating should be thought of as how many room temperature ones you add, and how many fully pre-heated ones.

Heck, I can envision a scenario where you just boil the darned things in your water heater. Or maybe drop them in just at boil to drop the temp in the brewing water to a good brewing level AND give them a full pre-heat, before they join their cooler fellows in the cup.

Seriously, as with the Aeropress, I suspect this technology is going to see some cunning hacks. And no, I'm not talking about anyone here.    ;D
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: ScareYourPassenger on June 18, 2012, 10:11:32 AM
Hmm, I wonder if these would solve my morning americano water delima. The water out of the espresso machine is too hot to mix with the espresso so I have to pull water first and let it sit till it cools before I can put it in my thermos.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rgrosz78 on June 18, 2012, 10:21:38 AM
How big are these? It looks like from the picture that you might not want to swig that last drop of coffee or espresso?

I don't think these are going to take off, China will make some lead based ones on eBay if they do.
They are pretty big - about 2 inches long.

They come shipped in a nice small box with a foam insert. Only weighs 11 ounces - this may be a good candidate for a roadshow / lottery.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rgrosz78 on June 18, 2012, 10:25:25 AM
Sorry about the size of those pix - Ummmm - they are not THAT big.
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: mp on June 18, 2012, 10:28:56 AM
Still ... they look to be a good size.

Thank you for posting them.

 :)
Title: Re: Coffee Joules
Post by: rasqual on June 18, 2012, 10:43:34 AM
!!!!

What the heck?

Those things are HUGE!

Agreed with the road show idea.