The point of this mug is to keep coffee hot, and it does that fairly effectively. Unfortunately coffee usually is poured into this cup at higher temperatures than are safe to drink. It's really difficult to tell how hot the coffee is just by looking at the mug or even feeling the side. Either the user has to take a couple of painful sips before he can confirm that the coffee is the right temperature, or he waits for it to cool, and by the time he finally takes a sip the coffee is too cold. This issue effects not only safety, as there are dangers involved with drinking a liquid that is too hot, but it also reduces the satisfaction of the user drinking the coffee.
SOLUTION:
Coors has already thought of the issue of ideal liquid temperatures, and how to relay the message to the users as they've put a bar on their cans that tells the user how cold the drink is. Thermochromism is the ability of a substance to change color with temperature. Using different compounds the color changes of a thermochromistic device can be tuned as desired. Coffee mugs should be made with a thermochromistic strip on on section of the mug. This strip would change color from red to blue (standard color signature for heat) as the coffee in the mug cooled down. There could even be the option for the user to decide at what temperature (and therefore strip color) he likes to drink his coffee, and from a selection of strips that come with the mug, he could choose a strip with his "color of choice" to stick next to the thermochromistic strip. In that may he could always know when his coffee is at his desired temperature. This small improvement to the coffee mug would increase satisfaction and safety.
No comments:
Post a Comment