On the Preparation of Coffee

A Human-use Analysis

Oh Coffee!

From that moment on, everything becomes agitated. Ideas quick-march into motion like battalions of a grand army to its legendary fighting ground, and the battle rages. Memories charge in, bright flags on high; the cavalry of metaphor deploys with a magnificent gallop; the artillery of logic rushes up with clattering wagons and cartridges; on imagination's orders, sharpshooters sight and fire; forms and shapes and characters rear up; the paper is spread with ink - for the nightly labor begins and ends with torrents of this black water, as a battle opens and concludes with black powder.

- Honore de Balzac, The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee

Homo sapiens have been consuming coffee since at least the 15th century.

Nearly everyone agrees that it’s absolutely wonderful (and those who don't are probably unaware that it lowers risk of mortality.)

Our lab has a number of coffee consumers and the boss was kind enough to purchase a machine for communal use. In this human-use analysis, we'll meet some of said coffee consumers and probe their consumption motivations, discuss options for extraction that were evaluated, walk through the operation of our chosen machine, offer a critique on the design, and finally offer suggestions for making perhaps the most extraordinary coffee machine on the Earth. Whenever you're ready to get started, click here.

Table of Contents

Home

What Does One Seek From Coffee?

Options for Extracting the Gloriousness

The Chosen One: Operation

The Chosen One: A Critique

The Chosen One: Thoughts from the Users

Is there a Better Way?: A Modest Proposal