Pu’er Coffee

 The world of coffee gear is inseparable from product design, and product design, in turn, is inseparable from innovation and aesthetics. To some extent, there is always a tension between emotional appeal and rational utility. I can accept that an original design object may carry a premium beyond its material value as a way of honoring the effort and creativity behind it. What I find harder to ignore, however, is a more practical question: What tangible benefits does this product bring to my daily use? And more importantly, what problem does it actually solve? If I can’t find convincing answers to those questions, I tend to classify the product as “nice but unnecessary,” and switch into a mode of evaluating whether it’s truly worth the price. Today, I want to talk about an espresso cup made from an unusual material, and use it as a starting point to discuss a broader question: when it comes to original design, do you place more value on form or on function? The espresso cup in q...

 Over the past year or two, I’ve noticed something interesting while visiting cafés: people are experimenting with new, nontraditional approaches to making espresso—the very foundation of all espresso-based drinks. One of the biggest changes is that some baristas are now filtering out the crema, the oily layer on top of the espresso, to produce a cleaner and sweeter shot. Another trend that has become increasingly popular is “super-extraction.” To achieve a cup with pour-over-like clarity, many cafés filter out the crema using special filter papers during the extraction process. Some people believe that crema is the very soul of espresso. Remove it, and it feels like you’re drinking... nothing. Since everyone’s flavor preferences differ, there’s no definitive right or wrong here. Filtering out crema is usually done in preparation for making other drinks. But if I ordered a straight espresso and the barista filtered out the crema without telling me, I might actually jump in protest...