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...

 Among La Marzocco’s many coffee machine products, Modbar is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive. In fact, La Marzocco even created a dedicated Instagram account just for Modbar. In the bio, they describe themselves as: “The original undercounter espresso machine and coffee brewing manufacturer made in partnership with La Marzocco.” There’s an important keyword here: coffee brewing . From the very beginning, Modbar has focused on a minimalist undercounter design that supports both espresso and pour-over brewing. The goal is a clean, compact coffee bar that allows baristas to interact more easily with customers while fitting seamlessly into a wide range of interior environments. Modbar is considered one of the most advanced coffee brewing systems in the world. In automatic curve mode, the Modbar pour-over module can store up to 15 different brewing profiles . Each profile allows full customization of water volume, brew temperature, extraction time, and even segmented pouring. ...