Talk to any espresso connoisseur worth their weight in Stumptown Hairbender grounds and you’ll likely get into an argument about the ‘best way’ of pulling a proper espresso shot. Truth be told…it is an exact science that is hard to replicate outside of traditional espresso-craft tools. Despite this, the market for on-demand coffee is still a thriving market with the likes of everybody from Nespresso to Keurig churning out new products seasonally for those who can’t make it to their corner coffeehouse. The Piamo presents itself in an interesting category by allowing the instant-gratification of on-demand coffee with the choice of your own coffee…all from the convenience of the microwave.
Consisting of an espresso cup and attachable filter and water chamber, the unit operates through the simple property of pushing water through the filter and coffee grounds before dripping it back into the cup. All that is seemingly required of the user is to source their favorite ground espresso blend, insert the filter and measured coffee, fill chamber with water, and microwave for 30 seconds:
Sadly, the concept was presented as a crowdfunding project on Germany’s Kickstarter-alternative Start Next and failed to raise enough funds to put it into production. Despite this, the design team consisting of brothers Christoph and Hendrik Meyl have discussed alternative plans to put the Piamo into production.
Could an experiment in changing the materials help for round two? Perhaps a ceramic model?
(Images via Piamo)
