The engineers at Power Practical are huge fans of coffee but wanted to work on one big engineering inequality – coffee is brewed between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, but most people like to drink it at a temperature between 120 and 150 degrees. Disposable cups allowed the coffee to cool too quickly but insulated thermos mugs could keep drinks dangerously hot for hours. As veterans of several power and energy crowdfunding campaigns, they set to work on a smart coffee mug that can regulate temperature for users. Their smart up Jul, the Heated Smart Mug for Coffee and Tea, is currently finishing a successful crowdfunding campaign.
The heating element for the Jul sits inside the cup itself, between the inner and outer walls. Two conductive rings on the bottom of the cup align with pins in the charging coaster to keep the drink at a continuous temperature. The coaster runs through a USB connection, and outputs 5 Volts and 2 amperes. An optional car charging coaster fits in a standard auto cupholder and also runs through USB.
Temperature is regulated by the user twisting the bottom piece between two marks that signify 120 and 150 degrees. When the drink is hotter than your desired temperature the coaster glows amber, colder than desire temperature glows blue, and a white glow emits when the temperature is ‘just right.’
The lid is designed with three configurations – larger holes to vent or refill the drink, small sip hole to drink from, and a fully sealed to heat or transport the cup. Capacity for Jul is 12 fluid ounces, and the tumbler weighs 10.5 ounces. The outside is made of soft touch ABS and the inside is 18/8 stainless steel.
Jul is a well designed product aimed at the coffee and tea consumer market, a group that seems to include people from all demographics with little concern for price point when superior coffee is involved. Two interesting things to me – first, there’s no app to run the heating system, everything is controlled manually by twisting the bottom of the cup. Second, there’s not a physical number on the cup that tells you the exact temperature. The user can make the liquid warmer or cooler but the experience is based on feel and impression instead of metric. The campaign ends on April 29 and first units are expected to ship in October 2017.