Coffee Cache

“Materials to keep drinks cold or hot for longer have been around for quite a while. Now a pair of German scientists has come up with a high-tech mug they claim keeps coffee at the perfect temperature.”

“The researchers at IBP came up with the idea of using PCM in coffee mugs. If it works in large office spaces and in jackets, why couldn’t it also keep a cup of coffee warm? To test their theory, they created the first PCM mug. The high-tech mug is made using a porcelain shell whose hollow interior is filled with a honeycomb structure made of ribbons of highly conductive material, such as aluminum. This honeycomb structure is then filled with PCM. ‘So now, if you are drinking hot coffee in one of these cups,” Sinnesbichler explains, “the drink’s heat is directed straight into the still solid PCM. This heat, in term, melts the PCM — kind of like wax — and turns it into a liquid.’”