As any barista will tell you, making fresh coffee is as much an art as it is a science. And a truly awesome brew starts with two things: fresh beans and a great grinder. That’s why New York-based startup Get It Right has set out to do just that, get your java right. The Voltaire is a first-of-its-kind portable burr grinder that consists of an IoT-connected sensing platform and an accompanying app that allows you to measure bean freshness and receive alerts whenever it’s time for fresh beans.
Voltaire’s high-performance LiFePO4 batteries will last through over three pounds of beans, not to mention can hold its charge for up to three weeks. Meaning, you can take it anywhere. You’ll no longer be confined to placing it near an outlet in the corner of the kitchen; instead, bring it onto the deck, tag it along for a picnic, or better yet, take it camping.
The entire platform is both Wi-Fi-enabled and app-controlled. All of the sensing data is available at your fingertips so you can narrow in on what’s happening inside your beans and in the surrounding environment. Voltaire monitors mechanical data each time you grind — fineness, time, mass, and volume throughput. When your beans get too stale or simply run low, it can remind you to buy more, or replenish automatically from your favorite roasters. In the near future, Get It Right will be partnering with roasters, subscription services, and platforms like Amazon DRS to make the process totally seamless.
“We’ve developed a sensing platform that measures what we can’t see: volatile compound release, gas concentration, temperature, humidity, bean mass, and volume. The sensor array communicates with a machine learning algorithm that can also consider inputs like roast date, purchase date, bean varietal, roast style, and other known factors,” the team writes. “We can tell when your beans are really really fresh, when they start to degrade, and when they’re in the red zone of mediocrity. Over time, with more users and more data, we’ll continually refine our algorithm as it learns about different types of beans and roasts. Your grinder will be smart, and get smarter. And you’ll never have to drink stale coffee again.”
Did this perk you up? If so, head over to Voltaire’s Kickstarter campaign where the Get It Right crew is currently seeking $100,000. Delivery is set for March 2017.
