The coffee beans are blasted into space for the perfect cup of joe.
A company called Space Roasters has embarked on the plan to use the considerable heat of re-entry from space through Earth’s atmosphere to roast coffee beans. It will then sell them for the perfect cup of joe. The name says it all – Coffee Roasting Capsule.
The Dubai based founders, Anders Cavallini and Hatem Alkhafaji, call the company an aeronautical start-up. They say that they are pushing the boundary of imagination, science and space engineering, proving that space is inspiring and open for everyone.
The mechanics
How does it work? The company says it has patented a ‘space roasting capsule’ in which heat from re-entry will be distributed around four pressurised cylinders each containing 75kg of coffee beans. The heat will roast the beans evenly. Then, the capsule will be recovered after landing with parachutes.
The capsule will be launched next year and would be fired to space on a rocket to a height of around 200km for the perfect brews.
“The entire process will last only 20 minutes but will end with a marvellous aroma as the hatch is opened,” the founders said.
The first expresso it produced was savoured by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, in nothing less than a special zero-gravity cup on May 3, 2015.
“Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised.” Fresh espresso in the new Zero-G cup! To boldly brew… pic.twitter.com/Zw2CllJgzF
— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) May 3, 2015
The out of the world brew will first be introduced in Dubai sometime next year and is likely to cost $200 to $400 per cup.
For more details, do head to the official website.
Images: Space Roasters and stock photos