Page 28 - #56 English

Coffee & Five Senses
Photos/illy coffee
[ TIP ]
Coffee Cup Design
Everything we touch
Apart from the sensation of touch in the mouth, everything in the
coffee world we get to touch is also involved, from picking the cherries at
the place of origin, where you would identify your selections by feeling the
density of the beans, to purchasing roasted beans, where you would tell
the freshness by crushing one of them with your thumb and index finger
and chewing to test crispness and lip aftertaste.
A good experience of coffee involves every related thing, the shape of
the cup, the material of the spoon and even the biscuit that goes with the
coffee. There was an experiment made by a food company, in which two
groups of people were asked to try the same dessert with different kinds
of spoons, cheap plastic ones and more expensive metal ones. It turned out
that people, who used a metal spoon, liked the desert more and had better
experience, that is what shows us that touch affects the taste. Obviously,
food and drinks that are delivered to your mouth by ware of different ma-
terials and shapes can change its texture, which later affect the stimulation
and, as a result, the feeling you experience.
When it comes to this topic, I can’t help thinking of coffee cups, the
most close accessories to coffee. During the competitions, contestants
would present their works with different cups in order to bring unique
mouth feeling when coffee spreads on the tongue. Tulip-shaped cup makes
drinking more convenient, ceramic cups are featured in thermal preserva-
tion, insuring a constant temperature for lips. Even for creators of coffee
cups, design includes the consideration of how to preserve the oils. It is
clear that touch is something they also have to keep in mind when design-
ing a cup. Now, let’s take a look at the classic illy cups. illy, apart from its
eye-catching and gorgeous themes, also stands out in the market with its
unique cup shapes. Its effort to integrate science with design has brought
to us products with both beauty and ergonomic ① excellence. Just by look-
ing at the iconic white espresso cup, we can see how important is touch
sensation for the design.
① Ergonomics is related to maximizing the fit between the user’s natural features and the equip-
ment. It takes account of interaction between them, reduces the user’s active adaptation physically
or psychologically, and try to decrease their fatigue and discomfort.
28