The Bob-Cup

For about 30 years, the inventor Bob has been primarily involved in the coffee industry as an office coffee operator. During the 30 years, many brewing concepts have evolved from batch brewing to single serve coffee. Bob’s belief was that the industry was thinking inside the box on how an 8oz. cup of coffee should be brewed and extracted. The conventional paper filter, the duration of the extraction and the lack of a pulsating water pressure seemed to be at the center of what he calculated to be “the problem.”

After being rebuffed by many roasters and manufacturers as to his concerns and theories, Bob set out to design what he considers to be the “ideal process.” The fact that his current (single serve) capsulated system was ecologically unfriendly also created a concern on his part. With more dedication to the task than brains and more resolve than money, he set out on his quest.

The first task was a budget to outline costs of the resulting product as well as production facilities. Having no real criteria or foundation, other than his practical experience in the industry, he formed a budget for all the integral components. The end result of this effort was a cost objective that appeared to be logical and would offer him a competitive advantage. With the budget firmly committed to a scrap of paper, the journey began.

The next phase was to design a form for the individual portion of coffee that would permit water to equally diffuse all the coffee during brewing. In the industry, we refer to this as Uniformity of Extraction. Sketches were made and theories developed similar to wind tunnel testing in aircraft and automotive design. A series of aluminum rings were milled and bolted together to form a multitude of shapes and entrance points to inject the water into creating the ideal water diffusion. Now a filter was required. What characteristics would this filter have other than the most obvious one. The material would have to withstand pressures up to 40 p.s.i., be economical and have few similarities to the dreaded paper filter.

The first stroke of genius was realized when returning home on a flight from Vancouver. Bob rested his head on one of those airline pillows in an effort to catch some shut-eye. The pillow covering appeared to have been made of a fiber that seemed ideal for his project. Bob snatched the pillow into his travel bag looking forward in excitement to the opportunity of testing the material. With his cylinders, he clamped a circle of the filter in place, inserted a portion of coffee and examined the results. The material appeared to have reasonable structural capabilities but passed on a rather bitter note to the extracted coffee. The basic theory had at least been proven; that a material was readily available to support a reasonable pressure. The objective now turned to how to find a media that would not leach foreign tastes into the resulting extraction. Literally dozens and dozens of materials were procured but found to be lacking in quality and durability.

By chance, one Saturday morning, Bob went grocery shopping with his wife.

On the shopping list was a bag of onions. Bob stared at the bag with curiosity.

The bag appeared to have the desired structural characteristics without having a fiber content. If this material had the strength to support a more stable filter media, was a solution in sight? After extensive testing, the potential was there. The task now was to find a mould to house the individual portion of coffee that would be compatible with the filter. It was more economical to use a plastic material so numerous moulds were created with varied results.

How to penetrate the aluminum container with the coffee outlet and water inlet was the next question? A pin was required that would puncture the coffee container to infuse water and extract brewed coffee to the cup. With a plastic container, if pressure were applied at a structurally inadequate point, the plastic container would collapse. Further, the seal appeared to be problematic as a result of the wall collapsing. These issues were insurmountable to overcome. How could we enter the container and get the desired water infusion effectively? The theory suggested that water would have to hit the convex curvature of the lid under pressure and spread evenly over the coffee. The solution to the problem came while sketching out various ideas. Bob observed the form of a ball point pen and how the ink traveled through the center. If he could only close the end of the tip, cut a diagonal slot adjacent to the end, the trajectory would create a diffused upward pattern. After testing the resulting brew, it exhibited the coffee character and balance he so desired, validating his theory.

Finally, the shape of the current form was found by observing an incandescent light in a local restaurant and the effect created in diffusing light. Coincidentally while on holiday, Bob came across an individual serving marmalade container of imported origin that seemed to be ideal for the process. It was made entirely of aluminum. After contacting numerous sources, he discovered that the technology existed that would allow us to create the form of the desired housing in a fully recyclable material. Dyes were made, tests conducted and the results were favorable. With the combination of the aluminum container, the pin and the filter, the secret of the perfect brew was now revealed. Bob’s theories were validated and his dreams fulfilled.