Tag: drink

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Cell Phone Accessories Food and Beverage Tablet Accessories Travel

Airhook makes airline trays useful when they’re in the upright and locked position

Anyone who flies knows that the tray table is an uncomfortable evil that food and drinks often claim at the expense of tablet-resident entertainment or productivity.

Airhook is a compact, portable solution that works with the existing tray tables but makes them more useful. The simple design features a collapsible hook that gets widged between the tray and the seat into which it folds. The cupholder portion folds down, making a convenient storage place for a drink throughout the duration of the flight – including take-off and landing.  The Airhook also features a docking station for a variety of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, with a bungee cord that helps lock the device in place from the top.

The design is well-executed, and the designers are selling Airhook for $20 each, to raise $15,000 by July 26, 2015, expecting delivery by December 2015. However, frequent travelers may find that the elastic may stretch with continued use, making the device less stable as time goes on.

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Food and Beverage

Ican warms office grinch’s heart by keeping coffee warm or soda cold

While the product’s video doesn’t seem to have much of a point to it as it plays the Grinch song, the point of ican itself seems to be that it can function as a personal drink warmer or cooler. The hot coffee poured into one’s mug at the office can stay hot during that excruciatingly boring board meeting; or that cold can of soda can stay cool while crunching headache-inducing numbers.

The personal drink heating and cooling unit plugs into a standard outlet, and there are plans in the works for it to be able to plug into a car cigarette lighter and run off of the car battery for all of those road warriors out there.

Ican seems to be an interesting idea worth checking into further. Backers who like having their drinks delivered on demand might like to check out the Rover remote control cooler.This campaign seeks to raise $40,000 in funding. For $125, backers get one product with an expected delivery in July of this year.

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Food and Beverage

Pop & Stop pops open a cold one, stops beer waste

It’s frustrating when a beer drinker opens up a cold one and somebody carelessly knocks it over–especially when it’s an expensive brew. Equally frustrating is when somebody wants to save the rest of that bottle of premium beer for the next day (or up to 48 hours later) after passing out drunk before being able to finish it.The two-in-one bottle opener and sealer Pop & Stop was created mainly to address the catastrophic problem of beer waste.

The keychain-sized product is designed to be portable and replace the bottle opener that many people already carry. It won’t cut your leg if it’s in your pocket and move the wrong way, like some traditional metal bottle openers will. More importantly, it has the added advantage of also serving as a sealing device for a bottle after it’s opened. Backers who pledge $6 will get a molded unit when it ships in May, while those who pledge $8 will get a 3D printed one immediately. The Denver inventor who made it is looking to raise $8,500 by Feb. 21.

There is a huge potential market for Pop & Stop. Unfortunately, it won’t work on some twist-off bottles. So, if the drinker’s favorite beer only comes in that kind of bottle, the product will have little appeal to that person. The molded version has a smoother texture than the 3D printed version, and also features stronger plastic. But the molded version is not recyclable, a distinct drawback.

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Food and Beverage

Tealightful timer times brewing tea, makes the perfect cuppa’

There is an art to brewing tea. Many tea shops recommend certain water temperatures and, more importantly, specific brewing times for different types of tea to get that perfectly brewed cup.

Tealightful takes the guesswork out of brewing time for tea. This product looks like any standard tea ball and the user can insert their own teabags, loose leaf tea, or herbs of their own choosing. To set the brewing time, just twist Tealightful and drop in the water. When the time is up, the ball automatically closes making sure that the tea doesn’t steep for too long. Tealightful is long with a handle that makes gripping easy and comes in white, beige, black or gray.

This is a nifty little product, plenty useful for those who love tea. All tea comes with instructions on brewing time and Tealightful makes it super simple to follow these instructions. Backers can have their very own for a donation of $25 on Kickstarter. If Tealightful can reach its $40,000 goal, backers will receive theirs by June 2015.

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Food and Beverage

Tailmo keeps party cups in place even as the world starts to spin

Whether it’s coffee, soda or otherwise, being able to take one’s choice of beverage on the road is comforting for any long trip.  While there are multiple cup holders out there, Tailmo was created with party-goers in. The special feature here is that everyone’s favorite little red cup fits nicely in something that’s magnetized. So whether it’s a tailgate party or outdoor sporting event on those really uncomfortable metal bleachers, the beer has a better chance of staying put until drinking it commences. And oh yeah, it’s insulated so that it stays cold, too – or the coffee stays hot when it’s time to sober up.

While this is a nice idea, perhaps some sort of lid reminiscent of a travel mug’s should also have been included so as to further minimize spills when walking or staggering from place to place. This campaign seeks to raise $75,000 by December 24, 2014. Early bird backers get one product for $8, with an expected delivery of February 2015.

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Food and Beverage

FridgeBarista makes cold-brewed coffee in the place it belongs

There are coffee drinkers and there are coffee connoisseurs. Coffee drinkers are okay with the instant stuff. Coffee connoisseurs will not tolerate anything that isn’t fresh ground and brewed. FrigeBarista is made with the cold-brewed coffee connoisseur in mind. The filter is made of stainless steel wire mesh while the rest of the unit consists of food grade plastic. The extra wide mouth allows for grounds to be easily scooped into the filter and room temperature water to be poured on top. While it does have to be stored in the refrigerator for 12 hours before enjoying, the height of the unit itself and easy-serve tap near the bottom allow for easy storing and pouring. For those who want an easy way to have the hot stuff one cup at a time, check out the Coffee Cuppa campaign. Busy corporate America urban-dwelling coffee drinkers might appreciate the Smash Cup for those mornings when they need to sip and run. This campaign seeks to raise $8,300. Backers get one product for $30 with an expected delivery of December 2014.

Categories
Food and Beverage Sensors/IoT

Smart Coaster measures liquid intake for those who don’t move much

Dehydration is a common problem among adults. No one ever drinks the recommended amount of water each day either due to lack of time or fear of bloating. Riding on the trend of every product imaginable smartening up, the Coaster Talk is a smart coaster. When a glass is placed upon it, it measures your intake of water using an accompanying app. Coaster Talk isn’t only for adults, however, it also works well for babies. By measuring a baby’s milk intake, parents can tell when to feed them and prevent overfeeding them. Coaster Talk will cost backers a $36 AUD (~$32 USD) donation for delivery by January 2015. This product is looking to raise $6,000 AUD (~$5,300 USD).

The design of the Coaster Talk limits its potential. First of all, the idea that one would use the same coaster for every drink is slightly off base. Second of all, it would be difficult to track water intake all throughout the day if leaving the house is involved. Vessyl, a smart drink container, detects what you’re drinking, keeps track of calories, hydration and caffeine intake. It makes more sense because it’s easier to carry around a cup rather than a coaster and has a larger range of uses. If the Coaster Talk can evolve to include more kinds of drinks in its analyses then it may be able to contender with the Vessyl.

Categories
Nutrition/Hydration

Water Fall is a filtering system worth pouring over

Filtered water is all the rage these days. People simply can’t abide water straight from the tap as some claim it has a “funny taste”. For those who like filtered water, but don’t want to wait too long look to Water Fall. This filter takes the best ideas from the pour over coffee design by poising the filter over the water. It uses a stand to hold the filter above a water carafe. In this way, the user can filter as much water as they’d like, whether they want to use several pitchers for a dinner party, or simply filter a glass’s worth. The design of Water Fall is sleek and discreet. One will cost backers $59 for the filter, stand, two carafes and one filter for delivery in March 2015. Water Fall hopes to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Water Fall is the best option out there for filtering large amounts of water. Other systems focus on one container at a time like the LiveWell Water Filter. It’s a pain to have to purchase filters from Water Fall, however, most popular systems work this way as well, like Brita. All in all, Water Fall may prove to be the most convenient option for pure water enthusiasts.

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Food and Beverage

Connected Ozz mixer gets lit up before you do

Unless you’re a bartender or, dare we say it, mixologist, making cocktails can be a bit of a mystery. There are so many recipes to try and getting the exact measurements for several ingredients can be tricky. Ozz helps you embody your inner Moe. This product features a lit up drink stand that monitors the ingredients going into your drink with an Android and iOS compatible app. This app features recipes, reviews, your own custom drink list and suggestions for how to fix a drink. It tells you to add a little bit more of this or that so that you have the perfect cocktail. One will cost backers €99 with estimated delivery for April 2015 from the Netherlands. Ozz is hoping to raise €150,000 on Kickstarter.

Ozz is a rather fancy and somewhat pricey way to make drinks. Still, it presents endless possibilities for novice drink-makers and even for bartenders looking to up their game. This product offers fun training with the even more fun reward of a perfect cocktail at the end. Some may ponder the need for such a first-world niche product, however others will certainly be on board with adult drinks made better by smart technology.

Categories
Camping

Kickoff Kaddy keeps your beer attached to your Bronco

Football is a fall favorite for many. People not only enjoy the games, but love tailgating as well. The Kickoff Kaddy can make the experience easier and more enjoyable. This magnetic drink holder takes your beer, coffee, soda, or whatever and holds it for you so that you can enjoy a game of catch or a plate of barbecue. The holder uses a magnet and attaches to any nearby metal surface, such as a car, pole or grill. Kickoff Kaddy is designed to hold drinks of many different sizes.

One will cost tailgating backers $12 with estimated delivery in February 2015. Kickoff Kaddy hopes to raise $15,000 on Kickstarter. While this product may prove to be useful for tailgaters, its convenience may stretch beyond this one type of event. However, some may opt to just put their drink on the roof of their cars instead of sticking it to the side.