Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris by Pierre Baston, Raeshon McNeil and Patrick Bailey

Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris by Pierre Baston, Raeshon McNeil and Patrick Bailey is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum in Instrumenta Culinae Competition Category.

AesInstrumenta Culinae· 2022

Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris

by Pierre Baston, Raeshon McNeil and Patrick Bailey

Client: Qterra Travel Brewers

Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum Winner in Instrumenta Culinae Category

12,010

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #133378

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris

Qterra Craft est poculum itineris quod recens coffeam vel theam externo moderamine coquit. Poculum pulverem coffeae vel folia theae et aquam calidam seorsum fert, et coctio ad libitum incipit et desinit. Corbis telescopica extenditur cum rota externa torquetur, ita poculum in usu clausum manet. Materia mutationis phasis in parietibus potum calidum ad sexaginta gradus Celsii pro tuto potu refrigerat. Anulus flavus colorem mutat cum refrigeratio perfecta est. Medallia decorativa magnetica basi affiguntur ad personalem ornatum.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum

Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aeneum, honoris multum aestimati formis egregiis, creandi ingenio, sollertia et acumine insignibus dati. Victores Aenei opera perita et mire creandi sunt, quae experientiam, imaginationem et solertiam auctorum suorum confirmant. Exspectatur Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris rem multum aestimatam, admiratam et carissimam, notabiliter professionalem et novam fore. Haec forma Aeneo victa optimas consuetudines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae amplectitur et in cura minutiarum excellit. Qterra Craft Poculum Itineris necessitates egregie explet, cupiditates tangit, sensus capit et curiositatem allicit.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Qterra Craft is a travel mug that makes fresh-brewed coffee or tea on the go with just the twist of a dial. The Craft carries ground coffee or tea leaves and hot water separately, starts and stops brewing on demand, and quickly cools hot beverage for safe drinking, all without the user’s ever opening the mug. A bright yellow ring changes color to signal when cooling is done. Interchangeable artistic medallions attach to the bottom and show the user's style every time he lifts his mug to drink.
Dimensions & Packaging: Dimensions: 100mm (widest), 62mm (base) / 230mm. Weight: 0.7kg. Volume: 355ml brewed beverage. No electrical power, cords, or batteries required.
Tags: travel, mug, brew, coffee, tea, infuser, French press, steep
Production Technology: To enable control of brewing time without opening the device and risking spills, Qterra created a telescoping basket with cam-and-follower design. The basket keeps brewing ingredients dry and fresh in transport, but expands 2-1/2 times in volume for brewing in response to the twist of an external dial. A heat-absorbing phase change material (PCM) in the walls quickly cools hot beverage to a safe 60C, and keeps it there for drinking. A thermochromic paint ring changes color to let users know when it's safe to drink, to avoid burned tongues. And magnetic disks of various materials and artistic designs attach to the Qterra's bottom to allow easy personalization to match users' changing moods.
Design Challenge: For richest flavor from tea and coffee, Qterra Craft would have to keep water hot until the user decided to brew. But to avoid a long wait or burned tongue, the Craft would also have to cool hot beverage quickly for drinking once it was brewed. Qterra solved this dual challenge by enabling the user to switch from insulating to cooling his drink just by twisting to lengthen the mug 2.5cm (1 in).
Research: Tackling the dual challenges of Qterra Craft's temperature control required a search for exceptional insulating and cooling materials, computation of ideal tapering angles, thermodynamic modelling, and prototype testing. The team found inspiration in items as diverse as telescopes, 18th-century Japanese teapots and high-end footwear. The result is a stylish design enabling the fresh brewing of hot beverages on the spot, safely and seamlessly, for richest flavor and maximum antioxidants.
Inspiration: Pierre Baston developed a deep appreciation of hot beverages over many trips to Argentina. There, he was struck by the Argentine passion for mate - a hot herbal infusion created by indigenous Guarani people 500 years ago. In Argentina, to drink mate is to brew mate, as it is almost always prepared by the drinker on the spot, just moments before drinking. With Qterra Craft, Pierre brings the freedom of easy, eco-friendly craft brewing on the go to coffee and tea lovers everywhere.
Project Duration: The project, inspired in Argentina, started in the form of initial designs created in Philadelphia in 2017, and launched in November 2021.
Operation Flow: Qterra Craft delivers rich flavor and antioxidants that come only from tea or coffee that is brewed fresh on the spot. The slim unit contains all brewing ingredients and equipment within it, and brews by external control for safe and easy brewing wherever you may be. Users get an unlimited choice of ground coffee or loose leaf tea, precise control of brewing time and agitation, and freedom from coffeehouse prices and lines. With rapid cooling to prevent burned tongues too, a seamless experience.
Team Members: Inventor: Pierre Baston
Industrial Designer: Raeshon McNeil
Lead Engineer: Patrick Bailey