Drinking

The Electrolux Design Lab is a yearly competition that challenges design students across the globe. This year's competition asked students to create home appliances that would "provide a fuller sensory experience." Perhaps one day, some of these entries will be used in the home kitchen. Below are a few highlights:

Ingresure (seen above) is by Jongwoo Choi. It is a gadget designed to be a taste tester. Instead of chef's tasting their own creation, they would use the device to taste it for them. The idea is that the Ingresure would give amateur chefs the assurance … Read more

The art of brewing tea is an age-old process that has been refined for generations. Cultures far and wide have developed traditions and ceremonies surrounding the ubiquitous beverage. The drinking of tea offers a way to bring together people, giving them a reason to slow down, relax, and contemplate their place in the grand scheme of things. Also, it is available caffeinated.

The rush to get caffeine into our system is not of minor importance. In recent times we have seen the proliferation of coffee shops and energy drinks -- there is even an inhaler contrivance out there called the … Read more

It is pretty easy to become complacent regarding availability of goods and services. Mobile devices let us order whatever we may need with a simple touch and can even tell us directions on how to get to a good old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store if the need arises. While there may be countless apps for helping us to order, organize, and plan, even the best of us will occasionally forget to plan for the big stuff -- like making sure there is enough coffee.

The Nespresso Zenius is an office and hospitality solution that keeps the coffee flowing. Using a SIM card … Read more

Decepticons and Autobots of the universe, check out this unique Transformers-style wine storage device fit for Megatron himself.

Clifford Wong, a 33-year-old lighting salesperson based in Arizona, put up an advertisement last week on Craigslist for a 6-foot-tall wine rack styled like a herculean man-slaying robot. The massive $7,000 device securely holds 32 bottles of wine, weighs 1,000 pounds, and features an array of mock armaments. … Read more

Gadgets and devices of all shapes and sizes have become quite adept at giving us what we want when we want it (and more than a little of what we don't want). But whatever "it" may be, it is something that is easy to take for granted. This on-demand access and availability for whatever our hearts desire may be baked into all of our mobile devices, but for stationary objects, the concept is still spreading. Like to the kitchen faucet.

Way back when running water was somehow magically introduced through a series of pipes into our abodes, … Read more

Coffee drinkers have all the fun. That is not necessarily a bad thing as so many people drink coffee, but tea drinkers need their say, too. When it comes to gadgetry, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of coffee tools as there are tea-making tools. But with so many varieties of tea available both loose and bagged, tea drinkers deserve to have their teacake and eat it, too.

The Nesco TM-1 Tea Maker provides an easy method for brewing both loose and bagged tea. All that is required to make up to 1 liter of freshly brewed tea is … Read more

The perpetual interest surrounding the humble coffee bean can in part be attributed to its ability to be served in so many different ways. But whether imbibers enjoy their beverage hot or cold, sweet or bitter, there always needs to be a way to get from bean to cup. And as strong as preferences tend to color cups of coffee, so too is that opinion found in brewing method.

The Aroma AEM-621SS Hot Moka X-Press Electric Moka Maker offers a tried-and-true brewing method updated for the modern home. Modeled after a popular stovetop coffeemaker, the device is geared for countertop … Read more

Kitchen gadgets are often designed to do one thing and do it well (hopefully). Sometimes, however, that is simply not enough. Rather than use one gadget to do one thing and another gadget to do another, sometimes it's nice if all you need can be found in one place. Especially when the good times are waiting.

Standing by at the ready, the Waring WC400 Professional Wine Center comes in handy at the beginning of the night, the end, or both. Consolidated into one convenient unit are a wine opener and a wine preserver. Included along with the base display … Read more

Opening a second bottle of wine takes careful consideration. Not surprisingly, these considerations can be somewhat clouded. We are talking about another bottle of wine, after all. Yet, despite these hesitations that commonly vex oenophiles, the real question isn't whether to open the bottle, but what to do with it after.

The Summit Appliance STC1 Thermoelectric 8-Bottle Wine Cooler stores either open or closed bottles of wine. The impressive display is wider than it is tall, with the tops of bottles exposed, allowing room for corks or other wine sealing solutions. A large front-viewing window and LED lighting add … Read more