Core77

Softbrew: One Designer's Coffee Obsession

By Sara Jacobson - October 4, 2010

in Object Culture

In case you missed it, the New York Times had a nice little interview last week with George Sowden, designer and co-founder of Memphis and now creator of SoftBrew, a pitcher introducing a new way to brew coffee. The interview and the object reveal one of those great moments when a designer's personal obsession results in an innovative solution to a problem. Sowden talks about visiting factories instead of museums as a tourist, and laments the loss of connection between manufacturer and designer. For this reason, with SoftBrew, Sowden closely oversaw production of the coffee maker's two components: a porcelain jug, and a stainless steel filter insert with photo-etched micrsoscopic holes, at porcelain and metal factories in China.

SoftBrew marks the first in a housewares line for Sowden's own design firm, and comes out of a pursuit for that perfect cup of coffee. The Sowden website even contains both a (slightly cheesy) video, and a pdf very thoroughly detailing: the process of using SoftBrew; the best methods for getting a stellar cup of joe (pages on how much coffee to use, cold-brew vs. warm, and more!); and the benefits of brewing coffee "without forcing, pressing, steaming or burning the valuable coffee beans." Considering that obsession often leads to greatness in design, we're ready to try a cup Sowden-style.

o

Favorite This
Q
4

Comment

Comments

lucas carnevale

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

looks similar to my project here in coroflot.
http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_details.asp?individual_id=340079
!Report as spam
Mart

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

That's only an ergonomic handle if you hold it by the upward slope at the base. It's far easier to rotate the wrist about the forearm's axis than to rotate it through the "handshake" angle. I don't know why more handles aren't designed with this ergonomic fact in mind.
!Report as spam
mardis

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I'm curious about the photo-etching process of the filter. It seems like the stainless steel would have to be very thin ( and delicate) to do such a process. Just a guess.
!Report as spam
Jonathan

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I appreciate the thoughtfulness of the user experience up through the serving process--there are some nice improvements over a traditional french press (e.g. "slow-pour" spout, lack of press assembly, etc.) However, when the video began to feature the cleaning process, I hoped it was about to show a new way to deal with the nuisance that are wet coffee grounds (starting with a basket full of REAL grounds). But instead it simply showed what appeared to be an already-cleaned basket being rinsed under the facuet.
!Report as spam