The coffee industry has seen major growth over the last few years. The general market is moving away from instant powder coffees towards the use of freshly grounded beans.
There are various means of brewing coffee on the market. Most of these take a lot of time to prepare and can be somewhat messy and expensive.
The Product Development Technology Station (PDTS) created a cost effective and innovative product, called the Coffee Brewing Spoon. The spoon makes a suitable quick cup of coffee without much effort or mess, requiring no consumables.
The Coffee Brewing Spoon consists of two halves. The coffee is scooped with the bottom half, ensuring the correct amount of coffee. The top half clips onto the bottom half. The spoon is then put into a mug and hot water poured onto it, infusing the coffee through the stainless steel mesh. In order to clean it, the spoon is opened and the bottom half with the coffee grind released into a dustbin, after which the spoon is rinsed out.
A comprehensive product development process was followed to produce a final injection mould ready design. The PDTS manufactured a limit run injection mould to confirm the market demand and functionality.
The cost effective limit run process reduced the risk of commercialisation, market entry and allowed further funding to be acquired to produce a high production injection mould tool.