The Future of Coffee & Tea

I stopped by the annual Coffee & Tea Festival, expecting to see notables, like Mud, Stumptown, and Gorilla, but no dice.  I did find surprisingly good, tea gummy bears and green tea latte dusted almonds made by Tavalon.  More importantly, I discovered the future of both tea and coffee brewing is gravity. 

Credit where credit is due: Teavana was way ahead on this trend.  A few years ago, I bought their “Perfect Tea Maker,” which operates under the same principle.  Here’s how it goes down:  You pour the loose leaves into the top, add hot water, and let it brew for two minutes.  When it’s ready, place it on top of any cup and it triggers the liquid to release.  Pull it off the cup and it stops pouring.  There’s a strainer on the bottom to catch all the tea leaves.  It’s pretty genius.

I’ve never seen one for coffee before.  Handy Brew just came out with a gravity maker for a single serving of coffee. It takes the same amount of time to make instant coffee as it does freshly brewed using the gravity maker and you don’t even need a coffee filter.  I

If you’re super serious about your coffee, but not an expert barista, I discovered a coffee dripper that literally controls the taste of the coffee.  All you need is a filter or chemistry paper (that’s what the barista was using.)  Add coffee grinds, then hot water.   Once it’s brewed, the “clever coffee dripper” works the same way the gravity makers do, so just place it on top of a mug and the liquid releases into the cup.