Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/50871
uses 1,000 watts of electricity to heat the water and then main- tain the specific temperature level; a digital display provides easy monitoring. "The temperature readout allows us to quickly heat water to the exact temperature we need," Sims says of the kettle, which can boil two cups of water in less than a minute. Additional noteworthy features of the cordless Pro include an automatic controller that keeps the water warm after boiling, an easy-to-clean stainless steel heating base and a "No Water" protection feature that powers the unit off when empty and helps resist rust buildup. Sims calls the Digital Kettle Pro both a worthy addition for tea shops and a must-have product for serious tea drinkers in the consumer market, a nod to the product's retail potential. FULL-SCALE ACCESS As shot weighing grows in popularity, many baristas are seeking digital scales that deliver accurate readings and are designed to meet their espresso-focused needs. Enter Salter's Eco Friendly Bamboo Kitchen Scale. A new mar- ketplace offering, the consumer-targeted Salter scale has turned plenty of heads with its sleek look, natural bamboo platform and accuracy. The U.K.-based Salter has been making scales since 1760. The versatile scale weighs both dry and liquid ingredients in various units and can handle 0.1 ounce to 11 pounds. Baristas can also use the scale's "add and weigh tare" function to mea- sure foods one after another without removing the previous food, or weigh foods in a container without factoring in the weight of the container. Additionally, an oversized 1.1-inch display includes a bright blue backlight for easy measurement reading. TOOLS OF THE TRADE While coffee and tea making remains an art form rooted in age-old practices that can be performed with basic home utensils and dedi- cated skill, these new innovations have emerged to make the endeav- ors easier, more effi- cient or more enjoy- able. The tools of the trade grow and flow from the best of intentions. It's no shame that technology's pulse and the inventor's resourcefulness have both thrust them- selves into the cof- fee and tea makers' deeply personal craft. Curious minds have long pushed for innovation, seek- ing simpler, more efficient ways to improve upon what we already know. Coffee and tea are moving forward, with bright baristas charting the course and some slick devices supporting the day- to-day push. freshcup.com January 2012 51