Qterra Craft Travel Mug

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Qterra Craft is a travel mug that makes fresh-brewed coffee or tea on the go with just the twist of a dial. The Craft carries ground coffee or tea leaves and hot water separately, starts and stops brewing on demand, and quickly cools hot beverage for safe drinking, all without the user’s ever opening the mug. A bright yellow ring changes color to signal when cooling is done. Interchangeable artistic medallions attach to the bottom and show the user's style every time he lifts his mug to drink.

Dimensions & Packaging

Dimensions: 100mm (widest), 62mm (base) / 230mm. Weight: 0.7kg. Volume: 355ml brewed beverage. No electrical power, cords, or batteries required.

Tags

travel, mug, brew, coffee, tea, infuser, French press, steep

Production Technology

To enable control of brewing time without opening the device and risking spills, Qterra created a telescoping basket with cam-and-follower design. The basket keeps brewing ingredients dry and fresh in transport, but expands 2-1/2 times in volume for brewing in response to the twist of an external dial. A heat-absorbing phase change material (PCM) in the walls quickly cools hot beverage to a safe 60C, and keeps it there for drinking. A thermochromic paint ring changes color to let users know when it's safe to drink, to avoid burned tongues. And magnetic disks of various materials and artistic designs attach to the Qterra's bottom to allow easy personalization to match users' changing moods.

Design Challenge

For richest flavor from tea and coffee, Qterra Craft would have to keep water hot until the user decided to brew. But to avoid a long wait or burned tongue, the Craft would also have to cool hot beverage quickly for drinking once it was brewed. Qterra solved this dual challenge by enabling the user to switch from insulating to cooling his drink just by twisting to lengthen the mug 2.5cm (1 in).

Project Duration

The project, inspired in Argentina, started in the form of initial designs created in Philadelphia in 2017, and launched in November 2021.

Operation Flow

Qterra Craft delivers rich flavor and antioxidants that come only from tea or coffee that is brewed fresh on the spot. The slim unit contains all brewing ingredients and equipment within it, and brews by external control for safe and easy brewing wherever you may be. Users get an unlimited choice of ground coffee or loose leaf tea, precise control of brewing time and agitation, and freedom from coffeehouse prices and lines. With rapid cooling to prevent burned tongues too, a seamless experience.

Research

Tackling the dual challenges of Qterra Craft's temperature control required a search for exceptional insulating and cooling materials, computation of ideal tapering angles, thermodynamic modelling, and prototype testing. The team found inspiration in items as diverse as telescopes, 18th-century Japanese teapots and high-end footwear. The result is a stylish design enabling the fresh brewing of hot beverages on the spot, safely and seamlessly, for richest flavor and maximum antioxidants.

Inspiration

Pierre Baston developed a deep appreciation of hot beverages over many trips to Argentina. There, he was struck by the Argentine passion for mate - a hot herbal infusion created by indigenous Guarani people 500 years ago. In Argentina, to drink mate is to brew mate, as it is almost always prepared by the drinker on the spot, just moments before drinking. With Qterra Craft, Pierre brings the freedom of easy, eco-friendly craft brewing on the go to coffee and tea lovers everywhere.

Colors of Qterra Craft Travel Mug