Ice drop coffee portable pot DRIPO successfully conquered the fund-raising market in Taiwan and the United States! Ice drop coffee cold knowledge!

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Cold extract and iced coffee have caused a whirlwind in the coffee industry in the past two years. Starbucks in the United States began to sell cold coffee in stores across the United States in 2015, and some stores in Taiwan have begun to follow suit, and the price is even much higher than that of iced coffee. Cold extract and ice drop coffee become a unique and healthy summer coffee drink. Chen Renhui Fred, an industrial designer from Taiwan, was inspired by the opportunity to design DRIPO, an ice drop coffee portable pot that was successfully raised by Kickstarter and Flying V in 2016. This time, Fred was invited to share DRIPO's design story with La Vie:

Could you please share the origin and concept of DRIPO design?

Fred: it all started in October 2014. my current Danish boss, a former design director of the Danish Bloso brand, went to Taiwan with his wife. They saw an ice drop coffee shop at the entrance of Chiufen Old Street. The couple were curious. The Danish boss, who was nearly 60, had never tried ice droplets, and it was hard to drink in Denmark. On the other hand, they also loved outdoor mountaineering. This series of events inspired me at that time, and I began to imagine that this huge traditional curling kettle could be designed for beginners, lightweight and convenient, and it would be interesting to enjoy it anytime and anywhere. That is, I started the journey of coffee design.

Why the idea of making ice drops of coffee on the plane? Please introduce us to the interesting and practical experience.

Fred: since I work in China and my family is in Taiwan, I go back to Taiwan every other week. The launch of DRIPO actually took nearly two years. At that time, I thought that if it was really easy to carry, then make some crazy attempts. So I took DRIPO on a flight to Hong Kong, took some time to prepare in the lounge, and began the first time in DRIPO, perhaps in the world, to make iced coffee on the plane. At that time, I brought my own glass on the plane for the convenience of taking pictures. unfortunately, due to the relationship between safety and time, I had to finish all my work within an hour after take-off, so I only dripped about half a pot of coffee. The lovely thing is, when I asked the flight attendant for ice, she was very unimaginable. the gentleman sitting next door looked at me inexplicably from beginning to end, and finally couldn't help asking me what I was doing. He was surprised that coffee could be made this way.

DRIPO has successfully raised funds in Flying V in Taiwan and Kickstarter in the United States. Can you share this experience?

Fred: starting a business is a road of no return. I have been developing products on my own for about 12 years. The hot fund-raising in the past few years has indeed provided you with a great opportunity and platform, but the most important thing to succeed in it is that the product itself must be attractive enough, and then it is necessary to make the product features clear to consumers in a short time. It took about a year to produce from ideas to Prototype,DRIPO. It took another 7 months to improve and prepare for mass production, and now the products are still improving. Every time we run to raise funds, we have to interact with you almost endlessly. The fund-raising website gives people with ideas a chance to realize their dreams. I am also grateful for the support of nearly 2000 people on the two fund-raising platforms. This is an encouragement. Now we need to constantly improve our products, hoping to give you a better experience.

Is there a favorite coffee shop in Taiwan?

Fred: I like to go to GABEE., in Taipei because Coffee Prince Lim Dong-Won 's enthusiasm for coffee is endless. He often makes a lot of experiments on coffee and always gets some new taste when he goes there.

Fred and Emerge Lab.

Fred is an enthusiastic industrial designer who has been deeply cultivated in Taiwan. In 2004, he was selected into the design elite training of Taiwan Creative Design Center and went to the American Pentagram design company for training. After returning to Taiwan, we established Design T3, the first gathering of industrial designers in Taiwan, and introduced the well-known designer exchange activity Pecka Kucha Night to Taiwan for the first time. At the same time, the essential tpe brand was established in 2006 to integrate marketing for good Taiwanese designers. Emerge Lab is a small design team set up by Fred in his spare time with designers from Taiwan, Argentina, mainland China, Hong Kong and the United States. DRIPO was their first product to debut.

Bean knowledge about ice drop coffee

Ice drop coffee will be sweeter?

Compared with other heat-extracted coffee, ice drop coffee releases less tannin and caffeine (67% less acidity and 20% less caffeine than traditional methods), reduces bitterness, is more conducive to preserving volatile aromas, and tastes smoother, mellow and sweet.

Ice drop coffee is less harmful to the stomach?

Many people do not like coffee because they are worried about stomach damage, but in fact, ice drop coffee uses cold water and ice extraction to reduce the acidity of hot water brewing to stimulate the stomach and teeth, which is a rare and good choice for coffee lovers who have such concerns.

Ice drop coffee has a longer tasting period?

Ice drop coffee takes 3 to 6 hours to make, but it also lasts longer than hot coffee. After the hot coffee is brewed, it is easy to change its flavor over time, but the ice drop coffee can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks after extraction, and the coffee will have a different sense of layering due to fermentation during placement.

More highlights can be found in the December issue of La Vie magazine.