The Teasmade might have become something of a British institution in the mid-twentieth century before rapidly falling out of fashion, but Josh Renouf is resurrecting the tradition of automated warm beverage making machines with his Barisieur coffee making alarm clock. The device makes use of several steel ball bearings sitting at the bottom of a glass beaker (which are heated by an induction element underneath) to boil the water.
These steel ball bearings also gently rattle against the glass and each other as the water begins to boil, gently coaxing the user out of their slumber in doing so. This is also of course accompanied by the smell of freshly brewed coffee, which Josh Renouf finds far more preferential to ‘the jolt of a buzzing alarm clock’.
There are obvious safety concerns with the presence of boiling water, precariously balanced apparatus, and mains electricity all in the same place — not to mention the drowsy state of the users. And the resident pessimists of various comment sections will no doubt be lining up to write The Barisieur off as being over-engineered, or otherwise superfluous to the morning routine. But I think there’s a real market for this kind of device for those — such as myself — who struggle to get out of bed without an encouraging caffeine nudge.
The designer is currently in the process of developing The Barisieur for production after the attention his prototype has received online. The coffee making alarm clocks aren’t quite ready to order yet, but a mailing list has been set up on Josh Renouf’s website through which you can sign up to be informed of their future availability. He has however already forecasted an estimated retail price of £250 ($415 / €315) for the device.
Looking for more out-of-the-ordinary coffee making devices? Then you might also be interested in Café Balão by Davide Mateus, a syphon coffee machine with vintage chemistry-set aesthetics; or Dutch Lab’s extraordinarily architectural cold-drip coffee makers. Alternatively just have a skim through our coffee tag!
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Further Info
| Designer | Joshua Renouf |
|---|---|
| Shop | Future Availability Mailing List |
Comments
There is something about British engineering – the way that is emphases the whimsical over efficient – that just makes my soul cringe at a core level. This bullshit belongs in a Willy Wonka movie and far away from civilized human beings.