Chances are, your phone and your morning coffee are probably two things you’ve tried to keep - physically - a healthy distance apart. In fact, putting the two together sounds risky at best, disastrous at worst and a little bit unnecessary.
Nonetheless, Italian duo Luigi Carfora and Clement Biondo of ‘Smart K’ are crowdfunding the Mokase, a phone case that doubles as an espresso machine and is controlled via app, for caffeine related emergencies when the nearest Pret is just too far away.
‘Wafers’, which look a little like ink cartridges, contain cold espresso and are inserted into the side of the case and heated up by a built-in battery, taking about 5-8 seconds, to make a 25ml shot of coffee. The case can be recharged via USB, although presumably it has to be charged independently to the phone, and adds an extra 7mm of thickness; impressive for a coffee machine, but for a phone case? Not so much.
Whilst you probably could drink the coffee straight from your phone, if the caffeine emergency isn’t quite so desperate, they’re also making a collapsible cup which doubles as a key ring.
On their kickstarter page, there’s very little said about the environmental impact of the product. In theory, if the Mokase did take off, it could reduce the number of disposable cups used, but espresso cups are very small part of a much wider problem. Putting the cups aside for a moment, the only other waste product from a normal espresso are the biodegradable coffee grounds, however after a Mokase coffee, you’re left with an empty cartridge to dispose of.
All in all, the Mokase seems to be a solution for a problem that doesn’t really exist, whilst churning up a few of its own; sure, it might be a talking point, but how many people really want to make their phone bigger, less sustainable and potentially covered in coffee, especially in the UK where there’s a Costa in every nearly every town.
Also, how do you Instagram your coffee when it’s inside your phone?
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.