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Product design is so interesting as an art form because it can challenge traditional notions of what a thing is or how it is supposed to be used. It’s a way of reengaging with something you otherwise don’t really put much thought into. Maybe it doesn’t always work functionally, but perhaps that’s the point, to force you into a place where you are interacting purposefully with an item.
Thus is perhaps the case with the new Aluminum Coffee Cup. It is a stunning reimagining of the standard espresso mug, but also, like, how the hell am I supposed to use this thing?
As reported by Yanko Design, The Aluminum Coffee Cup is the work of the French-Spanish design studio Unavela. Originally aerospace engineers Javier De Andrés García and Anaïs Wallet, the duo are now creating thought-provoking takes on every day items. Their most recent work, the espresso cup, which they describe as a “functional object,” is one of those. Machined from a single block of 6061 aluminum, the 50ml cube of a cup features a sphere handle and comes a square frame saucer.
As far as the drinking experience goes, Unavela claims they did side by side tests with traditional porcelain mugs and the Aluminum Coffee Cup is no hotter to hold. And they have designed the lip of the mug to be the same thickness as a standard espresso cup.
Which all sounds great, but still the question remains: how? How am I supposed to drink out of this? Or more to the point, how am I supposed to drink out of this without spilling hot liquid all over my face? Rounded mugs naturally concentrate the flow of espresso to more or less a single point, the lowest point. A flat edge I have less confidence in. What if the drinking edge isn’t perfectly straight? Am I get blasted with espresso? And on which side of my mouth? I generally like to know where the hot liquid is landing on my palate. Or am I supposed to stretch my bottom lip around the entire edge like I were putting on a swimming cap?
Who knows. I don’t know. But if you want to know, the Aluminum Coffee Cup is available for purchase via Unavela’s website. They retail for €60 ($70 USD) and includes the cup and the saucer. They are currently sold out of the first run and so you’ll have to sign up to be notified of the next batch. So who knows, maybe these things actually work?
Either way, it’s a beautiful piece, I love it. I’ll uhhhh just let you have the first sip.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
All media via Unavela
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