The Importance of Coffee Pot Design
[Design by Freepik I’ve recently been working on-site for a client, and I could not understand why the coffee pot was always empty. Sure, there are plent...
I’ve recently been working on-site for a client, and I could not understand why the coffee pot was always empty. Sure, there are plenty of people in the office who drink coffee, albeit at a moderate pace in comparison to my constant need to mainline it, but somehow there never seemed to be any brewed in the nice, stainless steel pots.
While I consider myself a team player, having to brew an entire pot (four whole minutes of my day) nearly every time I want a caffeine fix seems excessive.
Once the initial grumbling wore off, my curiosity took over. I watched from outside the kitchen to understand what was going on. People were coming in, filling up their cups and mugs and then heading back to work. It all seemed so normal.
Then it happened. A fellow came in, poured a few sips out of the pot, and the coffee stopped flowing. I put my head down, not wanting my observation to influence the outcome of his behavior. He casually looked around, replaced the pot, and walked out.
An offender! I thought. Surely this is the culprit for this pot. Every pot in the building must have it’s analogous bad actor who leaves the pot empty and slinks out, unobserved.
After a couple more days of observation, I confirmed the behavioral pattern. The coffee runs out mid-cup, and even with others present, the empty pot victim would casually slide the pot back, un-refilled.
The humanity! What about this particular place made these seemingly wonderful people such heathens, unable to abide by the cardinal rule of “You kill it, you fill it?”
The answer was in the coffee pot itself. You see, unlike the pots of yore, those plastic-ringed diner staples with crusty grounds burned to the bottom, these pots have class. They’re high-tech, insulated stainless steel with pour tops, so you can brew the coffee into them without ever having to open the pot.
Did this level of coddling somehow dull the empathy of these otherwise great people? Were the pots too fancy or difficult for the average person to operate? I portend the answer to these is no. It is the simple fact that the pots are opaque that is to blame.
In a traditional clear-pot kitchen, the offense of leaving an empty pot is a giant middle finger to the rest of your colleagues, marking you as a person who has little regard for human life.
In a kitchen with opaque coffee pots, the social order breaks down. The fear of being seen in your transgression is next to zero, as you can always have the defense of not being able to tell how empty the pot is, and even if someone sees you commit your heinous act, they have to confront you directly.
With a clear-pot you both know what has to be done.
A guest post by Charles Merritt.
View the original and read more here: https://medium.com/@charlestm/the-importance-of-coffee-pot-design-6832dab69b7d#.wagdcz75y