We’re always a little wary about products that are years away from coming to market but Heatworks’ new battery-powered Duo Carafe demonstrated at CES 2019 sounds pretty cool. What’s the big deal? This is essentially a water jug that promises to heat your water for tea or coffee or a Neti Pot or whatever your jam is while you’re pouring the water.
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We also like products that clearly explain the science behind the technology Heatworks does a pretty good job of it on their website. First, the results: The Duo Café is battery operated and can heat up to four cups of water instantaneously to plus-or-minus one degree Fahrenheit. It’s 99 percent energy efficient and includes a water filtration system to make water taste better. It’s essentially like a Britta water filter and a teapot merged.
It’s a pretty big divergence from your standard steel kettle or even an electric one. In a traditional heating element, only two states are possible: On and off. When the element is turned on, there’s an organic lag time as it begins to heat up. Similarly, when turned off, it takes time to cool down.
The how the Duo Carafe is a little more complicated but kind of interesting. First, Heatworks points out that water itself is an electrical conductor. The Duo Carafe combines electronic controls with graphite electrodes to increase the energy state of the water molecules, so they move faster. The faster they move, the more kinetic energy they accumulate. When the molecules start bouncing off each other, that kinetic energy is transformed into heat. Therefore, the water is heated instantly through direct energy transfer. It’s called Ohmic Array Technology and has been patented by Heatworks for use in a variety of products.
It’s pretty specific that users can set the temperature of the heated water to whatever they need — most coffee is best between 195 and 205-degrees Fahrenheit while a beverage like green tea comes in around 175-degrees F. As a bonus, the electric currents generated using Heatworks’ technology stay completely within the Duo Carafe itself (not in the water) so there is no risk of electrocution. Plus, because the device is battery-powered, it’s completely portable and not dependent on an electrical socket.
As with all products that haven’t hit the market yet, beware of vaporware. While Heatworks demonstrated the Duo Carafe at CES 2019, it hasn’t set a price or a date when it will be for sale to consumers.
