Have you heard? There was a Kickstarter project which involves a smartphone case that makes espresso. Yes. The caffeinated beverage that so many love. Out of a smartphone case. Sounds like a pipe dream? Well, it probably is because Kickstarter has since halted the campaign, reportedly, due to the failure on its creators’ part to “produce a prototype that met its (Kickstarter) standards.” I am not going to pretend that I am surprised by that (the suspension). I mean, come’on, man. A smartphone case that makes hot beverage? Who are they kidding right?
If you still haven’t got a clue, the Mokase, as it is called, promised the tiny system packed into the relatively slim smartphone case could heat up the coffee to 50-60 degrees Celsius (122-140 Fahrenheit) and seriously, you won’t want that kind of heat anywhere near your phone. The entire thing was a little sketchy to say the least. However, we do know that it promised to produce 25 ml (0.84 oz.) worth of espresso which, according to a Reddit user, is a norm in Italy.
So, great, Mokase has at least got that part right, but the same Reddit user also pointed out an important point: an espresso requires crema and crema would need a pressure of 10 bar to realized. Obviously, Mokase has no provision for crema which makes us question the quality of the resulting joe – that’s if it can even make any. Also, 10 bar, or any pressurization of sort, at close proximity to a phone (and likely, your balls) is bad news. You don’t need to be a genius to tell you that, really.
We heard wind of this intriguing smartphone case last month, but before we can get to it, it was taken off Kickstarter. Apparently, that’s not the end for Mokase. In the same Reddit thread, we read that Mokase now needs no crowdfunding. They wrote and I quote, “have decided to suspend the Kickstarter’s crowdfunding campaign and begin production, (and) in a few weeks it will be possible to buy it directly on our site.” Firstly, Mokase did not suspend the campaign themselves, unless they happen to be Kickstarter owners too and secondly, it surprises us that they suddenly have the fund to start producing and more amazingly, they are able to roll them out in “a few weeks.”
Wait. You mean, the initial move to leverage on Kickstarter was a ruse? Or perhaps, something along the way seems to have lost in translation? Whatever the case is (pun not intended, I swear), we do smell fish. However, we could be wrong. It could simply be the case (now, we did it again!) of over promising which happens all so often in crowdfunding.
And now, here’s the magic:
Images: Mokase.
