Hi-Spirits drink machine

[Evan Draper]

Apparently this thing was at Tea Expo: http://mydrinkmachine.com

I had a tough time wading through their website to figure out how it works: ostensibly, it's a $300 stainless steel box that makes all your drinks taste better. Apparently it uses ultrasound to "boil" liquids without using heat. (I would love it if someone could explain this better.) The primary use they highlight is for instantly "aging" wine and spirits. But a serendipitous secondary use is cold-brewing teas and coffees in a matter of minutes rather than hours. I am guessing that the lower temperature extracts less catechins comparatively, so drinkers notice that their tea is less bitter, and the aroma compounds stand out. In the case of wine and spirits, the makers are claiming that the machine makes the drink more healthful, but if I am correct, it would make tea less healthful.

[tenuki]

I especially like the 'about us'.

[brandon]

Ultrasound in liquids or semi-liquid foods does interesting things by means of cavitation - it creates and bursts thousands of tiny bubbles. Cavitation forces also happen in a blender - possibly doing as much to break up your food as the blades themselves. Speed aging (really decanting/aerating) wine using cavitation has coined a phrase hyperdecanting.

http://lifehacker.com/5895929/hyperdeca ... n-a-minute

Is the ultrasonic magic box better at this than a blender? I don't imagine it is, but I bet they'd like you to buy their unitasker. The high ABV in wine compared to beer is high enough to reduce surface tension to a degree that the air bubbles don't last. The ultrasonic might save you a few seconds of waiting for those bubbles to fall off!

Tea would have a much different surface tension than wine, so it would probably hold onto that air you just worked in a lot longer. Not to mention those bubbles are dirty.

As for healthier, hang over free wine, somebody in marketing tested this product a little too heavily before writing the website copy.

[Chip]

"All for an Unbelievable Price!!!"

I will second that! 300 bucks, I cannot believe it is that expensive!

However, if they want to send me one to trial, I would be in a receptive mood.

[JRS22]

I'm not a drinker of alcoholic beverages but I was surprised to learn that hangovers are related to the cost of the alcohol and not the quantity.

[Chip]

I'm not a drinker of alcoholic beverages but I was surprised to learn that hangovers are related to the cost of the alcohol and not the quantity.

I don't either ... it would only be a very expensive cold brewed tea maker for me.

[debunix]

I appreciate the coolness of cold-brewed tea on perhaps a dozen or so days a year--compared to 300+ days on which the warmth of conventionally hot-brewed tea is appreciated--either because it's cold outside, or over-air-conditioned inside!