Need help with ideas for a new product

[howiep]

Hi guys, I’m a second year product design student, and I have an assignment that I’d love some help with. We’ve each been assigned a particular market (mine is tea drinkers) and we have to design a product that solves a problem for them. I’m only a newcomer to tea, so I thought you experienced drinkers might have an idea or two.

First I need to find problems/annoyances involved with making/drinking/storing tea so I can start to design a product that solves them. What do you find difficult about being a tea lover? For example - Is it annoying to take loose leaf tea to work? Do you need too many different products and wish they were all condensed into one?

No idea is too silly – in brainstorming sessions the silly ideas often lead to really good solutions

Thanks heaps for any advice. If anyone’s interested I’ll post some sketches or a prototype photo later on to let people know what I came up with.

Phil

[horsencl]

Didn't someone else post almost exactly this a few months ago?

[Wesli]

Tea storage would be a good area to focus on. Everyone has a gripe to pick.

Ideas:

•A storage jar that flushes out the air and replaces it with pure nitrogen every time you close it, to deter oxidation. It must be affordable, as each hardcore tea drinker (except pu-erh and some oolong drinkers) will need a dozen of these.

•A jar that gets smaller as the amount of tea gets smaller.

[Consilium]

A storage jar that flushes out the air and replaces it with pure nitrogen every time you close it. . .

Brilliant!

[bi lew chun]

Didn't someone else post almost exactly this a few months ago?

I thought the same thing, but this is all I could dig up: http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=3225

A storage jar that flushes out the air and replaces it with pure nitrogen every time you close it, to deter oxidation. It must be affordable, as each hardcore tea drinker (except pu-erh and some oolong drinkers) will need a dozen of these.

Yep, this is a fantastic idea. The canisters could be affordable if the nitrogen-flushing device were separate.

[Space Samurai]

Whatever they use with wine, just adapted for tea containers.

[Geekgirl]

Didn't someone else post almost exactly this a few months ago?

I thought the same thing, but this is all I could dig up: http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=3225

october '08. poster was jase-something or other. he said he'd show us his prototype, then he got all secretive about "his" ideas and never came back.

[howiep]

Thanks for the ideas guys. The storage container sounds good. Not sure how economical the nitrogen system would be. Maybe the wine storage idea would be good.

i saw the thread started by that jase guy. yeah he seems a bit secretive. I'm probably not looking to do an idea that requires power like a kettle.

one avenue of exploration for me is tea infusers (ie infuser balls). they always seem too big or small, seem to let little bits of tea out, and i still think they could be easier to clean.

another idea is a thermos that includes a tea ball that comes out and stores in the lid so it doesn't over-infuse.

Thanks again for the ideas, let me know if you have anymore

Phil

[Beidao]

I would say a combined scale, time holder and termometer. But that needs power I guess.

There is teacups that change colour when you pot hot water in it. Could the colour be different based on the water temperature?

[Oni]

xxx xxx xxxx.

[tenuki]

+1 for storage, everything else you mentioned has been done to my satisfaction.

[ABx]

Another vote for storage.

I would really rather see something that removes the air rather than replacing it with nitrogen. It also need to protect against temperature and light; I would really like to see something that is seamless.

[Vulture]

one avenue of exploration for me is tea infusers (ie infuser balls). they always seem too big or small, seem to let little bits of tea out, and i still think they could be easier to clean.

Infusers and brewers have been researched since the time tea was created. This isn't too good a place to find 'improvement'. I am +1 on storage. It doesn't have to be just end user type but also for Distribution and/or warehouse storage.

[Bubba_tea]

There is teacups that change colour when you pot hot water in it. Could the colour be different based on the water temperature?

That's a cool idea - you could use a material that reacts to the temperature, like in those 'stress strips' that change color according to the temperature they are in contact with.

For a storage idea - I would think of something like a fishing tackle box with air tight compartments that you could tote to work with various teas - maybe an 8 section box (to sell to the HK market as well.. ) Something like this but with individual airtight, light-proof sections:

[chamekke]

On a completely frivolous note, I have always wanted - NOT needed, just wanted - a tea cosy designed expressly for a kyusu:



Of course, Japanese tea isn't steeped long enough in a kyusu to warrant using a tea cosy.

I'm just saying... a cosy for a kyusu would be cute as a button.