Chemical engineers at Nestlé have invented a machine that can distinguish between good and bad espresso nearly as accurately as trained espresso tasters. The machine is meant to be used as a quality control device in the coffee industry. [via engadget, title from Chris Fredette]... More
Instead of reading the headlines off a newspaper, why not read them off...a cup? The Yuno PC designed by Jason Farsai is a computer in the form of a coffee mug. Using the mug's touchscreen display you can check weather, time, traffic, stocks, and more. [via engadget]... More
The Col-Pop from South Korean fried chicken chain BBQ Chicken combines drink cup and food container in one, ushering in a new era of snack portability. More
Kraft Foods is developing new food products that contain intestinal worm-killing chemicals. These products will not be sold in the United States but are aimed towards rural Asia, Africa and Latin America, where millions of children are afflicted with illnesses caused by worms.... More
Did you read the article about high-end coffee brewers in the New York Times today? If so, you're probably wondering where you can find a coffee shop that uses one of the $11,000 Clover brewing machines mentioned. Easy enough. Just use the Find a Clover map on the company's website. Turns out there are quite a few more than the handful of locations the paper mentions. After the jump, a video of a Clover in action, if you're curious.... More
Researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have developed a robot farming "exoskeleton" suit designed to help aging farmers lift heavy objects and perform manual tasks more easily. The current cost for each suit is about 500,000-1,000,000 yen ($4,500-$9,000) but may drop to 200,000 yen ($1,800) when they aim to mass produce it in four years. [via Boing Boing]... More
That does it, folks: As was expected last week, The FDA today officially declared certain cloned livestock safe to eat. From the L.A. Times: Initially, only a small amount of steaks, pork and dairy products derived from clones will become available in grocery stores. But over the next three to five years—after ranchers have time to clone their most prized animals and those clones are able to breed—the products will become routine on store shelves, industry executives said. Cloned cattle, pigs, and goats are aces to eat, the agency said, but as for cloned sheep—well, there's not enough info regarding them or other species for the government to OK. So put down your knives and forks if you were... More
Pitchforks are raised. The battle is on: Italian farmers fight cloned food.... More
Said a document release Friday by the European Food Safety Agency: “It is very unlikely that any difference exists in terms of food safety between food products originating from clones and their progeny compared with those derived from conventionally bred animals."... More
It's a prototype, and who knows if it'll ever go into production, but a British tinkerer has introduced jetlike fan technology into the toasting process. He was frustrated with his plodding toaster while making his favorite meal, beans on toast. "The design came out of sheer frustration that by the time the toast is ready, my beans have gone cold," he said. [via Cold Mud]... More
