Coffee Brewing with Just Air?! Japan Invented Air Coffee Machine Originally for Disaster Relief?

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Air-to-Water Coffee Innovation: Japanese Company Develops Revolutionary Brewing Technology

Recently, a Japanese company has developed a coffee machine that extracts moisture from the air and directly filters it for brewing. Truly, we've had air fryers, and now air-brewed coffee. It must be said that people's creativity in conservation and environmental protection is truly endless!

How It Works

The working principle of this coffee machine is as follows: efficiently absorb moisture from the air, purify the water through activated carbon and RO filters (reverse osmosis membranes), then add minerals through biological mineral filters to obtain clean, safe, tasty drinking water that meets 51 water quality standards of Japan's Water Supply Act.

According to the inventing company, this coffee machine was designed to provide clean, safe drinking water for brewing coffee during natural disasters when tap water is unavailable or there's a water shortage, as long as there's electricity. It allows people to drink safe water even without clean water sources. (Here I can't help but make a small comment: When there's a water shortage, wouldn't people prefer a glass of clean water rather than clean water used to brew coffee...)

Public Response and Company Justification

Regarding this invention, many netizens have questioned the significance of inventing such a water-creating coffee machine in Japan, where clean water is readily available from taps. However, the company responded: Approximately 3.6 billion people worldwide suffer from water shortages, with about 840,000 people dying annually due to water scarcity, and many children dying from drinking unsanitary water. Japan, which imports large quantities of coffee beans and grains from overseas, consumes significant amounts of water in producing these coffee beans and grains. Additionally, due to population growth and aging trends, it's expected that by 2050, about 10 billion people will live to be 100 years old, clearly making the food crisis reach lethal levels amid severe water shortages. For Japanese people, water scarcity is by no means someone else's problem but an issue that should be taken seriously. (Still want to ask again: Why not directly produce a dehumidifier + filtration integrated water dispenser, instead of a coffee machine that can make various products like pour-over coffee, espresso-style coffee, cold brew coffee, etc...)

The Philosophy Behind the Innovation

I believe many Japanese netizens want to criticize this, but the company didn't pay attention, remaining deeply immersed in their theory: Water, coffee beans, and extraction are the factors that determine coffee taste. Even with the best roasted coffee beans from the best roasters and extraction by the best baristas, without good water, you can't brew delicious coffee. As long as the brewed coffee tastes good, it proves the water is good water.

Practical Considerations

Alright... It's clear that this company is diligently researching how to convert moisture from air into good water, and also working hard to prove this water is good water. However, if the purpose of launching this machine is for disaster relief, directly launching a pure water machine would be much more practical (like the one in the image below).

After all, when disasters occur, probably few people have the mood to appreciate coffee, and most people such as children, elderly people, and patients cannot drink coffee.

Image source: Internet

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