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Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

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101–110 of 262 posts

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#101

I just heard about this on Patrick O’Shaughnessy podcast. As a coffee-fiend, I really should look into becoming a customer, and am also interested to see what offerings come next. Reminds me of a Whitehead quote that I like that can also serve as a heuristic to evaluate business ideas: “Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them” I love that…

I love that quote, I had forgotten about it. I'm gonna tweet @bottomless :)

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#102

Could you make it possible to find the right coffee to begin with by entering some parameters and and then suggesting the coffee I'll like best? Even reading through the options of roasters in this comment thread is overwhelming.

We definitely get it! We've been focusing on the re-ordering rather than the coffee experience, but we plan to do more here.

Let me know what you like and I can make a recommendation.

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#103
post #94

This kind of idea is why I'm not going to let my kids major in computer science (at least not just CS). The brains behind this startup could be doing something at least superficially useful, but apparently all they know are the technical 'solutions', and know nothing about real-world problems.

I waste way less coffee using Bottomless than I did before. Cheaper for me, better for the environment. Real world doesn't have to mean "huge".

I don't understand, how/why do you waste coffee without this product?

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#104

This kind of idea is why I'm not going to let my kids major in computer science (at least not just CS). The brains behind this startup could be doing something at least superficially useful, but apparently all they know are the technical 'solutions', and know nothing about real-world problems.

What an odd way to respond to two people willing to take the risk to start a new thing. You can say something similarly flippant and derogatory about most every company at its start.

- "Books online?! Feh!" - "Power from hydrocarbons?! Nonsense! Get a real job!" - "Flying machines? We need more bicycles!"

It would be better to engage with the founders and ask why they started the company and what they think the can achieve. I did that and have enjoyed working with Liana and Michael. Also, though it doesn't matter much, neither of them studied CS in college.

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#105

I just heard about this on Patrick O’Shaughnessy podcast. As a coffee-fiend, I really should look into becoming a customer, and am also interested to see what offerings come next. Reminds me of a Whitehead quote that I like that can also serve as a heuristic to evaluate business ideas: “Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them” I love that…

Any chance you have a link to the podcast episode?

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the questions. 1. I always forget to get one or two things when I go to the store. This removes having to remember coffee stock levels. Also, the coffee in the store isn't fresh because the distribution chain is too long. We ship straight from roaster to customer, so the coffee is really fresh. 2. Dash doesn't work because it's a new habit and people have to remember to find and press the button before run…

Actually a scale still works for 3 if it's large enough. Counting scales exist which can weigh increments less than a gram but can measure trends of kilos without damage.

You're right, and we'll probably just keep doing scales.

Some people have a mental block with the word "scale" in this context, so we like to remind them it could be other stuff :).

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#107

This kind of idea is why I'm not going to let my kids major in computer science (at least not just CS). The brains behind this startup could be doing something at least superficially useful, but apparently all they know are the technical 'solutions', and know nothing about real-world problems.

[deleted]

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#108

This kind of idea is why I'm not going to let my kids major in computer science (at least not just CS). The brains behind this startup could be doing something at least superficially useful, but apparently all they know are the technical 'solutions', and know nothing about real-world problems.

I would love to have this solution for every product in my fridge. Even my entire kitchen. Re-ordering things when you're actually almost out of them as opposed to on a fixed schedule seems ideal from the consumer's perspective. To me this is a better solution to the problem Amazon tried to solve with Dash buttons. I could imagine living in a future world where my grocery list is dynamically defined as the products e…

Yup, I'm completely on board for a way to monitor my consumable items.

The re-ordering part is a bonus, but simply knowing what I'm nearly out of in real time would be very, very, helpful.

I imagine this is more true of people with kids, who are not naturally inclined to track and communicate this information. They will, however, chew you out when you return from the store without more of the cereal that they have just finished. ;)

Re: Launch HN: Bottomless (YC W19) – Coffee Restocked with a Smart Scale

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You shouldn't freeze your beans. You can get a container which allows the beans to degas at a constant rate, which keeps them fresher for longer on your counter. Good beans don't deserve the freezer.

I'd love this thread to become a debate on the merits of freezing beans :).

Sure, coffee roaster here. It's false that allowing beans to degas c02 preserves them indefinitely as the parent comment seems to imply. There is however about a 10-hour window after roasting where degassing of c02 is so vigorous it impedes oxidation. Freezing vacuum sealed coffee, both green and roasted beans, will preserve it almost perfectly for years because freezing decreases oxidation rates by more than 90% and slows the movement of volatiles.[0] Enough people have documented and tested this and it's very common for Cup of Excellence winning and other notable coffees to be stored for extended periods of time this way. There are even cafes with reserves of such coffee, you can walk in and they'll pull winners from years ago for you to try. Scott Rao documents the research and resulting evidence of why it's beneficial to freeze coffee in his book The Coffee Roaster's Companion.[1] It's just not economical at scale, or necessary. Green coffee is "fresh" for about 9 months on average, most roasters go through specific lots of coffee well before that window closes. The sad reality is that most roasted coffee is well past its peak by the time it reaches the consumer.

You can conduct an at-home experiment yourself by finding a local roaster, asking when their roast days are and if you can get some coffee from that batch before it's allowed to rest. Seal and freeze a portion while keeping the rest in a normal valve-release bag and compare after a week or two.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Technology-Michael-Sivetz/dp/0... [1] https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Roasters-Companion-Scott-2014-...

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