I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑brewing energy use by ¾

Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by crazygringo on Friday June 19, 2026 @09:29PM (#48605372)

This is fascinating from a food technology standpoint.

But the framing of the article around espresso specifically is somewhat bizarre. Most people want their shot of espresso to be piping hot, not room temperature. And most iced coffee is very intentionally not made with espresso (although you certainly can use it if you want).

The text of the article seems to suggest that this is more intended for "making ready-to-drink coffee products at industrial scale". But then that is not single-serve espresso shots that the article shows in several images.

So is this about room-temperature espresso shots (not what most people want) or about industrial-scale concentrated coffee? And if it's the latter, what would those machines look like? It's one thing to use ultrasound at a small scale; but what about in gigantic basins? Does that work, or are there challenges? Is this tech that scales?

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by mminer237 on Friday June 19, 2026 @10:08PM (#48605652)

Iced espresso drinks are the large majority of what people buy at, e.g., Starbucks.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by crazygringo on Sunday June 21, 2026 @03:12PM (#48621709)

Most iced coffee that people buy is not iced espresso drinks. Those are specialty drinks.

Think an iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's or whatever instead.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by mminer237 on Tuesday June 23, 2026 @10:16AM (#48645346)

Eh, I think lattes are definitely the most popular drink at Starbucks and Dunkin.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by fiatpandas on Friday June 19, 2026 @09:36PM (#48605414)

Iced lattes are a pretty common drink and near ubiquitous menu item.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by stevage on Friday June 19, 2026 @09:32PM (#48605394)

> And most iced coffee is very intentionally not made with espresso

Really? How is it made?

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by PoorlyNamed on Friday June 19, 2026 @09:41PM (#48605448)

By soaking regular ground coffee in water for 12 hours or so.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by tasercake on Friday June 19, 2026 @10:47PM (#48605869)

You may be thinking of cold brew, which is usually more expensive due to the higher coffee-to-water ratio. A standard ‘iced coffee’ at most coffee shops is espresso-based

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by PoorlyNamed on Friday June 19, 2026 @11:26PM (#48606079)

Huh. I never drink cold coffee so I always assumed they were one and the same. Thanks for the correction.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by crazygringo on Saturday June 20, 2026 @11:07PM (#48615306)

This is not true.

A standard iced coffee is just regular brewed coffee that is then put in the fridge. (Which is different from cold brew which is brewed in the fridge.)

Absolutely not espresso-based.

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Re:I used sound waves to make espresso. It could cut coffee‑... by crazygringo on Saturday June 20, 2026 @11:10PM (#48615327)

By making regular hot brew coffee and putting it in the fridge.

If you go to any random cafe and asked for an iced coffee, that's what they're going to give you.

If you want something else, you have to ask specifically for cold brew, or a specialty drink like an iced latte or something.

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