BeanScene Magazine

Most innovation, or fine tuning, in any industry stems from years of experience, and a drive to fix a problem – or at least a persistent inconvenience. Sometimes the blatantly obvious is so entrenched that it remains unchanged in perpetuity… Enter the design guys, more specifically Tom Pyrzakowski.

Born and bred in Adelaide, Tom completed a Bachelor of Industrial Design, and is putting the finishing touches on his Master’s of Design, both through the University of South Australia. It was through his study that Tom began his design journey into the coffee industry. In the final year of his bachelor’s degree, he was required to design and overcome one of a shortlist of perceived issues in the coffee industry. After some initial research in the café scene, and much deliberation, Tom decided to tackle knock tube noise and went to work on the design and manufacture of a prototype of the Caffvac: a vacuum powered knock tube. 

The Caffvac is divided into two parts. The top unit is a vacuum bin consisting of a table lock, which holds the device to a bench top by a suction cap; and waste bin, which is connected by strong magnets. The lower unit is a vacuum pump. This is connected to the top unit by a vacuum hose, which is operated via a foot pedal.

The unit works where, after making a coffee, the portafilter is applied to the top unit, the foot pedal is then depressed, sending a surge of negative pressure into the top unit. This pressure dislodges the coffee grounds from the portafilter in one single biscuit. After dislodging the coffee grounds, all excess negative pressure is dispelled through the portafilter. The dislodged coffee grounds then fall onto a trap door, where the weight of the grounds opens the trap door, dispelling them into the waste bin.

After creating his working prototype, Tom found that an alternative method of discarding used coffee from group handles would not only eliminate any noise disturbance that could have an adverse affect on customer experience, but serve other useful purposes.

Tom explains: “It started purely from the noise factor in cafés, but the more I looked into the knock tubes and the process of making coffee, I realised the occupational health and safety issues such as RSI of the wrists, and damage to portafilters could also be overcome by using the Caffvac.”

With the design completed, and an early working prototype in operation, Tom was encouraged by his University to enter it into design competition The James Dyson Award, where he was shortlisted as an Australian finalist (and is still waiting to hear back from the European affiliation of the award). Tom was subsequently contacted by ABC television show The New Inventors, who asked him if he would be interested in coming on the show.

“After The New Inventors first contacted me, I had a few months to put some finishing touches on the design and came up with some more prototypes,” says Tom. “But soon enough, they were flying me up to Sydney to shoot the show. It was a great experience and could have been really nerve racking, but it was a nice and relaxed atmosphere. It has also been really helpful in gaining exposure for the Caffvac.”

Tom has had over a dozen enquiries since the show about the Caffvac, mainly from cafés and restaurants on where to purchase the product, but also to distribute the Caffvac from as far as Baltimore, United States and even Canada.

In the short term, Tom is still filtering through industry feedback and tailoring the design to suit. Possibilities of an electric pump to replace the foot pump and a model that can be built into the serving bench itself – rather than suction capped on externally – are in the pipeline. The RRP for the unit as it is currently will be around $500, but with some work on the marketing and distribution channels over the next six months, Tom is hopeful that an increase in the economies of scale will see a reduction in the price.

The Caffvac will suit fine dining establishments due to the reduction in noise, and larger businesses such as busy established chains, with occupational health and safety concerns for their staff.

For more information contact Tom: mrtomek@hotmail.com.