The Home: Breaking New Grounds

Biggest hit of the National Home Builders convention in Chicago was the “Coffee Butler,” a self-cleaning automatic coffeemaker that, at the touch of a button, brews and serves a cup of hot, fresh coffee in a matter of seconds. Produced by the Havajava Manufacturing Corp. of Glendale, Calif., makers of coin-operated coffee machines, the Butler operates like something in a Rube Goldberg dream.

The hopper is loaded with two pounds of regular grind. When the button is pressed, a dispenser drops nine grams of coffee into a stainless-steel brewing cup. An immersion coil heats water to 210°. The water is then fed into the brewing cup, mixes with the coffee, then drains out into a second brewing cup below that contains the moist grounds from the last cup that was made. Finally, the coffee drains on through a spout into the user’s cup.

All this takes about seven seconds. After that, the lower brewing cup dumps its grounds down a chute into the household sewerage drain, is swished clean by a jet of hot water, then swings up and around to the top, while the brewing cup containing the freshly used grounds swings down to take its place. The double brewing action, says Havajava President George C. Lane, provides good coffee flavor. “We’ve found there is no difference in the taste even when the grounds have been in the cup for 48 hours. If you haven’t made a cup for more than that time, we suggest you throw out the first cup. Everything will be fresh for the next one.”

Designed for home use (and no coins). Coffee Butler will provide roughly 100 cups of freshly brewed coffee in one filling without fuss or muss. List price: $249.50, plus $25-$30 for connections to water line and drain.