Apparently an enterprising young Brit has solved a problem that doesn’t really exist, and combined a high end coffee maker with a bedside alarm clock. Behold, the Barisieur:
While this combination reminded me of a fake commercial from eons ago on Saturday Night Live (“it’s a dessert topping and a floor wax!“), I give the people behind this gizmo credit for taking a goofy idea and bringing it to fruition. Lots of cool nerdy features, including a refrigerated slot for a vial of milk. And from pictures, it looks absolutely gorgeous. I’m a sucker for that retro audio component aesthetic. It comes in black or white, but from the pics I’ve seen you’ve gotta bet on black.
All that said, even if you can get over the $$$ price tag, there look to be some serious flaws with the concept. Tim Carman of the Washington Post took the machine for a test run, and he hits on the issues that make the Barisieur less than practical in its intended application.
The biggest hurdle for me, in addition to the points identified by Carman, is there are already enough traps in modern life to keep you from getting out of bed. No need to add another item to move us further along the path to WALL-E becoming a documentary.
Now, sell this to me as the ultimate coffee nerd’s office accessory, and I’m ready to talk.
hmmm, initially I was excited, because the smell of coffee brewing in the morning is one of my favorite things. So waking up to that is enticing. However, that would mean I’d need to move the stack of books I don’t read off my bedside table, and wouldn’t enjoy the blissful bliss that is being totally alone in the kitchen before anyone else gets up first thing in the morning. “A” for effort, but gonna pass.