Gea

Beyond the traditional idea of the coffee maker, chasing innovation through technology.

“Gea” is a concept design for an innovative coffee machine. The project was developed in a team of three students to participate to a contest launched by De Longhi in 2019. The brief was to design an innovative heating device to prepare breakfast.

The real innovation of Gea lies in the proposal of using a mineral called zeolite to heat and purify the water which is then used to prepare high quality coffee. Gea reduces the energy consumption in a sustainable and promising way, paving the way for a line of products which would no longer require electricity supply. 

The user fills the containers with water and zeolite, using the frontal touch screen to switch the machine on. Water and zeolite flow lower and come into contact: water reaches 90° just by going through the mineral, which also purifies it. It is then pumped into the brewing chamber, where it flows through ground coffee. Once dried, zeolite can be reused. 

Electricity is used in Gea only to provide energy to the pump and to the display. This paves the way for an entire line of portable products, which would no longer require electricity to produce heat. Gea could evolve into a portable coffee maker. This would be particularly useful in different situations, such as camping or in areas where electricity is not available.