Raise your glass to Kruve

The majority of coffee consumers enjoy their daily beverage out of a reusable or ceramic coffee cup, and for some, even a mug. To Kruve’s Chief Marketing Officer and Co-founder Mark Vecchiarelli, that wasn’t good enough, especially when a simple house wine at a local pub is served out of a bulbous glass. “We know the coffee community cares about the whole supply chain, so pouring coffee into a plain old mug felt wrong to us,” Vecchiarelli says. “It doesn’t do the roast any justice, especially when coffee is said to have more complexity than wine with hundreds of volatile flavour compounds. So, we looked into improving coffee glassware.” That’s where Kruve comes in. Two sets of brothers founded the Toronto-based company in 2015: Adam, Marek, and Karol Krupa; and Mark and Michael Vecchiarelli, hence the contraction of the name “Kruve”. Each member has a defined role, from marketing to industrial designer, finance to engineering and logistics. “What Kruve does is look for products that address gaps in the market. There’s nothing wrong with us taking a product that currently exists and improving it, but we prefer to look for gaps,” Vecchiarelli says. As such, the team looked deep into coffee glassware and came up with their own idea of something that was functional and aesthetically pleasing, called the Kruve EQ. “Just like audio, which is about balance and flavour, coffee shares the same idea,” Vecchiarelli says. “Balance is what makes something taste great. You need the right proportions.” The Kruve EQ combines several science-backed sensation and perception principles to amplify and soften certain flavour notes, just like an audio equaliser, and put the user in control of the sensory experience. This includes a focus on touch, taste, smell, and sight to harmonise the senses. Vecchiarelli says it’s one thing to draw up the idea and concept, but getting a manufacturer to execute their vision is another thing. Kruve spent a good year testing various glass designs, which included finding the correct ratios and sizes for highlighting certain flavour notes. The Kruve EQ is also unique in that it consists of two complementary drinking glasses, which can be used individually or in tandem to compare and contrast roasts. It also comes with a double-walled carafe to brew into. Each glass features a different internal shape and amount of headspace, which can impact the aromatic focus of the beverage. The Excite glass has a bulbous shape and large liquid surface area, which traps and circulates aroma to enhance the sweetness of the coffee while softening its acidity. Vecchiarelli says it is best suited to “full-bodied, chocolatey, nutty, or dark roasts”. The Inspire glass features a narrow inner glass shape and smaller liquid surface area. This funnels the aroma while enhancing acidity. It pairs well with bright, fruity, citrusy, or light roasts. “You don’t have to be a scientist to understand the benefits, you just have to try it and taste the difference for yourself,” Vecchiarelli says. The Evoke carafe is double-walled to keep temperature stable and can be used with popular brewers like an AeroPress or Hario V60. “We’ve had great feedback on our aesthetics and those that have used it can really taste a difference,” Vecchiarelli says. “On one occasion we brewed the same coffee, poured it between two glasses, and served it. The coffee drinker perceived it to be two different coffees. The glass makes a huge difference. You’ll just have to try it.” Kruve won’t start distribution of the EQ until US spring 2019. Kruve has been busy building donations on its Indiegogo page to fund the project, with the target already surpassed by 200 per cent. Kruve had similar success with its first product, the Kruve Sifter, to help home brewers measure, calibrate and refine a consistent grind size. Two years later, the Kruve team is on track to improve how people consume coffee. “There’s a lot of exciting things coming up,” Vecchiarelli says. “What’s exciting is introducing something new to the market and trying to push things forward. The specialty coffee market in particular cares a lot about precision and accuracy. It’s an innovative space, and I think it’s good to be at the forefront of this innovation to make coffee as good as it can be.” For more information, visit kruveinc.com/eq