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Mars Coffee: Taste the Future of Climate Change
27 Jun
Summary
- Designer created coffee with a Martian flavor to reflect climate change impacts.
- Future vending machine offers coffee from different future climate scenarios.
- Project uses machine learning and NASA data to predict future coffee tastes.
Industrial designer Sarah Ali has developed a speculative coffee concept, Mars 2126, offering a taste of coffee grown on the red planet in the year 2126. This 'edible scent' is part of her MA project, Brew_Lab, which uses a futuristic vending machine to simulate coffee experiences from different climate-changed futures.
Ali's project highlights concerns about climate change's effect on coffee production, projecting significant challenges for the popular Arabica bean. Projections suggest Arabica yields could drop by 80% by 2050. Brew_Lab also features future coffee flavors from Sierra Leone in 2080, using the more climate-resilient stenophylla bean, and Brazil in 2027, emphasizing Arabica's vulnerability.
The scent profiles were developed using machine learning models fed with data from NASA and leading coffee expert Dr. Aaron Davis. Ali's research factored in NASA's agricultural insights, including the effects of gravity on taste perception, to create an authentic Martian coffee experience.
