Jura's latest offers up the perfect cup of joe.
Half-caf, whole-milk, extra-foam cappuccino? No problem. Just push a button and your order is ready with the Jura Impressa J9 One Touch TFT, an espresso maker as powerful as those helping baristas crank out lattes, yet as easy to use as that ho-hum percolator you're used to. The machine--which won a 2011 Red Dot Design Award--grinds, brews, self-cleans, and can whip up a frothy latte macchiato in less than a minute. "We imagined a female form, athletic and calm, giving an impression of intelligence and lightheartedness," says Jura general manager Emanuel Probst. The sleek aesthetic is backed up by 15 bars of pressure, lending the machine more than enough strength to hit the 9-bar level required to give espresso the crema it's known for. ($2,800, surlatable.com)
[1] Symmetry is the guiding force in the J9's design. "Symmetrical shapes are perceived quickly and easily," Probst says. The machine's balance ensures that, no matter the angle, the look of the device is consistent--important as the kitchen has gone from "a workroom to a communication space."
[2] Separate liquid systems brew coffee and steam milk. Jura shifted the frother from the left side to the right to make sure the innards--a grinder space for beans--would fit.
[3] "It's very challenging to produce highly precise, perfect plane surfaces without seeing any reinforcement material," Probst says. But Jura succeeded by using high-quality plastics and aluminum, which make the machine feel like bone china.
[4] The J9 is Jura's first home-use product with a color display. Save your drink preferences--temperature, strength, and size--and enter your order via a dial and a simple push of a button. To maximize ease, Jura created the interface with specialists who design navigation systems for cars.
Photos by Dan Saelinger; sketches courtesy of Jura
A version of this article appears in the November 2011 issue of Fast Company.