How it Works

The computer is fully functional. The coffee maker is too; it percolates coffee like a regular coffee maker. Very hot coffee. Coffeematic PC uses the hot coffee it brews to "cool" the CPU. A pump takes the hot, caffeinated slurry (~90C/194F) and circulates it thru two radiators sitting on top of Coffeematic PC's crown -> down to the CPU tucked within a motherboard snugly strapped to Coffeematic PC's back. Coffee continues through an artery returning to Coffeematic PC's carafe and the process repeats. There is also a dedicated pump to aggressively dispense coffee for the user.

Design of Coffeematic PC. Most, but not all these designs are part of the final build. ↓↓↓ 

Despite circulating hot coffee to the CPU, Coffeematic PC does not crash. To understand more, I wrote command line code to gather data on Coffeematic PC every 5 seconds and monitored Coffeematic PC for 75 minutes. Coffeematic PC gets close to crashing but eventually finds an equilibrium among the coffee and the CPU - a warm 33C/91F. I plotted the results on this graph ↓↓↓  find an interactive version here.

How it Was Made (More about how Coffeematic was made in the Instructions)

How Can It Be Used?

Day-to-day, Coffeematic PC can't be used for much. The coffee isn't totally safe to drink (but I do sometimes…) the computer components are outdated, and eventually mold will be an issue. However, that is not to say this machine is useless - far from it. Here's how I find value in Coffeematic PC…

• Look at it! I've never seen something quite like it. Scavenging parts and building this absurd machine whose guts are exposed was a blast.

• I've never had my own special blend of coffee - it tastes like coffee made from a plastic 1980's coffee maker with some technological byproduct - yumm.

• Coffeematic PC has led to ongoing research to find others who've built coffee maker computers. I've found a fascinating history that I believe speaks to the culture of hacking, building, and a larger picture of technological and sociological innovation - but that's for another article…

Perhaps more interesting than my build is the entire history of coffee maker computers! The origins of these builds begin in 2002 and spans 22 years with a curious 15 year gap in the middle. To my knowledge, there are a total of 5 coffee maker computers built. 

First, in 2002, Nick Pelis built the original coffee maker computer named The Caffeine Machine. A behemoth of a machine on wheels. ↓↓↓

Then, the coffee went cold for 15 years until 2018, when a person named Ali “THE CRE8OR” Abbas collaborated with a company named Zotac to make the Zotac Mekspresso to feature in a trade show. Ali Abbas' site has some truly crazy computer builds. ↓↓↓

One year after in 2019, Logarythm made the Mr. Coffee PC. This unassuming build is perhaps my favorite. Logarythm also made a beautiful spinning PC with slip rings. ↓↓↓ 

5 years later, after COVID-19, Nerdforge, a YouTube channel specializing in fun builds, built a "PC that makes coffee". This is an epic build with by far the best documentation of any.  ↓↓↓ 

While Nerdforge was building their coffee maker computer I was making Coffeematic PC. 

Making Coffeematic PC led me to discover this unique history of coffee maker computers. I wonder if my summary is complete. Perhaps there is a build hidden in some nook of the internet archive, or in a magazine that I'm not aware of... If you've made a build involving coffee, or know of one, please reach out.

What's next? Modifications can be added to Coffeematic PC and I'm happy to hear your wacky suggestions or an idea for V2. Most of all, I'd like to keep looking for examples of where DIY hacking and coffee intersect.