Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful week.
My product journey has been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. Starting with a smart bag pack idea to a simple chai maker and now a proper chai making machine; It has definitely evolved into a different product to what I had initially thought of. My product journey has been an incredible learning experience and I think after having another customer survey experience and getting more input, I have finally been able to create an attractive product.
I started off with an idea to create a simple chai making machine but the more I got the feedback from my customer and did my own evaluation, I realized I need to create a product that would give you more authentic chai drinking experience rather than another machine that uses flavor pods and is just a make-do option. After my last design i.e. V2 of my product, I have decided to go back to using open chai leaves than pods. The design screenshot is below:
On the right hand side is my final product of how it would look. The left hand side is the cross section of how the machine would actually work and give you the experience of authentic chai.
The user will put chai leaves inside the top container. The holder on the left is for water, which is connected to the center box through a pipe and the holder on the right is for milk. In the center is a screen through which users can choose the options for number of cups, if they need milk or not, do they want chai or just hot water.
An example of how it works: Let’s say a user wants one cup of chai. They would choose the option of chai from the screen and then press 1 cup. As soon as they press 1 cup, it will ask you what strength chai do you want i.e. light, medium or strong. The user will have to choose the strength using the blue dial and then just press the orange button. (This is assuming the chai leaves are already filled in the top container).
When they press the orange button, the process starts. Firstly, the water will enter the center box through the pipe. Now the algorithm of the machine will be set so that 1 cup of chai will required 8oz water. 8oz water will flow into the box and the heating process will start. As soon as the water reaches the boiling temperature, the red light inside will light up and the chai from the top will enter into the boiling water.
Temperature sensor circuit: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/j12UZisrTUP-copy-of-chai-completion-temperature-indicator/editel?sharecode=bJ1_XQPvwUs7tsgOney8ML5dH9Nyn_RXgI6cmyWVTPA
For the amount of chai, the system will be set. For 1 cup of chai on light strength, 1 tablespoon chai will enter the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. For 1 cup on medium strength, 1.5 tablespoon of chai will enter the boiling water and cook for 7 minutes and for 1 cup cup on strong, 2 tablespoon chai will enter the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
Strength dial and cooking time sensor: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/4dmCMytf0OM-chai-completion-temperature-indicator/editel?sharecode=f5sO5ugDAFEdbYDvG_TiLWw64y2g0UrNDX2fHcThVHw
When the chai is ready, the green light will lit and the chai will pour through the blue nozzle. There is a mesh plate above the blue nozzle. All the chai leaves will accumulate on the plate which is detachable. The user can take out the mesh later to dispose the chai leaves.
Water level indicator: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/10XNDFZ0m11-chai-water-level-indicator/editel?sharecode=qhgymhDcFrKgMAudBTn_nnf47Llw-UMjrMi1QJncI3Y
This new and refined model is exactly the way most authentic chai’s are made. This will continue to use the open tea leaves as opposed to the pod idea I previously tried to incorporate. The advantage with open chai leaves is that every user prefers different brands just like a coffee drinker. It is also cost affective because you can make a lot of chai if you purchase a pack of chai leaves rather than buying pods all the time.
I think this idea is good as it brings a more authentic chai taste, it is not time or concentration intensive and everyone can have chai just the way its supposed to be!
Please leave your feedback! You know it is always valuable. Stay safe!